The Signal Vol. 87 No. 14

MEET THE DEAN

CUFFING SEASON

HOLIDAY HOOPS

COMIC

The Perimeter consolidation is no new rodeo for this dean of students.

A discussion on the winter dating phenomenon that brings people together.

Women’s and men’s basketball hit the hardwood over the break. How did they do?

SUDOKU

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FINAL EXAMS

PAGE 19

NEWS

PAGE 5

ARTS & LIVING

PAGE 12

SPORTS PAGE 16

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VOL. 87 | NO. 14

DEC. 3 - JAN. 14, 2019

Mayor Bottoms,

Tear down this statue!

PAGE 7

PHOTO BY MATT SICILIANO-SALAZAR PHOTO MANIPULATION BY LOGAN CASE

@gsusignal

georgiastatesignal.com

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comic “the mirror of scare-ised” Comic by Staff Cartoonist

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

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The researchers who traveled across the country Why they came to Georgia State from New Mexico to study the brain SARA MUNOZ Staff Reporter

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irst announced at a University Senate Meeting in the spring, Georgia State welcomed a group of researchers from both the University of New Mexico and the Mind Research Network, a non-profit imaging center. This fall, the two seperate research groups came together to work at Georgia State.

These new researchers now combined to work at the Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), which is now located on the 18th floor of 55 Park Place.

All of the researchers were brought over by one person: Vince Calhoun, the founding director and visionary of TReNDS, who also made the trip across the states to come to Georgia State.

But why did the researchers travel across the country to come here?

According to Calhoun, the university was interested in “making a mark” and “expanding their brain imaging portfolio.”

Vince Calhoun is the founding director and visionary of TReNDS, a triinstitutional center that researches unhealthy and disordered brains.

The TReNDS center researches the brain in a more general manner, meaning that the center is looking at healthy and unhealthy brains, normal and disordered brains and everything else in between.

With the analysis of brain imaging comes complicated data, especially for the unhealthy and disordered brains.

What the center has developed and continues to develop are the techniques for making sense of the complex brain imaging data.

On a deeper level, there are several other, more specific projects going on. One of them is a research project focusing on using tools to analyze brain-imaging data in order to better understand and find features relating to abnormal human behavior, specifically psychiatric disorders like dementia and schizophrenia.

Another project is international, involving the study and research of the effects of city lights and the “greenness” of the environment on brain patterns using satellite imaging data and brain imaging data.

Sergei Plis, associate professor of computer science and working member of TReNDS, compared the tools involved, to simplify, as being similar to how google translate functions.

Although the center is located at Georgia State, TReNDS is a triinstitutional center shared between Georgia State, Georgia Tech and Emory University.

This means that each institution contributes resources in some way to the TReNDS center, such as faculty or support for postdoctorales.

Emory, specifically, contributes to the patient population and clinical expertise within psychiatry and neurology.

As work transferred to the state of Georgia, so did ten of the graduate research students involved

with the center. But Georgia State lacked one thing: a graduate engineering program.

Because of this, the ten students involved transferred to Georgia Tech. Since the move, there are some postdoctoral research assistants who have joined the team from Georgia State.

Reliable and accurate data needs large and diverse sample sizes, according to Plis. With help from the growing neuroimaging community, TReNDS is able to receive data from across the nation and around the world. Some collaborators are in India, China, and England.

How is this possible? Doesn’t the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA, protect patient data? What about ethical and legal issues? And why would researchers share data that they have worked years to develop?

As Plis explains it, TReNDS built a system that allows for the data to stay where it is and never leave the data center no matter the location.

“We can connect online using algorithms we developed to run around and collect certain data here and there in different data sets. We are sharing minimal information, and we still get the results we need as if all the data were still together,” Plis said. “We are kind of sharing without sharing and solving this problem of data sharing.”

Along with the data gathered around the world, the TReNDS center utilizes the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, located near Georgia Tech. Here, you will find a 3-Tesla Siemens Prisma-Fit MRI system, which according to Calhoun is the most modern, cutting-edge scanner for research available.

The TReNDS center also developed some collaborative tools that are put into CABI so that other people can more easily get access to their data, share it, collaborate and anonymize it.

“The data will all get archived and analyzed in standard pipeline,” Calhoun said. “We speed up the process and eventually we’re planning to have that enable us to compute scores for the different brain imaging markers that we’re developing.”

What’s unique about the center, according to Jean Liu, an associate professor of computer science at Georgia State, is the strength of the team.

“We have a group of extremely trained engineers that can use very sophisticated algorithms to study brain imaging, which is not very common within other brain centers,” Liu said.

Other centers, Liu said, will have people with various backgrounds like neuroscience and psychology. Although this may be helpful in some respects, there are obstacles that present themselves in finding specific features when “big data” is presented, according to Liu. This is where the “trained engineers” with “sophisticated algorithms” that the team relies on come in. Their job is to develop tools using the algorithms to help people in different professional backgrounds better understand and find the specific data they are looking for.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VINCE CALHOUN

NEWS

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Student starts his own safety escort service Peerless Perfexion tackles security for women on campus DANIELLA JOHNSON Staff Reporter

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ccording to HuffPost News, missing black women and children are largely ignored, and the Black and Missing Foundation indicate nearly 40% of all missing people in the country are people of color.

Jordan Perkins and his campus organization Peerless Perfexion have decided to take matters into their own hands by making sure students who need assistance getting to their destination at night have the help they need.

“That’s really why I made the post; I wanted to make sure everyone was okay,” Perkins said.

An Instagram post with a little over 400 likes has sparked what may be the beginning of a university-wide student escort service in attempts to ensure the safety of students at Georgia State.

On Nov. 8, Jordan Perkins made a text post that detailed that if any women needed an escort at Georgia State, they could call or text him at any point.

“Me and my brothers @p2_gsu are willing to make sure females at [Georgia State] are safe,” the post said.

Perkins’ Instagram post was inspired by his mother and aunt, both of whom are faculty members at Georgia State, as well as his godsister and two cousins, who also attend the university as students.

On Oct. 30, Alexis Crawford, a student at Clark Atlanta University, was reported missing. According to 11Alive, her body was found on Nov. 8 in a park off of Columbia Drive.

“At that point, there was just so much going on around us with everything that happened at the AUC … so much sketchy stuff and no one seemed to say anything about Georgia State,” Perkins said. “I have a really big heart for my school so I said, ‘Let me just put this out there since I know I have a good following of people from Georgia State.’”

Perkins is the vice president of Peerless Perfexion, an organization that encompasses freshman mentorship, community service and stepping.

They engage in activities around campus and collaborate with other campus organizations such as the Greeks. The brothers of Peerless Perfexion also participate in community service, such as volunteering at Hurt Park and local food banks.

“So, when I made the post originally, I was just putting it out there,” Perkins said. “Then, I was like, ‘Since I know we could get a volume of calls, let me let my brothers know too.’”

The first night, Perkins said he received a few calls, but the next day, he said he escorted several women to their destinations and even rode in an Uber with a woman who didn’t feel safe to ride alone.

“I met a girl at Grady — she goes to Georgia State but she works at Grady — and she has to walk to the train station at night,” Perkins said. “She didn’t feel good about that one night, so she called me.”

Jordan Perkins and his campus organization Peerless Perfexion are assisting students in walking to their destinations at night.

According to Perkins, Peerless Perfexion is considering starting a Georgia State safety group chat in conjunction with other campus organizations.

“Say I can’t be there to help; then, you’ll have a group chat full of people,” Perkins said.

Perkins was surprised that no one at Georgia State has spoken on recent events in the city, so he figured his organization should be the first.

“I feel like sometimes [GSUPD officers] don’t take it as serious as [students] do because we see all the creepy people around at night or throughout the day,” Perkins said.

He claims that even he and his friends have tried to use GSUPD escort services, but it hasn’t proven as effective as it should be.

Perkins believes Georgia State security is not up to par with how open the campus is.

“I’ve had times where people would be like, ‘Well, we called

PHOTO BY MATT SICILIANO-SALAZAR | THE SIGNAL

Georgia State Police, and they don’t show up until 10 minutes later,’” he said.

According to GSUPD Chief of Police Joseph Spillane, he has never heard the claim of GSUPD escorts not taking their job seriously. Spillane also says response time is based on having an available officer.

“It is not Uber or Lyft or a taxi service,” Spillane said. “The escorts are pulled from on-duty police resources, so sometimes, they are not immediately available and handling calls.”

However, Spillane does believe students escorting each other is a good thing, as it enhances the services GSUPD already provides.

According to Spillane, GSUPD urges students to travel in groups, be aware of their surroundings and to download the Livesafe app.

“We will continue to add staffing to the department, which will allow additional resources to be on the streets at any given time,” he said. “We are always looking for ways to improve.”

Celebrating International Education Week

The university’s take on culture, cuisine, community and diversity SARA MUNOZ Staff Reporter

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tudents rushed into Piedmont Central the week of Nov. 18 to taste and savor international food hosted by Panther Dining.

From Monday to Thursday, students experimented with food from across the world, with international menus prepared by Georgia State chefs. Cuisine ranged from Mexico City to Beijing and New Delhi to Paris.

This was all possible thanks to the joint initiatives between the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education to celebrate global education and exchange with a yearly International Education Week across the nation.

Although each was different, they took place across all Georgia State campuses throughout the week. A language exposition was available for Dunwoody students, international music and dance performances were given at the Newton campus and an informative

talk about diplomatic relations took place at the Decatur campus.

For the Atlanta campus, the “Go-Global 360” event, which is cohosted by the School of Public Health, the Atlanta Global Institute and Creative Media Industries Institute, was a crowd favorite.

There, students experienced traveling abroad through virtual reality goggles and, after participating in the experience, were able to take home a free pair of VR goggles accompanied with the YouTube link to the footage seen in the simulation.

But according to Iris Eben, the person in charge of IEW, the event that embodied what the week was all about was the talent show: “Celebrating the world of talent and togetherness.” It featured international students from the Intensive English Program and exchange students from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Despite the fact that the Downtown campus had a greater number of events than every other campus, there were actually fewer events available this year. Eben decided that slimming down programming would make it easier to plan the events.

By attending these events, Eben hopes students could engage, learn and celebrate the diversity of culture that Georgia

State has to offer.

Homma Rafi, who managed IEW for five years prior to Eben, explained that IEW’s success each year is because “Georgia State has consistently produced the most robust IEW campaign in the state of Georgia.”

“Understanding the global context behind why and how people express and celebrate their culture is an important component of raising cultural competency,” Eben said.

To Eben, as her first year directing IEW, a Georgia State graduate and first-generation U.S citizen raised by Cameroonian immigrants, the celebration of diversity and culture means a lot to her. She said she has seen first-hand benefits, personal and professional, that come from engaging with different cultures.

“Georgia State wouldn’t be Georgia State without our incredible diversity. It’s part of our community DNA,” Eben said. “It’s what many students praise about attending this university. No matter what background they come from, they feel at home here.”

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

NEWS

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Meet the new Dean of Students

Alumnus Michael Sanseviro returns to Georgia State BRADY STOUGHTON Staff Reporter

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NEWS BRIEFS LOCAL Democratic presidential debate held at Tyler Perry Studios

eorgia State’s new Dean of Students Michael Sanseviro arrived to his new job on Dec. 1.

As a graduate student from Georgia State in the 1990s, Sansevirohas spent the past 16 years working at Kennesaw State, serving as their Dean of Students.

“The opportunity to return to my alma mater at this unique point in history when [Georgia State] and [Georgia Perimeter College] have come together to create the largest university in Georgia is truly invigorating,” Sanseviro said.

In his time at Kennesaw State, Sanseviro created a university-wide unified Homecoming committee, which he said ensured all student groups’ needs and interests were represented and appropriately considered.

In terms of the merging of Georgia Perimeter College and Georgia State, he gained experience in a similar situation when he served on the consolidation team that united Kennesaw State with the former Southern Polytechnic State University into one new comprehensive multi-campus university.

“I look forward to collaborating with amazing colleagues across all campuses to determine how best to create a strong university-wide culture that equally respects the unique qualities and histories of individual campus cultures,” Sanseviro said.

When it comes to what the student body can expect from their new dean of students, Sanseviro Georgia State alumnus Michael Sanseviro is returning to the university PHOTO COURTESY OF said he is most excited to learn how best he can apply and taking on a new position as dean.

MICHAEL SANSEVIRO his experiences to enhance the ways Georgia State amazing of all students engages students to embrace their place within the change since my time in [Georgia State] Housing in community. across all [Georgia State] campuses.” the 1990s.”

Before Sanseviro arrived at Georgia State, he said The Dean of Students office serves to encourage During his time at Georgia State, Sanseviro his first goal would be to learn everything he can as students to be active members of the Georgia State worked full-time while earning his degree, but also quickly as possible so that he can understand and community. This includes addressing and resolving evaluate Georgia State’s current needs and then move enjoyed performances at the Rialto Center, a few student concerns, acting in emergency situations and sporting events and movies at Cinefest. to addressing them. directing students to on campus resources. They also Sanseviro said that as a doctoral student, he saw Georgia State has changed a bit since his time here, provide support for faculty. but Sanseviro enjoyed many of the same things in his the faculty was very dedicated, a view he hopes Sanseviro will serve as the head of the Dean of current Georgia State students have as well. time at Georgia State that students enjoy today.

Students office with the above objectives being his “I pride myself on being accessible and engaged “[Georgia State] has expanded in size, scope top priority. with the student bodies I’ve served throughout my and stature, becoming a nationally recognized According to Georgia State’s human resources career and look forward to continuing that proud leader in student success,” he said. “[It] advanced department, he will be paid $160,000 per year to tradition at [Georgia State],” Sanseviro said. “I look its commitment to urban transformation and new student housing in downtown, which has been an forward to doing whatever I can to support the needs carry out his duties.

On Nov. 20, Atlanta hosted the fifth Democratic presidential debate at Tyler Perry Studios. Ten candidates took the stage to debate policy questions posed by the four all-female moderators. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia leaders, such as former Mayor Maynard Jackson, Stacey Abrams, Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, were all brought up during the debate. Georgia issues like the heartbeat bill against abortion and voting rights were also discussed later in the debate.

Pete Petit indicted on federal fraud charges

GLOBAL

DANIEL VARITEK & WILL SOLOMONS Editor-in-Chief & Managing Editor

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arker H. “Pete” Petit, alumnus and multimillion-dollar donor to Georgia State, was indicted on accounting fraud charges last week Tuesday. The federal indictment comes on the heels of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that began in 2018 into Petit’s actions as CEO of Marietta-based healthcare products company MiMedx.

According to an additional civil suit filed against Petit and two of his associates, MiMedx “engaged in a wide-ranging fraud designed to artificially inflate the company’s reported revenue.”

The purported inflation was classified as “channel stuffing” by former MiMedx employees, which is the act of flooding the market with products that distributors can’t sell in order to inflate stock by making it look like the business is more successful than it actually is.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Petit’s lawyer said the donor “adamantly denies the charges

levelled against him.” But the fraudulent practices, if proven true, would have undoubtedly had an effect on the price of MiMedx’s stock, some of which was gifted to Georgia State in 2017 as a pledge of $10 million for the construction of the Georgia State Stadium.

Despite Petit denying the charges and allegations against him and his former company, MiMedx in 2018 walked back several years of financial reports that were under investigation at the same time that Petit was CEO. The new charges were a result of the SEC investigation that began after several whistleblowers came forward, alleging potential fraud at MiMedx.

On June 30, 2018, Petit resigned from MiMedx amid those allegations. It was discovered in September 2018, however, that he was ousted “for cause” by the company’s board of directors.

Petit was chair of the steering committee for Georgia State’s $300 million Burning Bright fundraising campaign up until the program ended.

As chair of the committee, Petit was responsible for coordinating donations made to the university and the direction those loans would take toward various development projects.

In a statement to The Signal, the University System of Georgia’s Vice Chancellor for Communications Jen Ryan said that the Board of Regents is aware of the SEC’s action against Petit and “will continue to closely monitor the situation as it develops.”

It’s a nearly identical statement the USG issued last year to The Signal when the SEC opened an investigation against Petit and his colleagues.

Petit’s name currently adorns the football field at Georgia State Stadium, as well as the Petit Science Center on Piedmont Avenue. USG policy stipulates that it is under the jurisdiction of the USG Chancellor and the Board of Regents to make any decision regarding the renaming of buildings and structures.

“Namings authorized by the Board of Regents shall not be modified without approval of the Board.

If a situation occurs that may warrant the removal of a name that was previously approved by the Board of Regents, the decision whether to remove the name lies in the sole discretion of the Board in consultation with the Chancellor,” USG policy 7.4.1 states.

This is a developing story. Follow The Signal on Twitter at @gsusignal for immediate updates.

NATIONAL Amb. Sonland testifies on quid pro quo

The second week of impeachment hearings took place this week, dominating U.S. headlines.

According to Politico, this week featured Jennifer Williams, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Ambassador Kurt Volker, Tim Morrison, Gordon Sondland, Laura Cooper, David Hale, Fiona Hill and David Holmes. Vindman said he “had already been tracking this initially, what I would describe as an alternative narrative, false narrative, and I was certainly aware of the fact that it was starting to gain traction,” according to Politico.

Columbian protests result in curfew

After thousands took to the streets to protest Colombian President Iván Duque’s conservative government, he ordered a curfew in the nation’s capital, Bogotá, AP News reports. Estimates show that 250,000 people participated in the protest, one of the biggest in the nation’s recent history. The protest began peacefully but eventually escalated as tear gas was deployed by police and three people were killed in the ensuing violence.

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Esports receives $136K for fourth year in a row Plus, $612K of student fees goes toward marching band Staff Reporter

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ver the past few years, there have been two notable line items on the Student Activity Fee Council allocation for essential services: $136,000 for esports beginning in fiscal year 2018 and $612,000 for marching band beginning in fiscal year 2017.

Esports received $136,000 for their first year operating; but since then they’ve received the same amount for each new allocation.

Former Vice President of Student Affairs Douglass Covey was the person behind adding the marching band and esports to essential services.

According to Director for the Division of Student Success Administration Shantavia Reid-Stroud, the addition of marching band and esports to essential services was because of their scholarship opportunities.

For example, Georgia State’s esports league is under the National Association of Collegiate Esports. Under NACE, student esports teams from different institutions compete against one another in tournaments.

According to the website, to quality for a NACE membership, institutions “must be fully accredited by an authorized higher educational accrediting agency relative to their region and national affiliation and they must be fully endorsed by the school they represent.”

This program allows students to receive esports-specific scholarships from their institutions, as scholarships are also available to students participating in marching band.

According to Esports coordinator and faculty member Robin Morris, this continued payment is because competing is very expensive.

Every competition requires a technician on site to ensure consoles and equipment are running properly, and they must get paid for it. The $136,000 provided to esports through essential services does not cover it all, according to Morris.

“We are out looking for other funding. We get donors and other groups to provide additional scholarships,” Morris said. “The student fee is really focused on the teams and traveling for them to compete. What is given to us by the essential services budget only covers the basics.”

Georgia State esports is also affiliated with the Georgia Esports League, which includes student teams from Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State and the University of North Georgia. For comparison, it is a similar framework to NCAA. However, esports does not have a breakdown budget of their spending.

“I don’t have [budgets] together, nobody has it

all. There is not an esports budget,” Morris said.

“We just take out of the budget for events when we need it. Like, core scholarships, core staff, basically supplies like varsity jerseys. Georgia State esports, however, does keep track of how much they spend to attend competitions and host events.”

It is the fiscal responsibility of the funded student organizations to ensure that all expenditures are in alignment with university policies, procedures and purchasing guidelines.

Esports Program Coordinator Lucas Bailey said that the esports program was introduced in the fall of 2017, but students were competing on their own before that.

At Georgia State, there are four games that have varsity teams: League of Legends, Overwatch, Paladins and Smite. Every year, Georgia State hosts an esports tournament called PantherLAN, which is open to all students.

A lot of students on the academic side of it are also involved in esports.

“We had 35 or 40 volunteers, many of which were students, who were involved in producing PantherLAN,” Bailey said.

Similarly, the esports team allows any student to join and every student has access to play video games in their practice room at the Creative Media Industries Institute. This allows them to fall under the second-priority funding tier.

The Georgia State league operates in a gray area between academic and competitive events, and thus, Morris decides what is and is not academic.

“Some esports programs are run out of [the Athletics Department], others are run out of Student Affairs and others are run out of education programs,” he said. “We are under CMII, because we want students to get academic experience out of it, like sports marketing and sportscasting events. Esports is the competitive side of it.”

During PantherLAN, industry professionals hosted free panels for all students thanks to the Georgia Game Developers Association.

This also includes core scholarships, core staff and basic supplies like varsity jerseys.

“We can’t send students to compete on an academic budget, so we had to get another budget to support the teams,” Morris said.

Students in higher level positions also receive a stipend.

“It’s very different [from other organizations],” he said. “We have student assistants that we pay out of this budget. Mainly to cover the student practice room, they make sure that everything is running properly.”

Morris nails his job down to one main focus.

“I always ask the question: Is this a part of the varsity team activities or academic activities? My job is to make sure that the gray area is walked properly,” Morris said.

So what makes esports, marching band and the other programs funded in this section “essential?”

The student activity fee guidelines states that “the programs that receive money from the essential services budget are determined by priority.”

First-priority programs are ones that are used by all students. Second-priority funding is given to programs that are designed for all students, but are not necessarily used by all students. Third priority is given to special interest groups, and then in non-priority order, budget requests will be reviewed based on the following criteria: • Past performance and budget management of the organizations requesting funds • Programs and services with broad appeal to students • Programs that serve the greatest number of students • Programs that support the community on campus, especially in relation to diversity • Programs that complement academics The Student Activity Fee Committee must withhold a minimum of 5% of the total budget for contingency and decides what to do with that money later on.

Voting members then read all the proposals and submit their recommended allocations to the Georgia State Division of Student Affairs. The average amount of the recommended allocations is discussed at the beginning of the meeting and voting for the final allocation is recorded in a roll call vote.

2020 APPROPRIATION • • • • • • • • • • • •

The Signal Printing – $70,000 WRAS Engineering – $71,619 WRAS Utilities – $40,193 Licensing – $24,216 Marching Band – $612,000 E-Sports – $136,000 Black Student Achievement – $41,443 Civic Engagement – $27,520 Multicultural Affairs – $72,067 Greek Life – $9,649 Student Programs and Services – $4,000 Programming Personnel – $997,747

ILLUSTRAITION BY MONTE LOWERY | THE SIGNAL

IMANI DENNIS

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2019 TUESDAY, JANUARY 15,3,2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/opinions

Mayor Bottoms, tear down this statue!

Confronting the state law that protects historic racists in Georgia THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Dear Mayor Bottoms, “I wouldn’t be here without Grady.”

That phrase, a slogan for Grady Health System’s awardwinning marketing campaign that launched in 2012, is seen plastered on billboards across the metro Atlanta area.

Unfortunately, it’s true in more ways than one.

The Atlanta of today is the capital of black America. Our city is lauded by many as progressive, diverse and hospitable.

And while this image is worth celebrating and protecting, it is undeniably distorted by a rose-tinted lens. This city, despite being over 52% black, is still the heart of the South, which is arguably the most racist region in the U.S. When you glance past the sea of black and brown faces, you’ll notice that Atlanta is crawling with reminders of who and what once ruled this land and its minorities unjustly.

Whether it’s Stone Mountain or Lake Sidney Lanier, references to Georgia’s racist past are still visible — and often memorialized.

But there is one figure who is so honored and remembered, he might as well be the poster child for Atlanta’s continued glorification of bygone racist icons: Henry W. Grady.

Grady was a central figure in the Atlanta socialscape during the late 1800s. During his time as managing editor of The Atlanta Constitution, Grady leveraged his position to advocate for a transition to his vision of a “New South,” a Southern society focused more on industry than on agriculture.

Grady’s audiences were frequently Northern cities, an indication of his goal to court investment from the North and promote the cheap labor of the South. He rejected slavery as a “feudal” system — yet, at the same time, he maintained an overt and revolting desire for the white race to reign supreme.

In 1886, he stumped for John B. Gordon, a former Confederate general and known white supremacist, for governor of Georgia. Gordon was often referred to as the “Grand Dragon” of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia, and he “sanctioned violence [against blacks] when necessary to preserve white-dominated society.”

Gordon was elected governor later that year.

His election was a direct result of Grady’s influence.

In fact, Grady has been called a “kingmaker” for playing an instrumental role in the election and appointment of white supremacist politicians, like Gordon, to the Georgia governorship and U.S. Senate. He mastered the power of his newspaper to unabashedly advance his political agenda.

Under Grady’s leadership, The Atlanta Constitution regularly published sickeningly racist headlines: “The Triple Trapeze: Three Negroes Hung to a Limb of a Tree,” “Two Minutes to Pray Before a Rope Dislocated Their Vertebrae” and “Lynching Too Good For the Black Miscreant Who Assaulted Mrs. Bush: He Will Be Lynched.”

Grady was also undoubtedly a renowned public speaker.

“Oratory was a natural gift with him. It was born in him,” one publisher wrote of him in 1890.

Yet this legacy conveniently ignores one of the principal contentions in his speeches: that white men must assert their racial dominance by maintaining the economic, social and political hierarchy of the day at all costs.

“The supremacy of the white race of the South must be maintained forever and the domination of the negro race resisted at all points and at all hazards — because the white race is the superior race,” Grady said in his famous 1888 “New South” speech. “This is the declaration of no new truth. It has abided forever in the marrow of our bones and shall run forever with the blood that feeds Anglo-Saxon hearts.”

And in Grady’s final speech on “the colored problem” before his death, he reiterated that the “negro vote can never control in the South, and it will be well if partisans at the North would understand this.”

Even amid his crudely racist language, Grady often remarked that relations between black and white Americans

were “cordial.” “[That] was a brazen lie,” Kathy Roberts Forde, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote earlier this year. “Many white Americans believed it, or pretended they did, but black editors, journalists and leaders challenged it at every turn.”

Indeed, the retrospective future was not the only audience to ridicule Grady’s values.

Ida B. Wells, civil rights champion, co-founder of the NAACP and one of the most prominent black journalists of her time, wrote in 1892 that “Henry W. Grady in his wellremembered speeches in New England and New York pictured the Afro-American as incapable of self-government.”

Wells further rejected the premise of the speech that made Grady famous, going so far as to say there was “little difference” between the New South and the Antebellum South.

A monument to Henry Grady and his accomplishments on Marietta and Forsyth streets — also named Henry Grady Square — still stands today. Etched into his plaque are three celebratory words: “Journalist, Orator, Patriot.”

Let us be clear in recognizing that Grady, as a journalist, promoted racism. Grady, as an orator, promoted racism. And Grady was certainly no patriot — he was simply a racist.

By keeping Grady on a literal and figurative pedestal, we continue to celebrate a legacy that is incompatible with Atlanta’s progressive character. Is this truly what “the city too busy to hate” celebrates?

Mayor, unless you believe Henry Grady continues to embody the values and character of our great city, we and the below signatories firmly advocate that this monument be removed from the public square and relocated to the grounds of the Atlanta History Center.

But in order to relocate this monument, we first must look to the State Capitol.

The Henry Grady monument and others like it are protected by a state law passed earlier this year.

The law, Georgia Senate Bill 77, states that no monument “shall be relocated, removed, concealed, obscured, or altered in any fashion by any officer or agency.” This means that, barring “appropriate measures” for preservation or a need for relocation due to construction, no one can move this statue — at least not legally.

Furthermore, it serves the purpose of issuing penalties for two actions any person or agency — such as a city government — might take: vandalization and relocation. The second focus of the law is what makes moving Grady’s monument presently illegal.

“At a time when cities all over the country are actively removing Confederate symbols from public spaces, it is disappointing that some Georgia lawmakers are choosing to play politics with our history and promote divisiveness,” Heidi Beirich, an expert on neo-Confederate movements and white supremacism, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in March.

This state law is essentially operating to protect monuments to racism and the Confederacy in Georgia. We therefore have an ethical obligation to advocate not only that this law be changed, but also that our city take a clear stance against it and these monuments.

We do not advocate for the destruction of this monument, as we reject the practice of attempting to erase or conceal our past. But we do advocate for the placing of this monument within historical context and absent of civic reverence — something the Atlanta History Center can no doubt achieve.

Unfortunately, even doing this would be illegal under state law. If the monument legally qualifies for relocation, the monument must still be in a place of “similar prominence, honor, visibility, and access.”

“A monument shall not be relocated to a museum, cemetery, or mausoleum unless it was originally placed at such location,” the law states.

Mayor, you have played an invaluable role in removing what shouldn’t represent Atlanta’s character. From renaming Confederate Avenue to United Avenue, to erecting plaques adjacent to Confederate monuments that provide historical context, your work has not gone unnoticed. But, there is still more to be done.

We understand that what we hope to see in the future — the

permanent relocation of the Henry Grady monument to the Atlanta History Center — is illegal under current state law. But, just because it’s the law doesn’t make it right.

What we can request today is the placement of a plaque beneath the Henry Grady monument clarifying who he was and what he believed. But more importantly, we also request that you publicly advocate for this law to be changed or unwritten. And someday, after this change, we hope to revisit our request to relocate this monument legally.

No, we wouldn’t be here without Grady. But we can’t let him define who we are and what Atlanta is today.

Signed, The Editorial Board of The Signal The Young Democrats of Georgia Georgia State University Student Government Association Office of the President Georgia State University Student Government Association Office of the Atlanta Executive Vice President The Black Student Alliance at Georgia State University

HENRY W. GRADY’S REMAINING NAMESAKES • • • • • •

Henry W. Grady High School Grady Health System / Grady Memorial Hospital Henry Grady Square Grady County Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Georgia Henry W. Grady Monument

OPINIONS

8

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

The silent killer that begins early and kills later Bringing awareness to the dangers of hypertension for students JAMAL LEMOND Staff Columnist

H

ypertension is not a frequently used word among young adults. College students hear about high blood pressure and think it is no big deal, and they ignore the silent killer known as high blood pressure.

After giving birth, my sister had severe headaches and stiff neck; she was quickly diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia.

According to the Mayo Clinic, postpartum preeclampsia “is a rare condition that occurs when you have high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine soon after childbirth.

The ideal blood pressure should range around 120/80, but my sister’s blood pressure peaked at 200/110. She was at risk of suffering a stroke, kidney disease, loss of vision, dementia and heart disease.

I went and got my blood pressure checked on campus following her diagnosis, and my results were 140/80. I credited my results to my poor diet, lack of exercise and stress. My score was high, and I was ignoring my unhealthy tendencies for too long.

My mother always stressed to me and my family that we need to take care of ourselves. She would stop us randomly and check our blood pressure. I

always felt that hypertension was only an issue for middle-aged adults. Although my sister’s sickness was related to childbirth, it helped me realize that young adults must pay closer attention to hypertension.

The American Heart Association reported that “just half of 6.7 million young adults with high blood pressure were treated in 2013-2014 in the United States… 40 percent got their blood pressure under control.”

Jonasia Robinson is 23 years old, and she admits to not managing her blood pressure that well.

“I check my blood pressure whenever I go to the doctors, but I don’t really do much to manage it.

I eat kind of bad and I am too busy to work out,” Robinson said. “I know it is important. It runs in my family, so I need to do better.”

Tony Price Jr. is a health and wellness coordinator in the Office of Employee Development and Wellness Services and doctoral student in the School of Public Health. Price said it is important to raise awareness on hypertension for young adults “because it is never too early to know how healthy you can be.”

“And especially given a lot of stressors and rivers students go through. Whether it be your personal life, your student life, grades, whatever, those different stressors can play a role in your health,” Price said. “Secondarily, as an African American, it is also very important because we are also predisposed to a lot of health conditions. So, for us, it is particularly important that we stay ahead of

the curve and don’t get behind on our health. Yes, prevention is critical.”

The problem with staying ahead of the curve is that I am afraid to hear about my health. I have a lot of unhealthy habits, so I know the results won’t be ideal. In addition, Medicalxpress.com found that nearly 31% of young black adults have high blood pressure, so I am at an increased risk of heart disease.

A person won’t know how to properly manage their health unless he or she is aware of their condition. That is why my visit was important.

Although I had high blood pressure, Price was able to explain the potential causes and offered some tips for healthy habits.

“A good approach is a good diet and engaging in regular physical activities. Those two things are going to be the cornerstones of helping manage a lot of chronic conditions,” Price said.

“Mental health, stress plays a huge factor in a lot of our health indicators, so if you have a properly balanced diet, you work out three to five times a week and you try to mitigate a lot of the stressors that you come across every day, that will go a long way towards helping improve your numbers.”

Every first Thursday of the month at 25 Park Place and at the Urban Life Building, the Office of Employee Development and Wellness Services holds health screening for faculty, staff and students. I strongly encourage every student and staff to get checked up and prevent the silent killer from doing more damage.

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MISSION STATEMENT

Free speech endangered at Georgia State

Created Equal VP: GSU feigns obeisance to First Amendment

G

eorgia State is a safe place for free speech — so long as you hold positions popular with campus administration. This was the message sent

by Georgia State prior to, during and after the recent visit of Created Equal, the pro-life organization of which I am vice president.

As documented by The Signal, days before we arrived for pro-life outreach to students, the university issued a campuswide email suggesting our opinions would be “offensive,” “hurtful,” “mean-spirited” and “hateful.”

This presented a wildly inaccurate picture of our team — poisoning the well by bracing students for a false stereotype. Indeed, as video evidence shows, we are often on the receiving end of hate-fueled verbal and physical attacks.

The frustration of our speech escalated during the event to outright protest when Senior Director of Psychological and Health Services Dr. Jill Lee-Barber held and handed out “No Hate at State” signs next to our display.

Lee-Barber insisted this was not related to our display, but her colleague proved this false. Holding one of the “No Hate at

The Signal shall provide, in a fair and accurate manner, news of interest and significance to the Georgia State University community and serve as a forum for the expression of ideas of members of that community. Furthermore, The Signal shall provide an opportunity for students to pursue experience within a professional newspaper environment. The Signal shall also provide truthful and ethical advertising of interest to the Georgia State University community.

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State” signs, Dr. Mikyta Daugherty, associate director of Clinical Services, stationed herself squarely in front of our display, obscuring the image of an aborted fetus and refusing to move. She denied her role as an administrative official.

All of this was captured on video.

Afterward, we called on Georgia State to apologize for the interference with our free speech. In response, a Georgia State spokesperson said that the aforementioned email referring to “hateful” speech was a standard email sent every fall as a general notice about possible upcoming events.

But this is specious. The email was issued more than two months into the semester — just prior to our event, and begins with “In the next week...” Clearly, this was sent in relation to our event.

Further, Georgia State claimed that the content of the campus-wide email is standard language posted on the Dean of Students website. But this is demonstrably false. An investigation of the site reveals no such reference to “hateful” or “meanspirited” speech.

Georgia State is weaving a web of falsehoods to obscure their frustration of

our speech. And no comment has been made by administrators regarding Daugherty or Lee-Barber’s actions.

Tragically, our experience is not unique.

Afterward, a member of Georgia State’s faculty and staff, insisting on anonymity for reasons which are evident, wrote us the following: “I work at GSU and I am truly scared for my job if I speak up on campus.

Free speech for faculty and staff does not exist at public universities if you are prolife or don’t agree with the liberal and leftist narrative. I cannot afford to lose my job and so choose to stay silent.”

This suppression of speech from individuals with pro-life views is an affront to higher education.

Georgia State needs more than policies which feign obeisance to the First Amendment. The administration needs not only to apologize to Created Equal but to take decisive action to assure that frustration of speech from individuals with unpopular opinions will not be permitted on the campus.

Seth Drayer Vice President, Created Equal

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Letters must be submitted to the Opinions Editors via e-mail and must include the text of the letter in the body of the message. Letters should be 400-500 words maximum. The Signal will allow longer letters, but only in rare circumstances.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

ARTS & LIVING www.georgiastatesignal.com/artsandliving

Meet Atlanta’s up-and-coming superstar How DavidTheTragic’s music sets him apart from other artists

GUILLERMO RIVERA Staff Reporter

A

tlanta is full of enigmatic musicians who are constantly changing the artistic landscape and norms that have been set by other musicians before.

One of these artists is DavidTheTragic. David is not only a musician but also a sophomore at Georgia State, and his posters can be seen scattered all throughout campus promoting his shows and music.

David’s interest in music began at an early age. His family and early life were filled with musical inspirations that helped him shape his style today.

“I used to listen to a lot of Isaiah Rashad and a lot of R&B music,” David said. “My mom used to play OutKast when I was growing up and stuff, and I like Miguel a lot.”

David began recording music early on but did not start taking it seriously until later in his life, when he discovered he had a natural talent for music and decided he wanted to get better at rapping. With help from his friends, David began seriously recording his own music and perfecting the craft.

“Everyone knows what to do to succeed, but not everyone puts it into practice. You have to put in the work to be the best. David knows this, and that’s why he’s on your aux.”

— DJ WILLIE Local Student DJ

“I started recording music when I was, like, 12 or 13 years old. Back when I was in high school, like when I was a junior or senior is when I started taking music more seriously,” David said. “My homeboys used to record at their house and they kept saying, ‘You should rap,’ so I started rapping.”

Since then, David has put out a considerable discography, including a myriad of singles and albums. He has also performed a number of shows since the start of his career, which is a big part of his identity as an artist.

“The first time I ever performed live was at the old Masquerade. I was like 15. It was the first time I’ve ever been on stage,” David said. “Since then, I’ve done like eight or nine shows, but I honestly can’t remember how many shows I’ve done, to be honest.”

David puts on a show when he performs making this a highlight of his artistry. His engaging attitude and energy on stage make his shows a unique experience to other Atlanta artists. Overall, his onstage presence defines DavidTheTragic as an artist and puts him above others.

“I have mixed for him before. He loves to be up there. You can feel his energy, and he doesn’t fake it either,” DJ Willie, a friend of David’s and a junior at Georgia State, said. “You can tell he means what he raps. His shows are one of the most important elements to him as an artist. He really creates an amazing experience.”

Not only can David put on a good show, but he has the substance to make up for it. His music can present a unique experience to the listener’s ear. He has the ability to mold his rap style, and his lyricism is clever, which makes his music replayable and enjoyable. David can go from rapping on a booming trap beat to a lo-fi boom-bap beat and still deliver a listenable experience.

“His versatility and flows really set him apart. He can get on a wide variety of beats and refresh his bars to not only work with the beat but also surprise the listener. His wordplay is

DavidTheTragic, a student artist, explains how his early life with music helped shape his style today.

very exceptional and his energy is unmatched,” DJ Willie said.

David’s creative process is not very complicated. In fact, he takes inspiration from his experiences in his daily life and expresses them through his lyrics. His bars come from a genuine place and creatively, he wants to express himself while also trying to make a living off of it.

“I live life and just go through things and express them.

That’s how I make my music,” David said. “I kind of just create and try to live off it as well. I’m looking into avenues to where I could make that happen. I’m genuine, I feel like you could hear that and see that in the music.”

Being a student and a musician, David’s story is something with which many people can easily relate. However, David sticks out as he was able to build his skills from the ground up, using raw talent to create genuine art unique to him.

“He’s very relatable. I feel like I’m listening to someone going through similar struggles and challenges in life [that I am]. It’s very motivating to see him work; his process is unique,” DJ Willie said. “I want to elevate because of the way I’ve seen him come up from nothing. He showed me you can create your own path regardless of who you are.”

Overall, DavidTheTragic is one of the most promising artists in Atlanta’s art scene with a promising career ahead of him. His next project could be a turning point for his career.

“I just released the artwork and the tracklist for this project I’m about to release; it’s called ‘Bender,’” David said.

PHOTO BY MAYOWA AMOSU | THE SIGNAL

David’s music delivers a unique experience to the listener and his work ethic can be inspiring to other Atlanta musicians. His ability on stage sets him apart from other Atlanta artists, and he pushes himself to be the best artist he can be.

“He stays humble. He did it all himself and kept working towards his goals. Students and musicians can definitely relate; the grind is real. Everyone knows what to do to succeed, but not everyone puts it into practice,” DJ Willie said.

“You have to put in the work to be the best. David knows this, and that’s why he’s on your aux.”

HOW TO FIND DAVIDTHETRAGIC • • • •

Instagram: @davidthetragic Twitter: @DavidTheTragic SoundCloud: davidthetragic New project “Bender” comes out Dec. 4

Don’t let finals kill your zen SIX SIMPLE YOGA POSES TO ELIMINATE STRESS FOR GOOD WRITTEN BY DANIELLA BOIK | ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIVING EDITOR

F

inals season is a time we all dread, a time where every project, 20-page paper and exam all decide to fall on the same week. It can get stressful and overwhelming, but there are ways to deal with all the crazy commitments, besides drinking a bottle of wine or stress eating chocolate chip cookies.

The practice of yoga has been chilling people out for thousands of years, and certain poses have specific and proven benefits in reducing stress levels. Neither flexibility or a mat are required.

All that is needed is simply a willingness to want to calm down and find that inner peace.

Here are six poses for all levels that have instant results in calming down the mind and body.

ILLUSTRATION AND PAGE DESIGN BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

Supta Baddha Konasana

Sukhasana (Easy Pose) Literally called “easy pose,” it’s as simple as sitting. To do this pose, find a comfortable spot on the floor, sit crosslegged and place your palms on thighs or face up.

Sit up tall by engaging in the core muscles, roll the shoulders back and lift the chest and chin slightly. Begin to relax the jaw muscles, soften the eyelids, release any tension from the forehead and begin to breathe. First become aware of the breath, and then watch the rise and fall.

There are several breathing exercises in this pose that support stress relief. For example, counting inhales and exhales to formulate an even breath or breathing in through the nose and out through the nose

and opening the throat to create a sound similar to waves crashing in the ocean.

Sitting in easy pose for a matter of a few minutes can greatly calm and balance the nervous system.

Atlanta-based yoga instructor Melanie Annabelle suggests modifying the pose for greater benefits.

“I like to modify easy seat by sitting on a block. It helps naturally lengthen my spine without any effort,” Annabelle said. “Being on a block helps me feel grounded and centered without much work to achieve it.

Also, by sitting on a block, your spine is lengthened, therefore creating more space to breath with ease.”

(Reclining Bound Angle Pose)

Lie flat on your back on either a mat or the floor. Bring the soles of the feet to touch, similar to a reclined butterfly pose, and have your arms out to the sides with palms facing up.

This pose lowers blood pressure, releases any tension in muscles and joints and brings awareness back to the breath and the present moment. For even more relaxation,

place your right hand on the lower belly and your left on the heart.

Begin to breathe with awareness and feel the rise of the belly, chest and lungs with the inhale and the fall with the exhale.

Stay for several slow, controlled and even breaths with eyes softly closed. For even more support and relaxation, a bolster or pillow can be placed longwise on the back.

Viparita Karani (Legs Up The Wall) Balasana (Supported Child’s Pose) To do this pose, grab a pillow or a bolster, open your knees as wide as the mat and place the prop between the thighs. Sit hips back onto heels and fold your chest down onto the prop. Your forehead should rest onto the prop, and your arms can either stretch out in front or rest alongside the body.

Once settled in this pose, just like in easy pose, begin to become aware of the breath

and stay for at least 10 breaths.

Child’s pose brings relaxation and eases tension in the space between the eyebrows, and Atlanta yoga instructor Laura Carr suggests this in any stressful situation.

“I love child’s pose because you can massage your forehead, but above all, the deep belly breathing in child’s pose calms me down faster than any other pose,” Carr said.

A great pose to bring healthy blood flow to the whole body after a stress migraine, legs up the wall only requires one prop — a wall.

Scoot hips to the wall, stretch legs up onto the wall with feet flexed and brings arms flat on the earth in the shape of a T with palms facing up.

Stay in this position for several breaths, up to five minutes. Legs up the wall is an active inversion pose, which is traditionally done to close a flow-style yoga class. Inversion poses brings the hips higher than the head and heart, a pose we’re not often in during

everyday activities, but it brings oxygen and healthy blood flow to the rest of the body.

Other inversions include shoulder stand, headstand and downward facing dog.

Georgia State yoga instructor Jay Yuan strongly suggests inversions as a way to release any tension.

“For legs up the wall, I’ll put a block underneath my tailbone. This way, I feel no stress on my lower back,” Yuan said. “This restorative and supported inversion lets me close my eyes and it’s easy for me to flow into my mediation after.”

Shavasana (Corpse Pose)

Uttanasana (Standing Forward Fold) Start in a standing position, then inhale, lift your arms all the way up the sky and exhale, then dive arms down to the floor hinging from the hips to protect the low back. Tuck the belly in, lift the hips and fold. If accessible, palms can touch the earth, toes or shins, or they can dangle like a rag doll. Another modification is to grab opposite elbows and sway slowly and controlled from side to side.

If there’s built-up tension and stress in the shoulders from carrying unneeded stress, Carr likes to suggest standing forward fold.

“Forward folds help me relax my shoulders, there’s something comforting to me about just letting them hang there. And also the benefits of blood going to the head are great for relieving any stress headaches, even anxiety and depression,” she said.

The simplest pose physically, traditionally done after every yoga practice, Shavasana brings numerous benefits to the mind and body. Corpse pose is meant to give “death” to things that are no longer serving us, a perfect pose to let go and give “death” to any unnecessary stress or worry with exam week.

Simply lie flat on your back on either a mat or the floor with legs stretched out and arms out to the sides with palms facing up.

Just like in easy pose, release any tension from the jaw, remove your tongue from the roof of the mouth, soften the eyelids and space between the eyebrows and start to breath deeply.

Start to draw awareness to the toes then all the way up to the crown of the head with every breath, doing a full body scan with intention and awareness. Stay for five to ten minutes in deep relaxation.

Shavasana brings about low blood pressure, relaxation to the nervous system and is proven to enhance emotional and mental calmness and wellbeing.

“Every one of these poses calms you down by triggering the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest and recharging activities,” yoga instructor Amanda Pellerin said. “This lowers blood pressure, which counteracts stress symptoms.”

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Grab your best sweater and gear up for cuffing season GSU students seek a warm embrace during the winter months HANNAH JONES Staff Reporter

T

he temperature drops below freezing, nightfall creeps up earlier, and fuzzy socks and earmuffs re-emerge from the depths of the closet.

Welcome to December, where cuffing season is officially in full swing. Cuffing season describes the increase in the number of relationships throughout the winter months. The term originates from the idea of being physically handcuffed to someone, symbolizing, at least temporarily, a relationship.

This unofficial time frame spans from October through the duration of winter. While the end-date varies, some say that the cuffs unlock by Feb. 15 or the first spring breeze, whichever comes first.

Georgia State students find themselves fulfilling the cuffing season prophecy.

Sophomore Dominque Hogan describes his eight-month-long relationship as extraordinary.

Hogan and his girlfriend met during their freshman year when he tagged along with a friend to use her microwave. Hogan accidentally burned his frozen food, leaving her room to stink for the next few days.

As repayment, Hogan bought his soon-to-be-girlfriend a pizza and cookie pie. This gesture also served as a sneaky Valentine’s Day gift.

Agreeing with the cuffing season stereotype, Hogan said that the summertime could lead to superficial flings, due to the hot weather and flashy clothing.

“Summer hookups may not last because people show more skin and can be attracted to other people because of that, as opposed to the winter months, [when] people are covered from head to toe, and you can only see the person’s personality,” Hogan said.

Freshman Kyra Stoute and her boyfriend’s relationship defies the cuffing season criteria. The pair began dating last May, and Stoute believes that the summer months are best for attracting a partner, with cute clothes and swimming pools.

Since their relationship began in the summer, Stoute looks forward to cold-weather couple activities because the drop in temperature makes her feel “extra cuddly.” “[Relationships] are much cuter in the winter,” Stoute said with a laugh. “You get to be like ‘oh I’m cold, let me hold your hand.’”

These Georgia State students are onto something. According to Atlanta-based psychologist Tracy Talmadge, as the days get shorter, some people experience seasonal depression, and this can negatively impact their attachment system.

Talmadge said that 15-20% of the adult population exhibit a “preoccupied attachment style.”

“Those are people who aren’t good at soothing themselves, meeting their own needs and they look at others to do that,” he said. “Especially if there’s a cultural phenomenon where people

ILLUSTRATION BY JACY SHEPARD | THE SIGNAL

are coupling off, it’s going to provoke more of that out of people.”

Talmadge added that validation is, “by far, the most potent and satisfying when it comes from a romantic partner.”

Senior Alexandra Leon and her boyfriend are celebrating their three-year anniversary. Since the day they met in Northpoint Mall, they have lived together, adopted a cat named Croissant and opened a joint savings account.

Leon considers the social pressures of the holiday season.

“You’re going to go see family, and you want somebody there for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and then Valentine’s Day,” Leon said. “Those four months where people show off that they have somebody.”

Talmadge agrees that holidays inflict more social pressures and lead to cuffing season, something he calls “a young person’s phenomenon.”

Otherwise, he stresses that the season is irrelevant.

“If the reason for us getting into the relationship is motivated out of loneliness, it’s more likely to be an unhealthy relationship because it’s driven by an unhealthy drive,” Talmadge said.

A couple may survive if they make it past Valentine’s Day, Leon adds, dubbing it “the cringiest love holiday ever.”

If you’re looking for some romance, brave the cold streets of Atlanta or cuddle up to Frosty the Snowman.

Building the biggest rock stars in just one summer Girls Rock Camp ATL isn’t your typical summer camp EMMA SUE PARTRIDGE Staff Reporter

G

irls Rock Camp ATL is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a creative and inclusive environment for young girls to learn how to play instruments. The organization was founded in 2008, but it was inspired by the very first Girls Rock Camp held in Portland, Oregon.

The camp is held over the summer for girls ages 10-16. It’s a six-day summer camp, where the girls attend workshops, form bands and perform in a big concert on the last day of camp.

The ultimate goal for Girls Rock Camp ATL is to instill the values of self-respect, self-worth and kindness to their campers.

Their mission statement is to create “an empowering and supportive community for self-identified girls and women, trans

and gender-expansive people through music education, creative expression, and performance.”

“No one on the board was around back in 2008 when the camp was started. The original director, Stacey Singer, stepped down in 2016. I do know for a fact that the first camp was held at Eyedrum, and there were less than 20 campers. One of the hardest parts was just acquiring all of the instruments and gear and storing it! Our summer camp now usually exceeds 60+ campers and around 50 volunteers, and it’s held at the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School in Ormewood Park,” Haley Zapal, a member of the board of directors at Girls Rock Camp ATL, said.

This camp is not only for young girls; they even have Ladies Rock Camp ATL for women looking to pick up some new skills.

“Ladies Rock Camp is a three-day rock and roll experience where women learn to play an instrument, form a band, write a song together, see rare up-close live performances from guest artists, and play a big rock concert finale. It’s a shorter version

of the girls camp in that it all happens over a long weekend. The purpose of LRCATL is to raise money for our girls camp — all proceeds help send campers to camp in the summer. Many ladies rock campers end up volunteering in the summer, as well,” Zapal said.

Girls Rock Camp ATL is always looking for new people to join their community.

“We always need younger volunteers (18-22) for our summer camp! Being a counselor is a great way to give back to your community,” Zapal said. “You get to influence and support the next generation of Girls Rock campers as they learn musical instruments, form bands and perform on stage live at the Variety Playhouse at the end of camp!”

The success of Girls Rock Camp ATL isn’t slowing down any time soon either. Their board is the largest it has ever been, and they’re looking to expand their programming by offering afterschool programming and workshops. Their long-term goal is to eventually have their own space.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

ARTS & LIVING

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16 years of Shakespeare Tavern’s ‘Christmas Carol’ Introducing a long-running tradition of songs and holiday cheer MAYA TORRES Staff Reporter

F

or his 16th consecutive year, Tony Brown has brought an ensemble of actors together to perform his favorite Christmas story: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

Brown has read the play every winter season since the age of 11 when he bought a paperback copy from a book fair, which he still owns.

While this play is routinely performed around Atlanta and the whole country during December, the Shakespeare Tavern puts a special twist on the performance.

What sets this specific production of the show apart from others is that it is a storyteller production, meaning an ensemble of actors are reading directly from the original tale.

As the actors read aloud Dickens’ words, other actors are bringing the story to life, acting out scenes and portraying different roles. But the only actor who is cast into only one role is Drew Reeves, who plays Ebenezer Scrooge.

Reeves has played Scrooge for 15 years at the Shakespeare Tavern and is actually the longest-running Scrooge in Atlanta.

“There’s teenagers [for whom] I’ve been a part of their Christmas tradition since they were children,” he said. “That’s very powerful for me.”

While many see Scrooge as a villain for the better part of the show, Reeves sees the connection that the character has with each and every member of the audience.

“Even though people think of Scrooge as a bad guy, looking at him from the inside, the insecurities and

brokenness that exist within him are universal because everybody’s got something that is broken about them,” he said. “I know the words so well that images and feelings and emotions and experiences from my own life just randomly come up for me.”

What makes this particular production of “A Christmas Carol” so important to Reeves is the simplicity of the performance.

“I’m very proud of the bare-bones style in which we do it,” he said. “I appreciate all theater and all styles of doing theater, but the fact that part of Dickens’ intent with this [story] was to highlight the plight of the homeless and the downtrodden. I love the fact that we do a very basic version of it because I think it’s true to Dickens’ intent.”

“A Christmas Carol” was published in 1843 as a novella, but was originally intended to be a pamphlet warning London about the cruelty of corporations and business owners.

“It’s meant to be a metaphor for what Charles Dickens was hoping for England, specifically for London,” Brown said. “There was a lot of suffering, and a lot of it had to do with the fact that there were a great many people who were taking advantage of the masses to amass money.”

Dickens’ intention with writing this novella was to have audiences see their fellow humans, including the poor and homeless, as their equal.

“If the Judeo-Christian belief is that we are all created in God’s image, then how could you treat a fellow human as anything but that?,” Rivka Levin, an actor and music director for the show, said. “This whole play is teaching Scrooge how to treat other people as human.”

Levin, who is Jewish, has no problem performing the show with her beliefs. In fact, a rabbi once told her mother that “A Christmas Carol” is one of the most Jewish stories there is.

“The rabbi said, ‘It’s entirely about charity, about giving people the benefit of the doubt and ensuring their dignity is upheld above anything else,’” she said. “‘It’s about being a family. All of the values are absolutely in line with Jewish thinking.’”

Levin grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household and, for a particular scene, utilizes her upbringing to further bring the story to life.

“In order to bring the energy to the scene that I needed, I picture what my mother is doing five minutes before Shabbat starts,” she said. “I even infuse some of my own Jewish life into the onstage world.”

Levin has been doing the show for 15 years and has served as music director for 13. For her, the music is infused into the story and one of the most important elements of the show.

“The name of the book is ‘A Christmas Carol’, and when

you look at the book, the chapters are in staves,” she said. “A stave is a bracketed section of music. It’s as if you had a musical paragraph. To extract the music from it would almost be like telling threefourths of the story that Dickens wrote.”

Traditionally, every show at the Shakespeare Tavern begins with a house speech given by the director or house manager, but this show instead begins with the dimming of the lights and the start of the first song.

“The first song of the show starts before even a word is spoken. The house speech comes after the first song, and that’s on purpose because we want people to connect and unite with us in the song,” Brown said. “It’s just a matter of learning from one another and from the audience.”

In Levin’s eyes, the music of the show reaches audiences when the powerful message of the text cannot.

“Often, people who keep a bit of a wall up and don’t let the emotional content of the show hit them deep down, I think those people are accessed through music in a way that through text, they have a little bit of defenses up,” she said.

Both the music and the message of the show resonate with the actors, audience members and director. “A Christmas Carol” is not only a holiday treat; it is also an important lesson for younger and older people alike.

“The power of that redemption story gives a level of hope that, because of Christmas, it’s possible … to have the kind of personal impact on other human beings that matters,” Brown said. “As Fred says, ‘It’s the one time of the year when people think of other people not as other beings on other journeys but as fellow travelers to the grave.’ We’re all in this together, and that reminds us that we need each other, and there’s tremendous power and hope in sharing our lives with one another.”

ILLUSTRATION BY MONTE LOWERY | THE SIGNAL

ARTS & LIVING

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SuD0KU

“eat, eat, eat” Comic by Esteban Rodriguez

HARD

SPORTS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

Georgia State shut down in Statesboro The Panthers fell to Georgia Southern in crucial rivalry game Georgia State football teamed up for their historic rivalry against Georgia Southern.

ERIK INDRISANO Staff Reporter

“I

thought we got our butts kicked all the way around,” head coach Shawn Elliott said in a post-game statement.

The Georgia State Panthers struggled to move the football throughout much of Saturday night’s contest at the Allen E. Paulson Stadium, ultimately falling 38-10 to bitter rival Georgia Southern for the first time in Statesboro. “[It was] a tough way to end the regular season down here in Statesboro,” Elliott said. “Tough game. [We] didn’t play well.”

The team could not have asked for a better start to the game. After the defense recorded a three-and-out on the Eagles’ opening possession, Tra Barnett found the end zone with a 15-yard run. The senior finished with 53 yards on 15 carries. Destin Coates, who was a lone second-half spark, finished with 54 yards of his own.

It was all downhill from there, though.

Georgia Southern used its electric running attack, one which handed Appalachian State its only loss of the regular season, to full effect. Chad Lunsford’s men, led by Shai Werts, began to find their collective groove. Werts was solid throughout the contest, as he finished 7-of-10 with 73 yards through the air and added 55 more yards and a touchdown on the ground.

But the contest belonged to J.D. King. The junior finished the battle with a game-high 107 yards and three touchdowns.

Elliott’s defense struggled to contain Georgia Southern’s RPO offense, which finished with a combined 279 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

While the yard totals for both teams (352-290 in favor of Georgia Southern) perhaps was not reflected by the final scoreboard, the Eagles’ ability to make key stops, especially in and around the red zone, was crucial.

On top of this, Georgia State’s offensive line struggled to contain the Eagles’ pass rush. Dan Ellington was a sitting duck for most of the contest and was chased around the

backfield early and often. The senior was slow to get up on a number of occasions, as he took some big shots and needed to be helped off the field, as he continues to battle through a torn ACL. “We didn’t hold up well offensively on the front line,” Elliott said. “[Georgia Southern] pressured us a little more than they had in the past.

The loss brings Georgia State’s final record to 7-5, and while the team failed to seal its first 8-win season in program history Saturday night, it will have another chance to do so in a Bowl game.

“We’ve had a really fine regular season and we come down here and didn’t have a night,” Elliott said. “It wasn’t our night.

Hats off to [Georgia Southern] that played well and got the win.”

So, what went wrong for Coach Elliott’s men? And what did we learn?

OFFENSIVE LINE

Georgia State’s offensive line seemed to vanish into thin air Saturday night. This was surprising, as the offensive line has been a key to the team’s success this season.

After a solid couple of opening drives to give the Panthers the early lead, everything seemed to collapse in a heartbeat.

Georgia Southern finished the game with 5 sacks, with numerous other plays resulting in Ellington just making it to the line of scrimmage.

The constant pressure put a stop to any and, more or less, all of the offensive drives for the Panthers. Not only did it halt the offense, but it also put Ellington in harm’s way every time he stepped out on the field.

PLAY CALLING

The offense struggled to put up consistent drives all night, many resulting in three-and-outs. This was due in large part to the poor play calling by Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Glenn. Short passes sprinkled with some spread plays seemed to be the go-to for the offense, most of which were blown up by the Eagles’ defense.

After many plays were completed for no gain or a loss, it came down to third down.

PHOTO BY SHEL LEVY | THE SIGNAL

The Panthers finished the game 4-14 on third-down conversions, and 1-4 on fourth down conversions. It goes without saying that this will need to change in the postseason.

DEFENSE

In addition to an offense that couldn’t get anything going, you had a defense who were shredded to bits by the Eagles’ offense. Georgia Southern ran its read option-based offense to perfection on the night.

Werts finished the game with 55 rushing yards and a touchdown, King added 107 rushing yards with three touchdowns and Wesley Kennedy III topped it all off with 78 yards and a touchdown of his own to completely stun the Panthers’ defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS STRUGGLES

The special teams had quite a few mishaps Saturday night. Cornelius McCoy had some errors in judgment, as he watched the ball land on the two yard-line twice, after believing the ball would soar into the end zone. This nearly resulted in a pair of turnovers.

Quavian White dangerously opted on two occasions to not take the fair catch route. With the team failing to block, White was smothered immediately after receiving the ball, absorbing some hard tackles. This left the Panthers offense starting inside their own 20 most of the time.

BOWL GAME OUTLOOK

Georgia State still has plenty to play for this season. After last week’s victory over South Alabama sealed the team’s seventh win of the season, all signs point toward the Panthers being placed in a Bowl game come Dec. 8.

While it remains unknown where the team will play (options include both the Cure Bowl and Camellia Bowl), there is a postseason to look forward to this season.

Losing to Georgia Southern is never an enjoyable event, but the chance for guys like Ellington, Barnett and Hunter Atkinson to all have one final shot at some silverware is something that did not look too likely to many after last season’s abysmal 2-10 finish.

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Thanksgiving hoops: How the Panthers fared The men and women played home games over the holiday break AVERY WIGGINS & ERIK INDRISANO Staff Reporters

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he Georgia State men’s and women’s basketball teams each hit the GSU Sports Arena hardwood over the break before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The men, who returned home from their West Coast victory against Prairie View, faced off against another tough out-of-conference opponent in the Charlotte 49ers.

The women entered their game against Alabama A&M still seeking their first win of the season. So, how did the teams fare?

Women’s Basketball vs. Alabama A&M Bulldogs The Georgia State women’s basketball team took on the Alabama A&M Bulldogs Tuesday night at the GSU Sports Arena. Despite playing hard the entire 40 minutes, the ladies fell 67-52. With this loss, the Panthers fell to 0-4 on the season.

Sophomore forward Taylor Hosendove led the team in scoring with 14 points, on 5-of-12 shooting, prior to fouling out of the game. Fellow guard Taylor Henderson added 10 points of her own on 4-of-9 shooting.

Shooting would be a struggle for the Panthers all night long. The team finished the game shooting a lackluster 34.5% from the field. The team did a fantastic job with ball movement and getting to the rim, but lacked the finishing in critical moments of the contest. To their defense, the Panthers would see many agonizing rim outs, which halted any attempt at making a run at the Bulldogs.

The ultimate killer of head coach Gene Hill’s ladies was the turnovers. The Panthers finished the game with 27 of them, a number that would cripple any team in basketball.

Poor entry passing, along with some sloppy transition passes, added up throughout the evening. The turnovers equated to 25 points for the Bulldogs, which did not help

the team generate any momentum.

“It was [a problem] across the board,” Hill said. “Every player who went in the game had at least one turnover, and any time you’re playing and you commit 27 turnovers, [you’re] probably not going to win many of those.”

Despite being the two highest scorers of the game, Hosendove led the team with 6 turnovers and Henderson added 5 of her own.

The team also struggled heavily on the boards, as the Bulldogs made their presence felt down low. The Panthers gave up 22 offensive rebounds, which gifted the Bulldogs with 15 second-chance points.

“You look at their shooting percent, they didn’t shoot great either, but because of extra opportunities they had, that was the big difference,” Hill said. “So, we have to do a better job there.”

In addition to the rebounding issues, the frontcourt of Georgia State couldn’t contain sophomore Bulldogs forward Dariauna Lewis. Lewis finished the game with 21 points and 20 rebounds and looked unstoppable for all 30 minutes she played.

The Panthers had their moments Tuesday night, looking very good defensively at many points of the game. The team implemented a half-court press, aimed at trapping all corners. The ladies were able to force 19 turnovers, 6 of which came from back-to-back possessions. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to capitalize on these consistent turnovers, only scoring 15 points off of them.

Following the defeat, the team headed out to El Paso, Texas, to take part in the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic.

The team could not have asked for a better start, as it not only picked up its first win of the season, program win No. 600 as well in a 59-51 over the New Mexico State Aggies.

Both Henderson and Hosendove finished in double figures, while freshman Moriah Taylor led the defensive charge with a career-high three steals and four rebounds.

Following their first victory of the season, the women put up a valiant fight against the University of Texas at El Paso

Mens and womens basketball face off during their matches against University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Alabama A&M.

Miners, but fell 71-68. The team squares off against Furman on Thursday.

Men’s Basketball vs. Charlotte 49ers The Georgia State Panthers men’s basketball team defeated the Charlotte 49ers 81-78 the day before Thanksgiving. The Panthers triumphed in overtime, after originally trailing by five points with two minutes to go in regulation.

The Panthers are currently on a three-game winning streak, which they will carry into the next home game against Dartmouth on Dec. 3.

Four of the team’s starters were in double figures: Kane Williams, Damon Wilson, Justin Roberts and Corey Allen.

Wilson and Roberts both had 16 points each, Allen scored 17 points and Williams scored 12 points.

“We just feed off of each other, just play the game, really,” Roberts said. “We never try to force anything intentionally.

We all can really score. We all can spot-up shoot. We all can drive. We’re all really good passers, so we just play off of each other.”

Roberts scored two quick threes at the end of regulation in order to send the game to overtime and Allen scored seven points in overtime in order to seal the win for the Panthers.

Coach Lanier was highly impressed with the two guards and their scoring, but he did have some critiques of the defensive performance, which allowed the 49ers to shoot 49.1% from the field and to attempt 23 free throws.

“They were getting to the rim a little bit more easily than we would have liked,” Lanier said. “We wound up fouling in those situations because we were giving up too much penetration, biting on shot fakes and allowing penetration that led to plays that led to fouls.”

After a rough start to the season, which included defeats to both the Duke Blue Devils and Georgetown Hoyas, the Panthers seem to be finally finding their footing and turning their season around.

PHOTO BY SHEL LEVY | THE SIGNAL

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

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Dan Ellington should be seen as an inspiration to all

Why the quarterback’s decision to play on a torn ACL is heroic ESPEN INDRISANO Sports Editor

D

an Ellington took off on a run. The Georgia State Panthers were in the closing seconds of what was a high scoring first half against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks and the quarterback was trying to help his team secure some last-second points. As he planted his foot to cut, however, he went down.

I didn’t need a second look to confirm what I hoped would not be the case: Ellington had torn his ACL. For more or less any other player, this type of injury is a season-ender. But Ellington refused to give up. A week later, he took the field against Appalachian State and performed one of the most heroic acts in sports.

Let me start by saying it already requires a major level of bravery and confidence to step out onto a football field, especially in a day and age where the risk the sport poses to the human body is as clear as ever.

To step out onto a football field on a torn ACL is another story.

Ellington’s dedication to his team through this difficult time is nothing short of inspirational.

Before Ellington and Remy Lazarus suffered their injuries in the defeat to Louisiana-Monroe, the Georgia State Panthers were in the midst of producing the best season in program history. The team’s record sat at 6-2 and Ellington’s dual-threat play style was giving opponents a nightmare on a weekly basis.

But life is not fair, and the world of sports is often a cruel one.

Following Ellington’s injury, the team dropped two straight games. When head coach Shawn Elliott took the podium for his post-game press conference after the 56-27 defeat against Appalachian State, he was as emotional as ever. With tears in his eyes, Elliott delivered a powerful message.

“We all witnessed something tonight that was incredible,” he said.

“For Dan Ellington to take the field tonight and do the things that he did was extraordinary. And he didn’t do it for himself … It is truly a testament of who that man is, and I hope everybody is watching.”

What was Ellington’s inspiration?

“I wanted to bring the school the first Sun Belt Championship,” he said. “That was my motivation all year.”

While any hopes of a Sun Belt title slipped away after the defeat to the Mountaineers, Ellington went back out a week later and helped his team defeat South Alabama in his final home game. The win sealed school-records for both regular-season wins (7) and wins at home in a single season (5).

And the sad thing is that it still was not enough to fill up the student section. I guess the rain was enough to deter the majority from witnessing one of the most historic moments in program history. You know the games are free to attend, right?

In years past, the young program has had its fair share of struggles, but this season was special. The team certainly didn’t suck.

So, in many ways, I am upset so many students missed the show.

See you all at the bowl game?

INFOGRAPHIC BY ALLEN NGUYEN | THE SIGNAL

A rookie and a veteran: Vince Carter’s new role How the legendary wing can help the rookie explode this season ESPEN INDRISANO Sports Editor

O

n Nov. 23, the Atlanta Hawks hosted the defending champion Toronto Raptors at State Farm Arena, losing a heartbreaker, 119-116.

While the Raptors clawed their way back to send the State Farm Arena crowd home unhappy, a quiet, shy hero is beginning to emerge. De’Andre Hunter finished with 26 points and was instrumental in the late fourth quarter run that nearly sent the game to overtime. The experience of playing in front of a sold out State Farm Arena was an enjoyable one.

“I hit a couple of shots and it got really loud in there,” Hunter said. “I know our record isn’t that great, but having [the fans] come out here and support us is big. I think we are definitely going to turn it around this season.”

Vince Carter said it best, “De’Andre Hunter is playing out of

his mind right now ... he needs to be praised.”

The rookie’s form over the past couple of weeks is promising.

Hunter has scored 10 or more points in eight straight games, including the monster double-double (27 points and 11 rebounds) he recorded in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

For the rookie, the transition from the college level has been one of ups and downs. At times, he has looked like a Rookie of the Year candidate and at others, almost invisible on the court.

Through it all, though, Hunter will be able to work with Carter, one of the game’s true greats. And Carter has enjoyed what he has seen so far.

“First and foremost, he wants to learn,” Carter said, when asked about what Hunter is like off the court. “When you go up to him and you talk about learning the game, he’s listening.

And that is all I care about. I enjoy helping guys who want to learn.”

Carter, of course, began his storied NBA career with the Toronto Raptors back in 1998. Over the years, he has seen a lot. In Atlanta, he has taken up a new role. While he may no longer be the high-flying superstar he once was, his input to the

younger guys as a veteran is priceless.

“It is our job as veterans to constantly stay in their ear and support,” Carter said. “That is just what we do and we will continue to do so.”

For Hunter, it is not necessarily about the final stat line.

Overall, he has enjoyed the new chapter in his life and is hungry for more. He is, however, making sure to keep the right mindset in order. “[I’m] not going to get too high on the good games and when I play [poorly], I am not going to sulk and think I am never going to play well again,” Hunter said. “There’s a lot of games in the NBA and you just gotta keep playing.”

The Hawks can take a page out of the Raptors’ history books.

Patience is a virtue. Look at what the defending champions had out on the court: an undersized, yet free-scoring point guard in Fred VanVleet and a forward in Pascal Siakam who just a few years ago spent a lot of his time in what is now known as the G League.

If Hunter can continue to grow on the court and develop a duo with Trae Young, the future may be very bright in Atlanta.

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Jarvis Hayes will begin a new chapter in his basketball career by becoming Georgia State men’s basketball assistant coach.

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGIA STATE ATHLETICS

One-on-one with former NBA player Jarvis Hayes The men’s basketball assistant coach talks about his journey back to Atlanta ANDREW FREEDMAN Staff Reporter

I

t’s late Monday morning and the Georgia State men’s basketball team has just finished its daily 9 a.m. practice.

The players are working hard and seem to be drilling each shot they put up before hitting the showers--after a twohour practice. The focus of the Panthers is undeniable as the coaching staff makes the reigning Sun Belt champions work hard a week and a half before their East Coast road trip to Duke University and Georgetown.

Among those coaches is Jarvis Hayes, who loves the game just as much as anyone else does.

Most people see a normal guy when they look at Jarvis Hayes. They see a coach who wants to encourage his team to play the best 40 minutes of basketball possible. You wouldn’t know that the 6-foot, 8-inch guy on the bench is a die-hard Atlanta Falcons fan, who has held season tickets for three seasons.

You also wouldn’t know that he has played in the NBA with some of the all-time greats. In 2003, the Washington Wizards selected the University of Georgia junior with the 10th overall pick in the NBA draft.

“You know what, I remember this day like it was yesterday,” Hayes told me, as we watched NBA Commissioner David Stern announce the selection together.

His first purchase when the Wizards gave him his first check?

“A BMW 745,” he said. “It was maroon, like a cranberry. It was one of one.”

During his rookie season, his point guard was second-year superstar Gilbert Arenas. His mentor was Jerry Stackhouse, who battled injuries much of that first season.

“He would give me pointers,” Hayes said. “I think it was invaluable in that I looked up to him like he was a big brother to me.”

After four seasons, Hayes began his journey with another team in the 2007-08 season: the Detroit Pistons. He spoke fondly of the culture that was in the locker room, especially

Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace.

“The first conversation I’d ever had with [Wallace], he was speaking to me like I’d known him for twenty years,” Hayes said, citing Wallace as the best teammate he ever had.

“Chauncey is probably the greatest leader that I’ve ever played with,” Hayes said about Billups, who was nominated for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019.

“You see why [the Pistons] win and the way Chauncey leads and communicates with guys and his teammates,” Hayes said.

“I don’t know what it is, but he definitely had it. And Rasheed, being the teammate he was, that was the best team, the best atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of hands down.”

In April, Rob Lanier was hired to be the next head coach at Georgia State. Familiar with Lanier’s work, Hayes attended the press conference. At the time, he was an assistant coach at Morehouse College, just down the road from the GSU Sports Arena. He wasn’t coming to ask for an opening on the coaching staff; after all, the bench was already filled with guys who Lanier he knew he could trust. Before his press conference, however, Lanier was unsure of which tie he wanted to wear.

“As fate would have it, I got there really early and [as] I was walking into the press conference, [Lanier’s] pulling into the parking lot,” Hayes said. “I had a thirty-minute conversation [with him] before he went in.”

As a matter of fact, Lanier was familiar with Hayes.

“He said that my name had already been mentioned to him, so it was finally good to have that face-to-face introduction,” Hayes said. “A couple of days later, [Lanier] called, and he kept calling. We stayed in contact. And one thing led to another, and he wanted to offer me the [assistant coach] job.”

Hayes understands that his job is unique and that many people would dream of doing what he does.

“Just being able to have guys [like] Coach Lanier, the places he’s been and the guys he’s coached … I think it’s a blessing to be able to continue to grow under him,” Hayes said. “He’s allowing me to do it and I’m eternally grateful.”

Since the spring, he’s already been immensely impacted by his players, such as junior guard Kane Williams and senior forward Damon Wilson.

“I put a lot of praise on Kane Williams. As the leading

returning scorer, if anybody had a reason to be resistant to the new staff, it’s him,” Hayes said, citing the change from the zone defense of former head coach Rob Hunter to Lanier’s man-toman press defense.

He also acknowledged that Wilson bought into the new system from day one along with Williams “[Wilson] is a great leader. When you have your two guys [that] kind of buy-in first, it makes the process that much easier,” Hayes said. “You look at Dame [and] Kane and the mentality that those two came in [with], it made [the coaching staff ’s] job just a little bit easier trying to instill what it is that the overall vision for the program is.”

However, Hayes has also impacted people off the court as well, such as Associate Athletic Director Mike Holmes.

“Coach Hayes has been an absolute pleasure to work with since arrival at Georgia State last spring,” Holmes said in an email to The Signal. “As much as I enjoy watching him coach, I get great pleasure talking to him off the court about nonbasketball related stuff. He is as humble as any person I have ever met and look forward to working with him for many years to come.”

I found this out first-hand, as Hayes and I laughed and discussed which NBA players he has on his Mt. Rushmore.

“You’ve got Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem AbdulJabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and…” it took him a minute to figure out who he wanted at the sixth spot. He brought up Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson. Eventually, he settled with Kobe Bryant.

On the court in the future, we can expect great things from Jarvis Hayes, whose dream teammate is LeBron James — the pinnacle of success in the NBA, on personal and team levels.

He will work hard while he learns the game of basketball on the coaching side of things. He’s excited to help his players grow, both as athletes and, more importantly, as men.

“For me, the mark I want to leave at [Georgia State], hopefully, it’s a long time from now: being of service in whatever way possible,” Hayes said. “The definition of a coach is to not only coach basketball players, but lead young men and being able to take boys from their families and have them leave this institution as men.”

THE SIGNAL

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019

Atlanta Campus Fall 2019 Final Exam Schedule Class Hour

Exam Day

Exam Date

Exam Time

Full Semester 08:00 M 08:30 M 08:55 M 09:00 M 09:30 M 10:00 M 10:40 M 10:50 M 10:55 M 11:00 M 11:55 M 12:00 M 12:15 M 12:30 M 12:55 M 13:00 M 13:30 M 14:00 M 14:15 M 14:30 M 14:55 M 15:00 M 15:25 M 15:30 M 15:55 M 16:00 M 16:30 M 16:55 M 17:00 M 17:30 M 17:45 M 18:00 M 18:30 M 19:00 M 19:15 M 19:30 M 20:00 M 20:45 M

M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30

Monday & Friday Classes 08:00 MF 11:00 MF 12:30 MF 14:00 MF 15:30 MF

M F M F M

12/16 12/13 12/16 12/13 12/16

08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00

Monday & Wednesday Classes 08:00 MW 08:30 MW 08:45 MW 09:00 MW 09:30 MW 10:00 MW 10:30 MW 10:50 MW 11:00 MW 11:15 MW 12:00 MW 12:30 MW 13:00 MW 13:30 MW 14:00 MW 14:15 MW 14:30 MW 14:50 MW 15:00 MW 15:30 MW 15:45 MW 16:00 MW 16:30 MW 17:00 MW 17:30 MW 18:00 MW 18:30 MW 19:00 MW 19:15 MW 19:30 MW

M M M M W W W W W W M M M M W W W W M M M M M M W W W M M M

12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/16 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/16 12/16 12/16

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30

Monday, Wednesday & Friday Classes 06:00 MWF 08:00 MWF 09:00 MWF 09:20 MWF 09:30 MWF 10:00 MWF 10:40 MWF 11:00 MWF 12:00 MWF 12:30 MWF 13:00 MWF 13:15 MWF 13:20 MWF 13:30 MWF 14:00 MWF 14:40 MWF 15:15 MWF 15:30 MWF 16:00 MWF 17:20 MWF 17:30 MWF 18:40 MWF

M W W F F M W W W M F W W W M M W W M M W M

12/16 12/11 12/11 12/13 12/13 12/16 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/16 12/13 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/16 12/16 12/11 12/11 12/16 12/16 12/11 12/16

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30

Tuesday-only Classes 07:30 T 08:00 T 08:30 T 08:55 T 09:00 T 09:30 T 09:55 T 10:00 T 10:30 T 10:55 T 11:00 T 11:30 T 11:55 T 12:00 T 12:30 T 12:45 T 12:55 T 13:00 T 13:30 T 13:55 T 14:00 T 14:15 T 14:20 T 14:30 T 14:55 T 15:00 T 15:30 T 15:35 T 15:45 T 15:55 T 16:00 T 16:30 T 17:00 T 17:30 T 17:45 T 18:00 T 18:05 T 18:30 T 19:00 T 19:15 T 19:30 T

T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T

12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30

Wednesday & Friday Classes 08:00 WF 09:30 WF 10:00 WF 11:00 WF 12:30 WF 13:50 WF 14:00 WF 15:30 WF 15:45 WF 16:00 WF 17:00 WF

W W F F W W F W W W W

12/11 12/11 12/13 12/13 12/11 12/11 12/13 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45

Tuesday, Thursday & Friday Classes 15:00 TRF

R

12/12

13:30-16:00

19

Tuesday & Thursday Classes 07:00 TR 08:00 TR 08:30 TR 09:00 TR 09:30 TR 10:00 TR 10:30 TR 10:50 TR 11:00 TR 11:30 TR 12:00 TR 12:30 TR 12:45 TR 13:00 TR 13:15 TR 13:30 TR 14:00 TR 14:15 TR 14:30 TR 14:45 TR 14:50 TR 15:00 TR 15:30 TR 15:45 TR 16:00 TR 17:00 TR 17:30 TR 18:00 TR 18:30 TR 19:15 TR 19:30 TR

T T T T R R R T R R T T T T T T R R R R T R R T R R T T T R R

12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/10 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/10 12/12 12/12 12/10 12/12 12/12 12/10 12/10 12/10 12/12 12/12

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30

Thursday-only Classes 07:00 R 07:30 R 08:00 R 09:00 R 09:30 R 09:55 R 10:00 R 10:30 R 10:55 R 11:00 R 11:15 R 11:30 R 11:55 R 12:00 R 12:30 R 12:45 R 13:00 R 13:30 R 13:45 R 14:00 R 14:15 R 14:30 R 14:45 R 14:55 R 15:00 R 15:30 R 15:45 R 15:55 R 16:00 R 16:30 R 17:00 R 17:30 R 17:45 R 18:00 R 18:30 R 18:55 R 19:00 R 19:15 R 19:30 R 19:55 R

R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12 12/12

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30

Saturday Classes 08:00 S 09:00 S 09:30 S 11:00 S 12:30 S 14:00 S

S S S S S S

12/14 12/14 12/14 12/14 12/14 12/14

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00

Wednesday-only Classes 07:30 W 08:00 W 09:00 W 09:30 W 10:00 W 10:30 W 10:45 W 10:55 W 11:00 W 11:30 W 11:55 W 12:00 W 12:30 W 12:45 W 12:55 W 13:00 W 13:30 W 14:00 W 14:15 W 14:30 W 14:55 W 15:00 W 15:30 W 15:55 W 16:00 W 16:30 W 16:55 W 17:00 W 17:30 W 17:45 W 17:55 W 18:00 W 18:30 W 19:00 W 19:15 W 19:30 W 20:00 W 20:45 W

W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W

12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11 12/11

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30 19:00-21:30

Friday-only Classes 07:00 F 07:30 F 08:00 F 08:30 F 08:55 F 09:00 F 09:15 F 09:30 F 09:55 F 10:00 F 10:20 F 10:30 F 10:55 F 11:00 F 11:30 F 11:55 F 12:00 F 12:30 F 12:45 F 12:55 F 13:00 F 13:30 F 14:00 F 14:15 F 14:30 F 15:00 F 15:30 F 16:00 F 16:30 F 17:00 F 18:00 F 19:00 F

F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F

12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13 12/13

08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 16:15-18:45 19:00-21:30

Common Exam Schedule MK 3010 F PHIL 1010 F ACCT 2101 S ACCT 2102 S S FI 3300 BUSA 3000 S

12/13 12/13 12/14 12/14 12/14 12/14

10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 08:00-10:30 10:45-13:15 13:30-16:00 16:15-18:45

"10% off for all GSU Students"

1587 howell mill rd. atlanta, georgia 30318

(404) 343-1609

www.FLIPburgerboutique.com

catering@FLIPburgerboutique.com catering hotline: (404) 849-2283

Musings of a GSU Grad from Years Past To all finishing another semester at GSU, and to all graduating soon, “Congratulations!”

Nearly 29 years ago, I had the privilege of graduating from GSU with my MBA. It was a time of personal crisis, as my son had just been born almost two months prematurely nine days earlier and was in the NICU at Northside Hospital. I thought I was going to bomb one of my finals as I hardly had time to study, and yet I still ended up with an A in the class. To this day, I think my professor had mercy on me.

All these years later, after numerous jobs, including some job losses, an occasional promotion, 31 years of marriage, three grown sons, one emergency surgery, one failed political campaign, and many happy memories and many goals still to be accomplished, here I am. I am still not yet a millionaire, but give me a bit more time on that. Way back then, and even now, I had to answer three key questions: What am I going to value? What am I going to pursue? And how am I going to personally define success? Like all good business students, I read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His second habit states: “Begin with the end in mind.” Great advice! Can you visualize into the future what success looks like to you? Can you imagine, dream and then pursue your goal and bring your vision into reality? You can do it!

Another book I read when I was younger, was a book called More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. I was an agnostic at the time, and yet I felt it worthwhile to at least attempt to resolve these doubts and questions.

This book challenged me to think honestly about the claims of Christ and the Bible. I find it fascinating that there are more than 20,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. And the book’s arguments for the historical reliability of the Resurrection of Christ are compelling. The New Testament record indicates there were over 500 witnesses of the resurrected Christ. And first century historians document the spread of Christianity throughout the known world by disciples who were later martyred.

The question then becomes: Why would they risk their lives unless they truly had witnessed the resurrected person of Jesus Christ? The answer may be found in a verse in the Bible, Acts 26:8, “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” And it is Jesus who made the amazing claim and promise to those who place their hope in Him for salvation from hell, forgiveness of their sins, and for Heaven. John 11:25 states: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”

You owe it to yourself to challenge your thinking and beliefs about God and Christ. Not only does God want you to receive the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23); He also wants you to have a life of peace without the fear of death. By Jerry Samson: If you have any questions about this, or if you want more information, please email me at Jerrysamson123@gmail.com