The Signal Vol. 87 No. 3

RECESSION

TINDER AND YOU

DAVE COHEN

COMIC

PAGE 14

If one comes, you might need to take action on your student loans.

Georgia State students navigate dating in the modern world of mobile apps.

Georgia State broadcaster sits down for pizza and talks football.

HOROSCOPE

PAGE 13

RECIPE

PAGE 13

NEWS

PAGE 5

ARTS & LIVING

PAGE 9

SPORTS PAGE 16

VOL. 87 | NO. 3

SEPT. 10 - SEPT. 17, 2019

Tweets don’t save trees Over 70,000 fires are engulfing the Amazon rainforest. At the same time, tens of thousands of tweets are being shared, professing thoughts and prayers for the burning jungle.

ILLUSTRATION BY SHANCHEZE JOHNSON

@gsusignal

georgiastatesignal.com

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/news

Biology chair ousted just minutes before meeting Former chair demoted newschool schoolof ofbiology biology Chair demoted by deanafter afterpromise promisetotodirect directanew DANIELLA JOHNSON & CRAIG SCHULTZ II Staff Reporters

“N

o one in our department had any idea this was coming,” Matthew Grober, director of undergraduate studies at the department of biology, said. According to Grober, Eric Gaucher, the previous chair of the department, was notified that he would be replaced minutes before the faculty meeting.

The biology department’s faculty meeting took place on April 26 at 3:30 p.m., where it was announced that Geert De Vries would replace Gaucher as the new chair of the biology department. The decision was made by Sara Rosen, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who declined to comment on the situation.

“The change was a personnel matter, and therefore, I will not discuss it,” Rosen said.

Gaucher said he was hired two years ago because the biology department was searching for a new director, he was also led to believe the department would be forming their own school.

“Georgia State attracted me away from Georgia Tech under the idea that I was going to be the director of the new school of biology,” Eric Gaucher said.

In his two years at Georgia State, Gaucher tried to implement programs that would make his department stronger but faced alleged “pushback” from the upper administration. The administration said the department didn’t have to become a school anymore, despite hiring him to help create one in the first place.

The department’s resources were also being taken away, but they were still expected to flourish. Gaucher found this strange because when he was told there would be resources so the department could grow into a school.

“At some point, we kind of reached a tipping point whereby I was getting essentially ‘handcuffed’ by the upper administration

to make progress and change when, in fact, I was given fewer and fewer resources and expected to grow, which is almost impossible,” Gaucher said.

Gaucher said he began voicing his concerns and pressuring the upper administration in attempts to get the necessary resources and conditions so his department could function properly. He said he also began speaking with other faculty about Dean Rosen and her inability to support the sciences efficiently.

“It got to the point where she, the dean, was unhappy with me trying to be vocal and question her leadership,” Gaucher said.

Thirty minutes before the faculty meeting on April 26, Gaucher was called into the dean’s office for a meeting he said lasted about five minutes.

“I was given a piece of paper that said that I was being released [from] my duties as, ironically, director because I was supposed to be the director of the school of biology,” he said. “[The school] did a nationwide search for this position, but I was being released [from] my director duties, and then an administrator was going to be assigned to be the new head of biology.”

The decision for the change seemed to come as a surprise for the faculty who attended the meeting. Grober said that this is an example of the way Georgia State makes decisions for its students. He sees Georgia State is a “top-down institution,” meaning the administration makes decisions for the faculty and professors make decisions for the student body.

“And what the students get is what the administration tells students they will be getting, generally speaking,” Grober said.

Although Gaucher was not allowed in the meeting, he said wasn’t the only one feeling defeated. Gaucher describes what took place as very emotionally charged and chaotic. The department had been struggling for a number of years due to a lack of leadership, and after taking away a leader they’d grown accustomed to, the faculty felt distraught and ignored, he said.

“I don’t know if her hands are tied or if she was forced to take resources away from biology, but that was never conveyed to us that she would just take away our resources without telling us,” Gaucher said.

According to Gaucher, Dean Rosen doesn’t want to be

transparent due to fear of how faculty and the student body will react, as well as her desire to be promoted to provost.

The biology department was assigned a new leader just as abruptly as one was removed, and according to Gaucher, the faculty is apprehensive about trusting him because he was assigned. No one was able to give feedback about him acquiring the position as they normally would.

“The faculty don’t feel like they have a voice, and they feel like this burden is being put upon them by the upper administration,” Gaucher said.

This structure impacts everything, including how chairs of departments are appointed or replaced, according to Grober. The biology department is home to about 2,600 enrolled students and is only one department in the CAS that needs specific classroom spaces and resources.

“We have to have large lecture halls, labs, maintenance of labs, staff, teaching assistants, and to make this work, you plan with the administration,” Grober said.

The administration includes those who decide on how resources are divided among the departments, and the chair of the department plays an important role in that process. Now that the chair has been replaced, Grober said many of his peers are waiting on instructions on how to operate moving forward.

“It’s a lot of uncertainty, and uncertainty is not good for productivity,” he said.

According to Grober, the decision had been so sudden that the new chair did not immediately have his own office space and had been meeting with faculty in a local coffee shop.

Gaucher believes the problem the biology department was facing was a lack of leadership and vision, making his removal ironic. However, Gaucher is still looking forward to his teaching position at Georgia State.

“Being a faculty at Georgia State is a worthy endeavor,” Gaucher said. “This is a great student population, the university is growing very rapidly, and so from that perspective, it’s not the end of the world for me because I get ‘demoted to just being a regular professor. Being a professor is a great job.”

PHOTO BY MATT SICILIANO-SALAZAR | THE SIGNAL

NEWS

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ILLUSTRATION BY DEMETRI BURKE | THE SIGNAL

No evidence of pressure to inflate grades

Professor claimed retaliation by changing budget or staff KRISTEN ROGERS Staff Reporter

E

arlier this year, The Signal reported on a professor’s allegations of grade inflation within the College of Arts and Sciences.

The professor, who declined to be named in fear of retribution, said their department was given a written directive — corroborated by a document obtained by The Signal — to keep drop, withdrawal and fail (DWF) percentages below 12%.

“Telling us not to give out Ds and Fs is a pressure to grade inflate,” they said in April. “Now, you’re under pressure to give out grades people don’t deserve. And so, the grades become meaningless.”

The source also alleged that if these percentages were ignored, there could be consequences from CAS Dean Sara Rosen.

But after further investigation, little evidence has been found to support the professor’s claim that consequences would be levied against those who ignored the directive.

The professor did not provide a comment by press time.

According to the source, contract renewals and graduate budgets were at stake for those who refused to follow DWF requirements.

However, after examining both factors from 2015 to 2019, neither have seen the negative effects described in the original claims. The four-year period was examined because Rosen arrived in 2016 and the professor considered Rosen the primary source of retaliation.

ON NON-RENEWALS, FIRING AND STAFFING

The professor claimed that faculty who don’t adhere to DWF directives could face retaliation by having their contracts not renewed — effectively terminating them — or by having their department not receive adequate staffing.

For unknown reasons, one tenure track professor’s contract wasn’t renewed in January of this year.

Three non-tenure track professors’ contracts weren’t renewed, dating from May 2015 to May 2016. However, the decisions not to renew these faculty took place before Rosen’s arrival in August 2016.

One of the faculty who wasn’t renewed, and wished to remain anonymous, said they were aware of the pressure to increase student graduation rates. They said the department chair suggested dropping courses from the curriculum that may slow students’ progress toward graduation.

This was being done at the time when Georgia State was

consolidating with Georgia Perimeter College, according to the former professor.

“At that time, Georgia State claimed to have a graduation rate of 47% but the graduate rate of Georgia Perimeter was about 9%,” they said. “The administrators hoped that Georgia State would help increase the graduation rate of Georgia Perimeter. There was a concern that such measures may ‘water down’ the Georgia State degree.”

The source did not want to disclose why they are no longer employed at Georgia State.

The original source and the professor who wasn’t renewed also claimed that, in response to noncompliance with grade directives, departments may not receive adequate replacements when faculty quit or retire — leaving the department short-staffed.

Seven people have retired since Rosen began in August 2016.

Only a few people have been hired since then, but there are many reasons why a department might not have new teachers or applicants.

Since Rosen began in August 2016, there have been no nonrenewals of any non-tenure track faculty. Since the DWF directives on which the original source’s claims were given in 2017, the nonrenewals that did occur before Rosen’s arrival do not appear to be connected to grade directives.

Since there has only been one non-renewal and no terminations of professors since Rosen began, the professor’s claims on this account appear unsubstantiated.

ON DEPARTMENT BUDGET AND GRADUATE FUNDING

The professor also claimed that departments that either didn’t follow DWF directives or failed to keep them below 12% could experience cuts to graduate funding.

Records detailing the graduate funding for the communication department from fiscal years 2015 to 2019 show that the graduate budget was cut nearly in half in 2017 compared to the previous year.

However, this figure is only because the film and theatre majors split from the communication department within the CAS and merged into the College of the Arts, meaning film and theatre had to take their share of the graduate budget with them.

Since 2017, each department has operated from its own budget.

In 2018, however, about $3,000 more of the communication department’s budget was deducted and given again to the COTA film and theatre budget. In 2019, the communication department’s budget remained the same.

Fred Mote, CAS assistant dean for finance and administration, provided further background for the budget split and explained more about how department budgets and graduate funding work.

According to Mote, for the 2017-18 budget, the CAS set up

separate accounts, one for journalism and speech and another for film and theatre, with the budgets divided by enrollment levels at 67% and 33% accordingly.

When the 2018-2019 budget was created and more funds were being removed from the communication department graduate budget to redistribute to COTA for film and theatre, journalism and speech majors comprised the larger percentage of the graduate budget since they had more enrollment than film and theatre.

A refinement of the budget, which brought the communication department’s share down to 64% from 67% and film and theatre’s share up from 33% to 36%, explains the additional $3,000 that was removed from the communication department’s graduate budget in 2018.

Overall, there were two changes in the communication department’s budget: once in 2017, when film and theatre split from the department, and again in 2018, when $3,000 was deducted from the communication department for use in film and theatre.

The process for the redistribution of funds was overseen by former Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives Robin Morris and in consultation and agreement with both CAS Dean Rosen and COTA Dean Wade Weast.

Regarding budgets for departments as a whole, these are formed on a historical basis, meaning the new budget is informed by needs already known from the previous budgets.

“Before the proposed new budget is submitted, the dean meets with chairs or directors to make adjustments based on a host of factors, including but not limited to enrollment trends, retirements or resignations in faculty and staff and new initiative funding from the university,” Mote said.

An example of an enrollment trend that would affect a budget proposal is when a department experiences a tremendous amount of growth for several years and the college and university respond by adding graduate funds to help support an increased number of labs needed.

To determine how graduate funding will be distributed throughout a department and how to adjust as enrollment trends dictate, department chairs and directors work with graduate directors.

Mote has never heard of any departments receiving less graduate funding because of high DWF rates or noncompliance with directives.

“DWF rates have not been used as a factor in budgeting graduate funding in [CAS],” Mote said.

At the time the three communication department faculty weren’t renewed, there were no negative changes in the graduate budget. And the graduate budget actually increased by $6,000 during the 2015-2016 period.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

NEWS

5

Understanding the red flags of recession NEWS BRIEFS A simple andand whatwhat it means for student loans loans simpleexplanation explanation, it means for student

LOCAL

BEN COLETTA

Associate News Editor

Hurricane Dorian hits Georgia coast

F

As Hurricane Dorian approached the Georgia coast on Sept. 1, Gov. Brian Kemp issued an evacuation order for coastal Georgia counties and traveled to Brunswick and Savannah to advise residents to leave. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that this is the third hurricane-related evacuation of coastal Georgia since 2016. On Wednesday, Kemp expanded the number of counties that the evacuation order covered. By Thursday, the Georgia coast received minimal damage as the hurricane moved forward.

rom the inversion of the yield curve, losses in the stock market, a trade war with China, Brexit to a looming recession, the past few news cycles have been inundated by constant talk of economic red flags that might have even made it to your Twitter feed. But what do these actually mean, and will they affect you?

Recession has been a hot talking point in American and global economics recently. But economics jargon is a huge barrier to entry, not to mention the fact that predicting, or even just understanding, what happens and why is exceedingly difficult — sometimes even for economists.

So, what is going on and why should you be interested?

RED FLAGS AT HOME

Since the Great Recession in 2008, the U.S. economy has seen an unparalleled period of growth. It’s been growing for a full decade — the longest continuous period of economic growth in American history. But, recently, there have been a few red flags that things may be slowing down.

The most troubling sign of recession is the inversion of the bond yield curve. And before the yield curve can be explained, you have to understand how bonds work — boring, but necessary.

“Treasury bonds are ways for the Treasury of the United States to borrow money when spending is greater than tax revenues,” Bruce Seaman, professor of economics at Georgia State, said. “[Bonds] are very safe investments, and they are an important tool of the Federal Reserve Bank to influence the economy through monetary policy.”

Basically, anyone from the average citizen to the filthy rich can loan money to the U.S. government when it is running on a deficit.

Because the bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the government, they are usually low risk and low reward.

When the Fed buys bonds, interest rates go down, the price of the bonds goes up and so does the amount of money in circulation; the opposite applies when bonds are sold. Bonds can vary in amount, how much money you loan the government, and in time to mature, when the government has to return your money plus interest.

The Fed sells and buys bonds to influence the economy directly through monetary policy or manipulating the money supply in the country.

So here’s the problem: The yield curve on government bonds just inverted. This means that an investor’s return on a shorter-term bond, like a two-year bond, is now greater than the return on a long-term bond, a bond that takes a decade or more to mature.

This may seem like nothing, but keep in mind that traditionally, the inversion of the yield curve is strongly correlated with a coming recession.

An inverse in the curve has preceded the last seven recessions — usually around 15 months in advance, according to Seaman.

However, Seaman notes that “an inverted yield curve is more of a red flag than an inevitable sign of future recession.” In order to understand the true probability of a coming recession, you have to understand what the Fed is doing to correct the yield curve and all other factors impacting the national and global economy at that time, which is tough to predict accurately.

Currently, the Fed is taking the necessary steps on their end to correct the yield curve, by reducing interest rates on short-term bonds so that they are less profitable than long-term bonds — righting the yield curve.

ILLUSTRATION BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

COMPLICATIONS ABROAD: THE TRADE WAR

As if this hasn’t been complicated enough already, it gets worse with the global economy.

The American economy is interdependent with the rest of the world’s economy, which means that interactions abroad can impact us just as much as conditions at home.

Seaman gave a brief list of the factors currently impacting the global state of the economy, including the U.K.’s departure from the European Union, commonly known as Brexit, weakness in the German economy and another debt and currency crisis in Argentina.

Also, the U.S. and China have gone through a few rounds of increasing tariffs with one another.

Just over a week ago, President Trump increased tariffs on $112 billon of Chinese imports. “[There are] enormous uncertainties of the ‘trade war’ between the U.S. and China — economists do not share any optimistic views about trade wars being easy to win,” he said.

A tariff is a tax on imported or exported goods.

Using them is a way for states to regulate the price and amount of goods coming in from other countries. Historically, tariffs have been used to protect domestic industry from competition abroad or even just as a means of additional income for the state. “[The trade war] is a very dangerous series of developments, and most economists are not impressed with the way this challenge is being handled by U.S. policymakers,” Seaman said.

“Historically, trade wars have had very negative effects on the global economy, including the Great Depression of the 1930s.”

But how much is a trade war with China really bound to affect the current state of global economics?

According to The Wall Street Journal, tariffs are “putting upward pressure on costs for multinational companies, forcing them to look for ways to offset it.”

Essentially, it’s getting harder for businesses to work with China at a reasonable cost because of the tariffs on Chinese goods, forcing them to spend time and money trying to move industry out of China and lowering the rate of business confidence, a measure of how likely businesses are to spend money and stimulate the economy, in the process.

At the August 28 economic forecasting conference at Georgia State, Michael Drury, the chief economist for an international commodity trading company, called the new rounds of tariffs on China an “own goal.”

Drury explained that the impact of tariffs placed on Chinese goods will be felt by hardest the

consumer. China will just “raise the price of the good by whatever the tariff rate is and send it along,” and U.S. consumers don’t have a choice because most of these products are manufactured in China.

An increase in the price of consumer goods has the potential to slow the economy down because the more a good costs, the less disposable income a consumer will have available to put back into the economy.

In short, the trade war has the potential to slow the global economy because of rising prices on consumer goods and a decrease in business confidence — potentially pushing the global economy further towards recession.

HOW A RECESSION COULD IMPACT STUDENTS

Here’s the good news: Seaman said that even given the current warning signs, a recession is unlikely and if any recession were to occur, it is unlikely to be lengthy or severe.

However, in the event of a recession, he sees the impact being the greatest for graduating students.

“An alarming prospect is that students who first enter labor markets, when those markets are weak, have often had a hard time catching up and often suffer long-term lower earnings prospects in contrast to students who first enter the fulltime labor force when the economy is strong,” Seaman said. “Such negative effects have, at times, lasted primarily five years after first entering the workforce, and then dissipated over time, but there is a risk of such negative ‘scarring effects’ lasting much longer.”

He also noted that this can impact student debt.

If there is a recession, Seaman recommends restructuring any student loans you have to be paid as a percentage of your earnings. This helps ensure that debt payments don’t overwhelm you if you’re earning less than anticipated.

Additionally, Seaman noted that many students choose not to go into the workforce at all if their graduation lines up with a period of recession.

He said that applicants for graduate school go up during a recession and students choose to further their education and avoid the income-related risk of entering the workforce.

For students who are not set to graduate in the near future, the greatest economic impact of a recession will be on their side jobs. It’ll be harder to find work to support expenses while still in school.

However, a recession is unlikely to affect the price of tuition at Georgia State. And, even though the HOPE Scholarship is funded by lottery proceeds, which are likely to fall during a recession, “the HOPE Scholarship program is generally protected,” according to Seaman.

NATIONAL Trump defends claims that hurricane will impact Alabama On Sunday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted about the dangers of Hurricane Dorian and the states it could impact — including Alabama. The National Weather Service in Alabama then responded: “Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east.” During an Oval Office briefing, Trump presented a NOAA map of the storm’s path, including a circle leading out to Alabama, apparently drawn with a marker.

INTERNATIONAL Robert Mugabe, former leader of Zimbabwe, dies

Robert Mugabe, the former president of Zimbabwe, died in Singapore at age 95. Mugabe took power in the African country after the end of white minority rule, remaining in power for 37 years, during which he oversaw economic instability and human rights violations, as AP News reports. As the first postcolonial leader, Mugabe faced opposition from the West and support from the nation’s residents after repeated violent farm seizures from white residents.

NEWS

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The University System of Georgia meets with faculty, staff, students and President Mark Becker to get input on the future of higher education across Georgia.

PHOTO BY ADA WOOD | THE SIGNAL

The future of higher education in Georgia Board of Regents solicits feedback on four-year plan ADA WOOD News Editor

T

he path of higher education in Georgia is up for discussion as the University System of Georgia charts the next four years with their 2019 strategic planning efforts.

Georgia State served as the venue to kick off the five-event series on Sept. 3, allowing students and faculty from across Georgia to weigh in on the priorities and problems to solve in the coming years.

Georgia State University President Mark Becker provided introductions as the hosting university for the day’s event.

“We know there is still room for the USG and its member institutions to do even better,” Becker said. “If you think key points are missing, please speak up. If you have an idea about how the goals can be met, please say so.”

As a backdrop to the path forward, Tracey Cook, executive vice chancellor for strategy and fiscal affairs at the USG, explained the current challenges higher education is facing in Georgia.

First, she outlined a demographic shift of the 15-24 age group in Georgia, with a declining population in rural Georgia and a growing population in North Georgia and metro Atlanta.

Looking forward, there’s also a need to look back. Specifically, during the most recent economic recession, the national trend of a decline in funds to higher education provided by the state didn’t skip Georgia.

“We can’t wait and hope that the dollars come back,” Cook said. “As a university system, we have to be more efficient, more affordable and graduate more students.”

The four goals of the USG and its strategic plan were explained

by Angela Bell, senior executive director for research, policy and analysis. After explaining each goal, the audience provided commentary and suggestion to the USG. The process for developing the strategic plan began this summer and after setting its goals, the USG plans to gather input through September before integrating that into a developed plan in October and then presenting it to the Board of Regents for approval in November.

STUDENT SUCCESS

Degree completion, high quality academic options and the elimination of barriers to access and success for all Georgians

defines “student success,” the USG’s first goal of the strategic plan. In a sense, it’s making education accessible and possible for all students.

Aliyah Jones, a student at Georgia State, said that focusing on input from socially conscious student organizations needs to be part of the planning and execution on individual campuses.

Hadejia Manais, the executive vice president of the Student Government Association on Georgia State’s Decatur campus, requested an increase in the variety of classes at two-year institutions, a sentiment that was later echoed by other colleges.

One Georgia State student brought forward a current complication she is facing this semester. Dianna Champ, a 50-year-old nontraditional student, said that the university has placed a barrier on her education, not allowing her into an online course she needs to take in order to graduate this spring.

Natalie Mellas from the University of North Georgia has been researching Hispanic-serving institutions and hopes there will be plans to assist a growing Hispanic population in Georgia.

RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP

This goal has two facets: ensuring affordability for students and optimizing efficiency within the system. On a micro scale, it’s reducing costs for students and on a macro scale, for the USG. EVP Manais shared a concern about the cost of textbooks, and Leri Argueta, the assistant director for enrollment diversity at UNG, suggested providing a system or structure for universities to use to fundraise for scholarships.

“Efficiency is not always cost-cutting; there is a point at which containing costs does harm to goal one [student success],” a professor from Georgia Gwinnett College said. “I want to make sure as planning goes forward that we don’t get so caught up in saving money that we forget to do quality education.”

ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS

Equipping students with knowledge, skills and experience is key in making sure that they get the return they wanted out of an education and they can contribute that back to the Georgia economy.

“I would really love to see our students earlier equipped with career readiness skills,” Krysta Fry, assistant director for career advising and planning at Kennesaw State University, said. “Too often, we see our students starting to learn those work-based learning skills later on in their junior or senior year.”

Fry suggested a better incorporation of these skills into the general education classes taught to underclassmen. A faculty

member from the UNG provided that interdisciplinary courses are a good way to improve these workplace skills.

Building connections between universities and corporations for better feedback on what they want and need from graduates was requested by Shakeer Abdullah, vice president of student affairs at Clayton State University.

Georgia Gwinnett College’s SGA president Chigbogu Ekemezie said internships, shadowing programs and hands-on experience is paramount for a student to see what they need for a specific career before fully committing to it.

COMMUNITY IMPACT

The fourth and final goal is a little all-encompassing: to work with communities to improve the quality of life across Georgia.

But it’s a chance for universities to form connections with and provide for communities of all kinds in and around their campuses.

One community of interest for many participants was the immigrant community. Some inquired about removing preventions on undocumented students from entering college and then further providing these students with in-state tuition.

Some suggested providing a path for non-English speaking students as well.

Brent Johnson, a professor at Gordon State College, said that many smaller, two-year institutions forgo courses like African American or women’s studies.

“This is really an opportunity to interrupt the intergenerational cycle of poverty,” a faculty member at Georgia Tech shared. “One segment of our community that is often forgotten about are previously incarcerated individuals.”

Byron Stokes, a graduate student at Georgia Tech, tapped into the system’s own community, that of universities, and encouraged more collaboration between them.

“This is my second time coming to Georgia State,” Stokes said.

“I think we need to work together more.”

A Georgia State University Police Department officer asked for the consideration of giving employees a bonus based on each level of educational attainment and providing the USG’s Tuition Assistance Program to the children and spouse of an employee.

Kaelen Thomas, speaker of the senate for Georgia State’s Atlanta campus SGA, voiced concerns for the safety of students and communities.

“Since January 2019, there have been 283 mass shootings across the United States,” Thomas said. “So, I would like to see in this strategic plan, a continued emphasis on increasing mental health resources and safety.”

TUESDAY, 2019 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER JANUARY 15,10, 2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/opinions

Not separate but not equal

How the United States education system continues to prop up racism KENNETH LOCKETT III Staff Columnist

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o all the patriots reading this, please put down your pitchforks and your guns. The United States, in my personal opinion, is still one of the greatest political entities to ever exist. But that doesn’t negate the several several several issues that it has. For example, Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water and the children in the area are starting to have learning disabilities. But that’s not what I am here to explain, I am here to relay to you that yes the United States education system is inherently racist.

Racism most recently injected itself into American society with Donald Trump. And it became dangerous in early August of 2017 during the Charlotteville Event between White Supremeist Groups and Left-Wing Counter-Protesters.

All of this proves that despite the Civil Rights Movement some fifty plus years ago, racism is still very much part of the American identity. But what’s uniquely concerning is how early the current version of American Racism starts.

According to a CNN article titled, “Racial disparities persist in US schools, study finds” preschool-age black youth are suspended at 3.6 times and in kindergarten through 12th grade, black students were 3.8 times more likely to be suspended as compared to their white peers of the same age.

There are some 1.6 Million students who attend schools with no counselors but with law enforcement present majority being students of color. And that just the discipline statistics.

There are even teaching that devalue African Americans and the history of slavery. For Example, a McGraw-Hill textbook

referred to slaves as “workers” who “emigrated” to the United States. That was not fixed until 2015 according to Times Magazine.

Even with that phrase fixed if you open any textbook and glance over it you’d notice something in particular. It’s unapologetically Eurocentric. “When Europeans first (fill in the blank),” is a phrase that’s echoed in most history textbooks and even many textbooks in other disciplines. For example, the eurocentric model of American education implies that Aristotle was the founder of philosophy. However it’s been well documented that Aristotle, along with other early philosophers from Greece and Rome, went to Africa to study.

It’s not just philosophy either, it’s engineering, medicine, politics. Many of the things that European get the credit for starting comes from African teachings. Racial bias has gotten so severe that students are forbidden from wearing traditional hairstyles and clothing, being deemed a distraction to the other students. Banning clothing like the Kente Cloth or banning hairstyles such as tree braids is just one of the many ways that Eurocentric education demonizes and degrading African history and culture.

When exposing any problems it’s fundamental that you bring up possible solutions. Attempting to topple a societal model that’s been in place since around 30 CE, with the whitewashing of Jesus, is no easy task. And frankly, affirmative action, or diversity quotas, are not it. By issuing a diversity quota you’re effectively pushing underqualified people into positions they shouldn’t be in and it’s systematically just reversing the issue not fixing it. The only way to properly fix the issue is to actually give minorities the resources to compete equally with white students.

And it’s clear that the issue at hand begins all the way at the kindergarten level. And the easiest way to teach young

students racial sensitivity is through diversity programs, and that goes for all levels of education.

Luckily some of the programs are regularly done during Black History Month. But the issue with that is it’s still implying that Black History started with slavery. It doesn’t expose young students to African culture making them sensitive to it when they are exposed if ever. We have to begin teaching the ones that look up to us that other cultures are not weird, they are important. At the higher levels of education diversity programs can expand students thinking possibilities.

By allowing them to pull from a culture, not their own they are able to fully process, “how does my action or decision affect others,” it allows them to think past their surroundings and think about it from a world stance.

Diversity programs can take many shapes, it can be as simple as a play given by students. You can also expand it out, you can have independence day events but not just for America. You can do them for Kenya, or Niger, or Trinidad.

Expose students to cultures not their own. Plus food, allow them to try foods from other nations other cultures.

It’s clear that racism still affects the United States educational system from it’s literal beginning to a logical end.

Starting with more police encounters and suspensions in elementary, middle and high schools. Upgrading to shocking microaggressions, not just in colleges and universities but in specialized fields such as STEM and Medical. While it may seem that this problem is almost unbeatable, it’s not appropriate to believebelive so. By encouraging diversity programs, and exposing students to other cultures we can directly combat the racism choking black students in the US educational system and make a dent in societal racism that chokes this nation.

ILLUSTRATION BY DEMETRI BURKE | THE SIGNAL

OPINIONS

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Georgia State is not what students expect The reality of attending a college in a city environment ITUNU TALABI Staff Columnist

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tudents come into college with certain expectations about what college will be like. A lot of preconceived notions stem from movies, TV shows and books all with a similar experience. Non-stop events, clubs and so much free time to explore and do whatever your heart desires all while miraculously maintaining a 4.0 GPA. With Georgia State thousands of students and its’ main campus being in downtown Atlanta, it’s no wonder that students come with the expectation that attending Georgia State will be a lot like attending NYU. Unfortunately, what students expect from GSU and what the realities are contrast greatly.

Being in the city students assume that with an enrollment of over 53,000 students, making friends would be easy but this is not necessarily the case.

It’s important to make the distinction between acquaintance and real friends, as there is a major difference between the two. It doesn’t take much effort to make an acquaintance on campus.

However, making actual friends - people that you know you and you can call up at any time of the day are not as easy to make in general. Georgia State is so diverse that people seem to stay within their niche and seldom branch outside their circle to make friends.

Similarly, it is easy to create a routine of just going to class and staying in your room here because you have to make more of an effort to make friends.

Students come with the mentality that Georgia State is like any other school when it comes to applying for student housing and having the flexibility to choose dorms whatever dorms you want, whenever that may be. Much like the Housing Shortage Crisis in 2017, Georgia State is still struggling to accommodate the influx of students.

With athe large number of students living in student housing, having access to the dorms you

really want is getting harder and harder each year.

Comparing to my sophomore year, I applied for housing in May and still got a nicer dorm than just a year later, when I paid for housing in January. I was waitlisted for months and did not get an actual room assignment until a few weeks before classes started.

The money may not be an issue, just what is available to you and for how long its available is.

After paying off your last semester, less than a few months later you have to front expenses for housing for the next year as soon as possible, or else you will be waitlisted. Just one week from when the housing application opens to when you pay could mean the difference between having a dorm and not having a dorm here.

Along the lines of diversity, this is another aspect of Georgia State that shocks incoming students.

With Georgia State’s location, students assume that the campus’ demographics will look a certain way.

Despite this, the main campus is very diverse in terms of different ethnicities, nationalities and backgrounds.

We have many international students there are athletes, or study abroad students from other countries on campus.

Metro Atlanta is one of the most populous cities in America. You would assume that there would be so many activities and adventures to be explored just from wandering the streets alone. Sadly, spontaneously gallivanting the streets at night is a major safety risk if you’re in downtown Atlanta. At night, students have gotten mugged, harassed and assaulted. You can find hidden gems around the city but you have to be strategic about where you’re going and when.

As a 20 year old living in Atlanta, I can’t truly attest to all nightlife on campus. For the 21 and over crowd, there will always be things going on in Atlanta.

However, I can only attest to the night scene that I readily have access to downtown. All of which is not much. Other than concerts and the occasional festival, Most of the attractions of the nightlifenight life for many students are nonexistentnon existent and usually cost a lot of money.

Financially, there are a lot of hidden expenses that come with living in Atlanta and attending Georgia State. Including, paying for parking (parking garages), inversely for transportation if you choose not to bring your car can get very pricey on top of tuition and housing.

Similarly, the difficulty of accessing grocery stores as well as purchasing in the city is an absolute nightmare because everything costs almost double they would normally cost in the suburbs. Clothes and shoes are often worn down due to increased usage in the city and this can cause students to have to replace more frequently.

Being late for class in comparison to those who choose not to show up may not seem like a big deal because you have so much freedom in college. At Georgia State, these two can quickly amount to the same result. Choosing to sleep an extra 15 minutes and being late for class could mean the difference between you missing class altogether. This in particular is a major issue for students that commute. Traffic going into Atlanta is never-ending and you have to be very strategic when making the trek to campus.

Likewise, registering for classes can also be a hassle.

“If you’re not early, you’re late” should be your mantra at Georgia State. Classes also fill up quickly, especially when you’re registering for General Education courses.

Potential attendance in Gen- Ed classes can reach up to 200 students.

Making sure that your class choices are as concrete as possible for you is in your best interest if you do not want to be stuck not taking an important class that you need. Be aware of deadlines and important dates as well as add-drop periods.

There are a lot of ways Georgia State tries to welcome students and find ways to keep incoming students entertained. On the contrary, there are multitudes of aspects of life at Georgia State that may not meet student’s expectations of what a college in the city might be like. Nevertheless, it is up to each student to create their own memories and form their own positive school experiences.

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ARTS & LIVING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

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Love at first swipe: a modern romance

Mobile apps welcome the new age of dating MORGAN D’AMICO Staff Reporter

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oung couples are virtually guaranteed to be pestered at some point by friends and family asking one question: “How did you two meet?”

A growing majority of college-aged couples are answering, “We swiped right.”

Mobile dating apps are an increasingly common way forthat college students to meetare meeting other singles. In fact, a 2018 study by Statistic Brain showed that one-fifth of current, committed relationships began online.

Tinder is reportedly the most frequented dating app among college students, according to one survey by the college startup WayUp. The app’s parent company, Match Group, notes similar statistics, claiming that at least half of Tinder users are ages 18 to 24.

The app’s massive popularity is often attributed to its collegecentric feature Tinder U, launched in August 2018.

Tinder U allows college students to primarily connect with other students from the same university or neighboring schools. Through this feature, Georgia State students are linked directly to other local college-attending users.

With over 33,000 individuals studying at the Downtown campus, it can feel impossible to single-handedly explore the university dating pool. Student Paula Camacho navigates campus romance by using Tinder U to meet other singles at Georgia State.

“Tinder U is a cool feature because this campus is huge, and you can’t talk to all of the people on campus in person,” Camacho said. “I think it improves college dating because it really helps you connect with people on campus who you probably would’ve never spoken to in real life.”

Matching on Tinder can also give young adults an element of confidence they might not feel when approaching an attractive stranger on campus.

“It’s convenient for shy people because it takes away some of the stress of going up to someone you think is cute in person,” Camacho said.

Online networks allow young adults to interact from screento-screen rather than face-to-face. For Georgia State students like Camacho, dating apps provide a relaxed, casual space for singles to interact without added social pressure.

However, some may argue that connecting with others online based on a few pictures and a short biography only fosters physical relationships.

For some college students, this expectation is true. Mobile dating outlets such as Tinder and Grindr are often referred toreputably known as “hook up” apps, used by young adults to find other singles for casual sex. About one-fifth of college students admitted to using dating apps exclusively for sex, one survey by college startup WayUp reported.

Grindr’s website describes the mobile outlet as “the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people.” Reforming the modern world of LGBTQ dating, many recognize Grindr as an easy resource for the gay community to

ILLUSTRATION BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

find nearby sex partners.

“You get acclimated to a certain way of interacting with other gay men. It makes dating harder because you become desensitized to feeling anything more than lust,” Cameron Lineberry, a Georgia State student, said. “Most guys are looking for sex on Grindr.”

Lineberry was 14 years old when he came out as gay to his friends and family. Now 21, he’s familiar with using Grindr to connect with other gay men in Atlanta and at Georgia State.

Grindr ustilizes geographic location technology, showing the proximity of other active profiles based on the user’s current location. The app’s mapping features are so precise, Lineberry can walk the streets of the Downtown campus and point out exactly where other Grindr users are located.

“I was sitting in class, and mid-lecture, Grindr showed me that this guy was sitting in a row ten feet away,” heLineberry said. “It’s a weird secret we share where we both know that we’re doing something promiscuous. I definitely feel a sense of awkwardness when I see someone from Grindr on campus.”

Outside of Grindr, college students using dating apps to meet other singles are significantly less interested in hook ups. In an Abodo survey of 4,000 college students, young adults on Tinder admit to using the app most often for entertainment.

Outside of avoiding boredom, a large group of collegeaged users are attracted to localized networking apps for the straightforward purpose of connecting with other like-minded young adults.

Emily Wilson, a Tinder user and Georgia State student, frequents the app for reasons other than sex, love or entertainment. Through dating apps, she admits to looking for platonic friendships more frequently than potential romantic interests.

“I think it can be a cool way to connect with people who you may otherwise not meet. I honestly use it to try and meet cool people with similar interests,” Wilson said. “I don’t necessarily seek out Georgia State students but it often works out that way because we are all close to each other.”

Even with innocent intentions, meeting strangers on Tinder or other sites can lead to uncomfortable interactions. Like Lineberry, Wilson agrees that social networking and dating apps changed the way young singles interact.

“I think Tinder can make modern dating weird because sometimes there are unspoken expectations that create uncomfortable situations. You aren’t always fully aware of what the other person is on the app for,” sheWilson said. “When you meet them in person you could both be there for different reasons. For example, I could simply want to make a friend and they could only want to hook up.”

Technology is driving young adults to connect through unprecedented circuits of online flirtation and new-age intimacy. First impressions are transitioning from in-person ice breakers to instant messaging, matching and social media follows.

Whether the effects on modern romance are welcomed or unwanted, location-based social apps are now a basic component of dating and interacting on college campuses.

For single Georgia State students seeking out an Ebrik coffee date or a new study partner, on-campus chemistry could be just a swipe away.

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he Sudan crisis, school shootings and the Amazon rainforest burning are all tragic events that have happened recently throughout the world. It’s nothing shy of upsetting and the hashtag #PrayForTheAmazon or changing Instagram profile pictures from a selfie to blue for Sudan are flooding social media platforms. But behind the screen, the reality is most people are sitting in bed, tweeting the hashtag, then going back to Snapchatting their crush.

With the most recent world tragedy, the burning of the Amazon rainforest, just about everyone is chiming in on social media to show how much of an “activist” they really are.

However, is anyone aware of what’s going on, and how can the average person really make a difference while tweeting from bed almost 4,000 miles away?

The posts are helpful in spreading information, especially with being livid that the Amazon was burning for three weeks before it got any media coverage. But as people are posting away, they may not even have read into why it’s actually burning, what can be done about it, how it’s affecting the world, let alone that some of the photos people are reposting are from fires decades ago from another rainforest. Leonardo DiCaprio, a noted environmental activist as well as an actor, was even one of the celebrities posting misleading photos.

However, Carrie Freeman, a Georgia State professor who specializes in strategic communication regarding social justice and veganism, who has also published over 20 scholarly journals all relating to environmental issues, has read into the reality of the crisis.

“As the largest rainforest and one of

the most diverse places on land, the Amazon affects the whole planetary ecosystem, affecting weather patterns, storing immense amounts of carbon which provides oxygen to stabilize the climate and provides a home to many indigenous human communities and to thousands of unique species,” she said.

Considering how far removed we are from South America, we may not realize how important the rainforest really is to us.

With headlines all over the news like “The Amazon Cannot Be Recovered Once It’s Gone” and “The Amazon — an ecosystem on which the whole world depends,” the world is starting to gain a better understanding of how environmental issues are a real cause for concern.

There are about 74,000 fires across the Brazilian Amazon, and according to The New York Times, 26,000 of those were just in the month of August alone. With black smoke filling the skies of São Paulo, it’s so intense it can even be seen from space.

Jessica Jones, secretary of Georgia State’s Student Environmental Team, feels this issue is extremely important considering the Amazon is often referred to as the “Earth’s lungs.”

“The effects of the Amazon burning that I feel are psychological,” she said. “The Amazon is a place I have long dreamed about, and I think that, collectively, it has long represented a pristine and beautiful natural realm. To see it burning shines a light on how disastrously the globalization paradigm is affecting our environment.”

Currently, the Earth’s lungs are filling with toxic smoke that’s causing physical ailments such as pneumonia to double for locals in Brazil and indigenous people in the past month alone.

“The burnings push this issue to the forefront,” Jones said. “Nobody wants to see this fantastic place destroyed, and it calls

ILLUSTRATION BY SHANCHEZE JOHNSON | THE SIGNAL

into question what we as people are doing to our home. I think that a lot of Americans are probably going to feel a greater sense of urgency in regards to changing the institutions that allow for this sort of thing to happen.

I can only imagine how people in Brazil and neighboring areas are affected by this, particularly indigenous people.”

While the media covers President Trump’s tweets every hour of the day, serious environmental issues appear to be on the back burner in the news. Freeman and Jones both agree it’s disappointing. Not only was the crisis covered three weeks after it started, but it has received much less coverage than the burning Notre Dame Cathedral.

Reid Williams, an environmental activist who’s been using his social media to spread awareness, knows how crucial the Amazon’s conservation is for us as well as making it known through the media.

“It’s really important to learn about what’s happening because the Amazon accounts for 20% of the oxygen we breathe,” he said.

“To not cover something so heavily or take it seriously is a real gap in logic. When the cathedral was burning, they raised billions of dollars in days, whereas the rainforest took four weeks to raise $25 million.”

Freeman also agrees the media has trouble covering environmental issues, but giving the audience a clear visual of what’s going on and pushing towards having a main news beat regarding issues like climate change and mass extinction can help awareness.

“To gain more traction, the media could try to personalize the stories by showcasing particular indigenous people who are affected and particular animal and plant species [that] are dying, injured or homeless,” Freeman said.

Although it may be financially difficult for college students to book a $1,000 flight to Brazil to help stop the fires, social media

#PrayForTheAmazon but who’s really praying?

Why it’s trending on social media, and how you can actively help

Daniella Boik | Associate Arts & Living Editor awareness does make an impact and is a good place to start.

“Any way that the public can show interest in a cause and help with visuals, memes and hashtags go viral on social media — that is useful for putting environmentalism on the news and policy agenda in the forefront of society's hearts and minds, reinforcing what we collectively say we value,” she said.

Jones, who actively uses her social media to express and explore environmental issues through her writing, film making, paintings and drawings, believes any sort of social media post can be inspiring and helpful.

“I think a hashtag like #PrayForTheAmazon shows that people care, which is important,” she said. “I hope that inspires action and puts pressure on the government to act. As everyday Americans, I think our best bet is electing people into office who care about these issues and have some sort of dice to roll in foreign policy, whether that is through sanctions or aid.”

Williams, who believes the issue goes much deeper than just simply posting a hashtag, thinks it’s our duty as U.S. citizens to get involved in taking charge of what our future planet will look like.

“It’s important to realize that we as U.S. citizens hold all the power; our votes count, so we need to be active,” he said. “The real change that needs to be made is we need new Congress men and women. These outdated congresspeople are part of the problem. They don’t believe in climate change, and they act like it doesn’t exist and isn’t affecting all of us.”

Freeman is also a big believer in the people voting in government officials who have the power and will to recognize these harsh environmental issues.

“We must also make sure we elect politicians who are responsive to environmental

and animal protection issues and see it as a moral responsibility to protect our life support systems and all species rather than just using their power to serve business interests by continuing to allow exploitation of living beings in the name of ‘the economy,’” she said.

“We must begin to think biocentrically, not anthropocentrically, if we are to survive.”

If it’s not social media activism or having the ability to vote, people can make a change in other ways such as changing their lifestyle choices. Considering Brazilian cattle ranchers and other agricultural workers were chiefly responsible for the fires through their use of the slash-and-burn technique, making dietary changes or recognizing the harms of producing livestock can help in reducing the mass amount of meat being produced.

“When we allow the beef and logging industries to destroy precious habitats that took hundreds of thousands of years to develop so they can graze cattle or plant livestock feed or chop down trees for lumber, then we are allowing short-term profit motives that benefit a few members of one species to take precedence over the longterm benefits that help billions of individuals from potentially millions of different species,” Freeman said. “That seems patently unfair and ecologically unwise.”

Taking note of our carbon footprint, the amount of greenhouse gases we produce, and making changes to it can really

prove that one person's lifestyle decisions can make a difference.

“Reducing your carbon footprint whether that being aware of the kind of car you’re driving and how often as well as the food we’re eating can help if someone doesn’t have the option to vote environmental leaders in office,” Williams said. “There should be more community outreach programs regardless of demographics to bring people together under the common goal of reducing our carbon footprint.”

Jones, who is also an advocate for sustainable food, believes changing our diet or contributing to buying more local foods is just one step closer to making a positive change.

“I think that the US’s greatest export is our culture, and if we can develop a culture of eco-consciousness starting at home, that can be the greatest help we can lend to the Amazon and ourselves,” she said.

ARTS & LIVING

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

BABYMETAL: the genre-bending dynamic duo Everything there is to know about their second show in Atlanta GUILLERMO RIVERA Staff Reporter

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s BABYMETAL takes the stage, fans throw up the fFox hand sign and immediately start headbanging as SU-METAL sings passionately to the crowd and MOAMETAL backs her up with her screaming vocals.

Immediately the cute voices of SU-METAL and MOAMETAL can be heard over blaring guitar riffs and erratic drum patternspatternsm mixing Japanese pop vocals with Metallicalike instrumentals.

“We learned metal from Metallica,” SU-METAL said when asked who was the biggest influence for BABYMETAL’s sound.

Instantly the sound of a new and refined form of heavy metal fills everyone’s ears, and the aura of the FOX GOD can be felt in the venue. Everyone in the room is forced to dance as the band projects their unique sound.

“We are summoned by the FOX GOD. BABYMETAL means a birth of new metal, so we hope to be a band who can bear the future of metal,” MOAMETAL said.

The girls dance by throwing hand motions and doing spins while completely synchronized to the music.

They flail their pigtails in circles and kick their legs up and down as fans sing the lyrics of the first few songs word by word in Japanese. The energy grew more intense as the music went on, and fans began crowd surfing while screaming the words of “PA PA YA!!” at the top of their lungs.

“Our international fans are similar to our Japanese fans in that everyone memorizes our Japanese lyrics and sing along with us. But depending on the places we visit, the way fans find the rhythm to our music and the way they enjoy it differs greatly and I find that very interesting,” SUMETAL, said.

As fans kept on crowd surfing and kicking other concert goers in the head, BABYMETAL continueds their set song by song. The venue begins to fog up because of the smoke machines which are blasting mist into the air, and the girls’ glittery, black dresses can be seen through the grey mist.

Along with their dresses the girls sported black velvet capes and boots. The band’s outfits looked like something no other metal band would wear on a stage.

BABYMETAL’s style was nothing but them.

“BABYMETAL is the biggest inspiration. Whenever we think about how we should evolve, what will be best, BABYMETAL give us the biggest inspiration,” MOAMETAL said concerning BABYMETAL’s fashion and style.

People in the crowd mimicked BABYMETAL’s style by wearing all black pencil skirts and tall, chunky boots that added five inches to their height. However, some fans looked like they just got done working at their office job. There were also people from all age groups in attendance at

the show, and they were all in the mosh pit having the time of their lives.

BABYMETAL’s music seems to have no limits for anyone to enjoy, and people from all walks of life were staring in awe while BABYMETAL performed their final songs.

Visuals of the solar system and the planets start filling up the big screen, and the band prepares to perform their two final songs. As the anticipation builds, smiles start to grow on everyone’s faces, and the energy gets higher as fans jump to the music.

“My favorite part of touring is to see our fans and we can get to perform and see their smiles on the stage. We want to make everyone smile,” MOAMETAL said.

ILLUSTRATION BY AMBER KIRLEW | THE SIGNAL

BABYMETAL begins their second to last song and SUMETAL takes the stage to perform a ballad sung in English, and fans fall silent as they are captivated by her beautiful voice.

Suddenly, the slow moving ballad turns into an opera of guitars and drums as BABYMETAL continues their song, and people in the crowd began repeatedly chanting chanting the band’s name.

The girls chant the song to the crowd and the people echosing it right back to them while SU-METAL points the microphone towards the pit, and the expression on the girl’s’ faces are nothing but pure joy.

The second to last song ends and the crowd erupts in applause, and BABYMETAL begins their final song, an epic of cymbals and a guitar solo playing as the stage is filled with fog from the smoke machines.

The girls walk out on stage waving black flags that say “BABYMETAL” and the crowd instantly throws up the fox hand sign for one last moment with the band., TheyTand the endband ends their final songs with the girls displaying the three flags to the crowd as it goes wild with screams and cheers.

With that, BABYMETAL ends it’s second show in Atlanta, leaving fans wondering when they arewere going to come back to Georgia and perform.

“It will be our second time coming to Atlanta, but it’ll be our first headline show there, so we are very happy,” MOAMETAL said. “We look forward to seeing Atlanta fans.

We’re giving 100 percent on the stage to bring best introduction of BABYMETAL.” Though BABYMETAL’s distinct sound has been widely accepted by fans all over the world, the band still receives criticism for breaking the molds of metal music. However, BABYMETAL uses this as inspiration to evolve their sound even more.

“The way people receive our music is different and some people may say that our music is not metal, but I feel that those reviews allow us to challenge ourselves and gives us an opportunity to grow even more,” MOAMETAL said.

In a little more than a month, BABYMETAL will be releasing their third album.

The band has not released music since 2016, and they are excited to showcase what they have been working on.

“On October 11th, we are releasing third album, METAL GALAXY. In addition to that, BABYMETAL will perform at The Forum in LA, which will be the first US arena show for us on the same day. Our music should be interesting and new for both those who barely listen to metal and who loves metal,” SUMETAL said. “Through BABYMETAL, we hope to knock down the wall of music genre.”

ARTS & LIVING

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

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Simply Signal Recipe

Homemade Canned Chili SKYLAR LITTLE Recipe Columnist

Fall is approaching! This simple recipe is a perfect weeknight meal as it can be made in under an hour. It’s also great to feed to a group of friends, or eat throughout the week because it’ll taste even better the next day.

COOK 25 mins

TOTAL 35 mins

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 pound of ground beef 1 white onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 15-oz. can of diced tomatoes Two 15-oz. cans of chili (with or without beans) ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon of cumin

TOPPING INGREDIENTS Shredded cheese Sour cream Green onions, sliced

STEPS

1. In a large pot, cook beef in olive oil over medium heat until no longer pink 2. Add onion, garlic, cumin and cayenne pepper; cook until fragrant (3-5 minutes) 3. Add diced tomatoes and chili; bring to a boil 4. Reduce to simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally 5. Ladle into bowls and add topping ingredients as desired ILLUSTRATION BY DEVIN PHILLIPS | THE SIGNAL

Serendipity in the Stars

Horoscopes for every star sign JAS THOMAS

Horoscope Columnist

VIRGO

The tendency to be passive and submissive only leads towards overall peace. The Virgo will intuitively say the right thing at the right place and time. Now is the time for doing the things you love: socializing, making money and enjoying the fruits of your own garden.

LIBRA

Turn the charm on, Libra! Everything is a popularity contest with you so expect to turn more heads. Remember your peace this week when you’re busy studying.

SCORPIO

Let August’s new moon bring something new and exciting to the table! Don’t be sparing with your attention or affection.

SAGITTARIUS

ARIES

There’s been a build up of tension that’s caused you to assert yourself more. Don’t let anyone test your goals. Release your grievances by way of exercise or, in true Sagittarius style, selfgratification.

You may feel more inclined to indulge in pleasure rather than tending to responsibilities. Carelessness in your words may lead to some misunderstandings. Think of others and compromise.

CAPRICORN

Promote yourself and speak the things you desire into existence. Put your positive attitude and initiative to good use.

Life has taken a rather hectic course. Your responsibilities are running you dry. Take your time making any important decisions that you might regret later.

AQUARIUS

Venus is bringing all the things that make you thrive from: affection, gifts and compliments. Your relationships are smooth sailing right now. Try not to mess it up by being too distant.

PISCES

Jupiter will soon push things in the right direction for Pisces.

Take a step back from anything causing difficulty and figure out a permanent solution. Happiness may be at stake if you don’t grab the bull by the horns.

TAURUS

GEMINI

Dial it back this week, Gemini. Being over assertive will cause unnecessary tension. Make sure you aren’t wasting your money and time on the wrong things or people.

CANCER

Positive change is coming! Self-confidence is one of Cancer’s best traits. Put it on full display and show the world what you have to offer.

LEO

Stray away from doing anything impulsively. September’s new moon will bring the positive transformation you’ve been waiting for.

ARTS & LIVING

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games

comic

“Hell’s fargo” Comic by Staff Cartoonist

GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

SPORTS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

www.georgiastatesignal.com/sports

Panthers struggle early, but beat Furman 48-42 The Tennessee “hangover” was evident throughout Georgia State Panthers beat the Furman Paladins 48-42 Saturday, launching their season with a 2-0 record.

ESPEN INDRISANO & ANFERNEE PATTERSON Sports Editor & Staff Reporter

G

eorgia State relied on a record-setting performance

by Dan Ellington to survive against the Furman Paladins 48-42 in front of a packed house at Georgia State Stadium.

“It has been an incredible seven days,” head coach Shawn Elliott said. “It was a total team effort, even though it was not sharp.”

Mirroring Georgia State’s start against Tennessee last weekend, the Paladins began the game strong, looking to send an early message.

After quarterback Darren Grainger found Thomas Gordon down the middle for 36 yards, the team found the endzone a few plays later. Grainger completed an 18-yard pass to Ryan Miller for the score. The extra point attempt was blocked, but it was a nightmare start for the Panthers’ defense.

Ellington and the offense took the field needing a quick response. The senior was on fire, completing five passes in a row to put the team on Furman’s 11-yard line. An unsportsmanlike penalty on Shamarious Gilmore halted the team’s drive, though, and Elliott had to settle for a field goal.

“You can’t do that,” Elliott said when discussing the penalty. “Football is a very, very emotional game and I understand that, but to accomplish the things necessary to be a good football team, we can’t do that.”

Furman continued their first quarter showcase on the following drive. Grainger completed a 32-yard pass to Gordon, who laid out to make a stellar diving catch, extending the Paladins’ lead to 13-3.

Trailing 20-3, the Panthers’ defense desperately needed a stop. The Paladins had the ball at midfield with 9:12 to go in the second quarter, but were held. The play rejuvenated those on the Georgia State sideline.

The offense capitalized on the momentum shift. After escaping an interception, Tra Barnett scored an 18-yard touchdown run and revived the home crowd.

On their next drive, the Panthers scored again and changed the game. Ellington found Terrance Dixon for a 10-yard score with two second remaining in the half. Dixon

gave every ounce of strength he had, dragging a couple Paladins defenders into the endzone with him.

Play time looked to be over as the second half got underway. Ellington marched his offense down the field, eventually finding Sam Pinckney with a 26-yard pass for the score. The Panthers took a 24-20 lead, their first of the game.

After Furman went three-and-out, the momentum was well and truly in the Panthers’ hands. The offense flew downfield and found themselves five yards away from another touchdown. Ellington found Roger Carter for a twoyard score and the Panthers blew the scoreline open.

The Paladins refused to give in, however. Grainger continued his heroics, finding Ryan DeLuca in the endzone with an 11-yard pass. The team converted a clever two point conversion to draw within a field goal at the 2:44 mark in the third quarter.

Ellington, playing through a pain barrier, answered. The senior found Aubry Payne for a 20-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 38-28 cushion at the end of the third quarter.

The shootout continued on the ensuing drive, as Grainger found Devin Abrams for a 30-yard touchdown to make the score 38-35 with 13:41 left in the game. The Panthers’ secondary, much like last season, was torn to pieces.

After Ellington threw his fifth touchdown of the night, setting a school record, Remy Lazarus made perhaps the most important play of the night, intercepting a pass from DeLuca and running it all the way back to the Furman 15yard line.

The offense had to settle for a field goal. Wright was on target yet again, nailing a clutch 38-yard field goal to inch the Panthers closer to a nerve-wracking victory.

Furman continued to fight, but time was inevitably their worst enemy. When it was all said and done, the Panthers were victorious. The 48-42 scoreline was not a convincing one, but it was just enough to improve the Panthers to 2-0 on the season.

“We faced adversity,” Elliott said. “We didn’t fold. We didn’t flinch. We really struck back.”

WORRYING DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE Although the Panthers defense made stops when it was necessary, Saturday’s game showed the defense — specifically, the secondary — needs to be improved.

PHOTO BY MATT SICILIANO-SALAZAR | THE SIGNAL

The Paladins are a great team and deserve a lot of credit for their performance, but the Panthers defense put the team in high pressure situations.

Furman rushed for 215 yards and passed for 323. Safety and team captain Remy Lazarus took most of the blame for the performance.

“I kind of let my team down tonight,” Lazarus said.

“We gave up 42 points and 35 of them are on me single handedly.”

THE OFFENSE IS LEGIT Since Elliott’s arrival, the offense has continued to thrive.

On Saturday, the unit bailed out the defense and proved that they can score at will.

Dan Ellington is the leader of the offense and proved why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the Sun Belt and Georgia State history. The senior threw five touchdowns to five different receivers, breaking a school record.

He finished the game 29-for-37 with 362 yards passing, 91 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

But Ellington’s performance would not have been possible if it were not for the offensive line, which showed out for the second week in a row. “[Ellington] is as good as the guys that surround him,” Elliott said.

THE TEAM IS LEARNING HOW TO WIN For the first time in program history, the football team has started the season 2-0. Saturday’s win over Furman was not an easy one, but the team fought through early adversity to overcome the Paladins.

The team showed its ability to settle down and take things one play at a time. Nights like Saturday are promising.

THE FANS WERE ELECTRIC Will we finally see the Georgia State Stadium fully packed this season? A crowd of about 20,000 was in attendance and made themselves heard all night.

For Elliott and the players, this was surely a key to the team’s victory and they will hope more fans show up as wins hopefully continue to flow in.

“Let me tell you, the crowd was amazing,” Elliott said.

“This was a great football atmosphere and I would love to see it continue because it can only grow.”

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GEORGIASTATESIGNAL.COM

Football and KISS: Lunch with Dave Cohen Voice of the Panthers eats pizza and shares life stories

The “Voice of the Panthers” David Cohen talks about his love for KISS and his time working with the Panthers.

ESPEN INDRISANO & ANFERNEE PATTERSON Sports Editor & Staff Reporter

I

t is that time of the week again, ladies and gentlemen, and it seems like pizza may become a mainstay on this series.

My guest is longtime Georgia State broadcaster Dave Cohen. I was also joined by Anfernee Patterson, a member of my sports team at The Signal who was with me in Knoxville for that historic victory.

We met up at a Broad Street favorite of mine, Rosa’s Pizza. Like Reuben’s Deli, I can always feel at home when inside Rosa’s. From the decorations to that perfect slice of pepperoni pizza, it is a piece of New York City in Atlanta.

Cohen has seen a lot in his broadcasting life. He has witnessed our athletics program explode into the national scene, most recently in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the Panthers shocked the nation and defeated the Volunteers.

Outside of his storied career in broadcasting, Cohen has authored a book, “Matzoh Balls and Baseballs,” a collection of stories on Jewish baseball players, and is a die-hard fan of KISS, a band he has been religiously listening to since his childhood.

What follows are highlights from our discussion. We began by discussing the Tennessee football game.

Dave: It’s funny: a lot of people there had no idea where Georgia State even was. And you win a game like that, so all of a sudden…

Espen: We’re on the map.

Dave: Yeah. We talked all week about them opening up on the big stage. Selfishly, I said all week that I wished we were playing Furman week one. We would have had a game under our belts before going up to play Tennessee in that environment. Hopefully, you beat Furman and take confidence with you to Knoxville. Instead, we went up there and won and suddenly it had changed everything.

Anfernee: How did this game compare to last season’s opener against Kennesaw State?

Dave: We don’t need to play Kennesaw. In the world of college football, maybe even with beating Tennessee, it is my opinion that we are still low-hanging fruit. So, until you know you can play Kennesaw and win that game, don’t play them. And they’re not our rivals; Georgia Southern is and always will be. Of course, we sold tickets to that game, but our program needs wins. That’s just my opinion, of course.

Anfernee: And we’re only 10 years old.

Dave: You know, I always say two things: You can’t win the Kentucky Derby riding a colt, and you can’t win the Daytona 500 riding a go-kart. And we’re still a colt and a go-kart. Tennessee has been playing football for over 100 years, but we’ve moved up quick. Two years of FCS [Football Championship Subdivision] and then one year in the Colonial, because that’s where all of our other sports played, and next thing you know, we’re having a press conference at the Georgia Dome to announce we’re going back to the Sun Belt, because you guys should know Georgia State was a Sun Belt school in the mid-’70s, just without football.

Espen: So, I actually wanted to get your opinion on the AAC [American Athletic Conference]. Obviously, UConn [University of Connecticut] just moved out, should Georgia State be looking to step up to a new conference?

Dave: Well, the one challenge we have always had is facilities. So, I was talking to someone over the weekend about a hypothetical situation: If the Braves never moved, where do we play? Because I don’t know if we could have afforded to play in the Mercedes Benz Stadium. If the city gave the Braves money, like they did with the Hawks and Falcons, and the team revamped Turner Field, where are we? We are just now taking this challenge on, but once you have the facilities, then you become more attractive. The one thing [that] Georgia State has always had going for [it] is location. That’s why we were attractive to the Colonial Athletic Association back in the day. Who were the two schools they took in? Georgia State and Northeastern [University]. They wanted to add Atlanta and Boston. So, somewhere down the line — maybe it’s five years, eight years or ten years — if Georgia State has all of its facility challenges taken care of, who knows.

Dave: I was on a radio show in Knoxville last Wednesday previewing the football game, and one of the guys asks me, “You guys are in Atlanta. Will you guys follow in the footprint of [the University of Central Florida]?” Good question. They are in Orlando, and we are in Atlanta. They have 50,000-plus students, like us, and we used to be in the same league with them back in the day. They started concentrating on football much earlier than we did; that’s why they are so far ahead. I answered him by saying, “Well, I don’t really know if anyone at Georgia State is sitting down and mapping out what the UCF did, but certainly when you look at the two situations, they’re way ahead and now are more of a national-scene football program. What we just did in Knoxville gave us a taste. It is fun to be a mid-major team in a big market, but it can also be a big challenge. In Orlando, all they really have is the Magic. Here, we’ve got

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAVID COHEN

Atlanta United, the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons. We’re constantly waving our hands around saying, “Look at me, look at me.” Sunday, when the Falcons are playing, they’ll be focused on the Falcons.

When the Braves reach the playoffs, they’ll be focused on the Braves. And when Atlanta United gets back into first place, they’ll be focused on them. Our story will have faded.

We have to keep winning games and getting to bowl games, occasionally beating a team like Tennessee.

Espen: You have been able to witness, in recent years, the two biggest days in Georgia State sports history, those being R.J. [Hunter]’s shot against Baylor [University] and then the football team’s win over Tennessee. How do those events stack up, and which do you think was bigger for the school?

Dave: R.J.’s was done on a big national stage at the NCAA Tournament. They were both really big, but I would have to rank R.J’s shot a little higher because of the environment and the stage it was on. That was in the NCAA Tournament; the Tennessee win was a regular season game. Funny story, about 500 or so yards behind us [at Neyland Stadium], was the old Stokely Arena. It was the 1983-84 season, my first full season behind the mic. Georgia State men’s basketball was 0-5. We bussed up to Knoxville to play Tennessee and they had no idea who we were; we might as well have been a YMCA team. We go into Stokely Arena and go toe-to-toe with them and win on a jump shot at the buzzer from Tony Graham. That was the first Power Five win in Georgia State basketball history. So, that win and our football team’s recent win both took place 36 years apart in Knoxville.

Espen: So, I’ve been able to ask all my guests this same question: You have been able to watch the football program develop from its infant stage in 2010 to where it is now.

What has that been like?

Dave: First of all, as a Georgia State alum [who] graduated in ’94, I never thought we’d have football. The administration didn’t see the benefit in football at the time, but you guys have seen this because you are living it now.

The two things Georgia State did not have in the world of universities are the two things you must have to move into that next level: one is football, and the other is on-campus student housing to help create that culture. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 10 times: I cannot believe we’re playing in our tenth season. Whether we are winning or losing, I’m just so happy we have it.

Espen: So, I want to talk about your career in broadcasting. How did you get into broadcasting, and when did you know radio was perhaps the career for you?

Dave: So, I had listened to a few basketball games on the

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

SPORTS

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SPORTS TRIVIA This week, let’s turn it up a notch. Think you know your men’s basketball history?

1. The starting quarterback of the football team is who?

a. b. c. d.

Jake Fromm Dan Ellington Jacob Eason Jarrett Guarantano

2. How much did the University of Tennessee pay Georgia State to play in Knoxville August 31?

a. b. c. d.

3. Georgia State men’s basketball’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in which year?

“You know, I always say two things: You can’t win the Kentucky Derby riding a colt and you can’t win the Daytona 500 riding a go-kart.”

a. b. c. d.

1991 1993 2001 2015

4. Who was the head coach for men’s basketball’s first ever NCAA Tournament victory in 2001?

a. Charles “Lefty” Driesell b. Ron Hunter c. Bob Reinhart d. Rob Lanier 5. Corey Gauff, who played basketball for the Panthers during the early 90’s, now coaches his daughter, Coco, in which professional sport?

a. b. c. d.

Dave: I forget how old I was — maybe 12 or 13 — [but] my mother’s brother calls the house one day. He was at Casablanca Records and says he can send us some records. I didn’t listen to music that much. A week later, a box shows up with a bunch of Casablanca records. So, my sister and I divided up the records, and I ended up with mainly KISS records.

I never got to see them until 1979. They did not play at the Boston Garden because of the pyrotechnics and the building’s fire regulations, so the closest they came to our home was Worcester, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island. Both of those drives would have been 2–3 hours, so my parents couldn’t drive me to see them. I finally got to see them in July of ’79 at Madison Square Garden. I don’t play golf, I don’t play tennis, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. I really don’t even buy a lot of tickets to go to Atlanta sports games because I already cover enough Georgia State things. But KISS has been a part of my life since I was about 12, so it is my one true vice and one big interest [besides] Georgia State sports.

Golf Basketball Tennis Volleyball

6. The Georgia State Sports Arena hosted which sport during the 1996 Summer Olympics?

a. b. c. d.

Table Tennis Badminton Gymnastics Boxing

1-B 2-C 3-A 4-A 5-C 6-B

- Dave Cohen Georgia State broadcaster radio when I was still a student at Walton High School, where I finished high school after moving down here from Massachusetts. When I knew I wanted to be in the radio business, I decided to go to Georgia State. I didn’t want to go to a small town and then try to get back to a city; I just wanted to be in the city. So, I came to Georgia State and got involved in the radio station. But what piqued my interest about radio was growing up a sports fan in Boston. I still love the [Boston] Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics [and the New England Patriots]. I listened to a lot of radio as a kid. Back then, we didn’t have cell phones or video games. There were only four TV stations, some magazines and newspapers. Apart from radio, that was about it. One of my cousins on my dad’s side still owns a radio station. So, I would listen to him and thought it was really cool to hear him speak on radio. Did I ever think I would be at Georgia State for 37 years? No. But five years turns into 10 and suddenly it’s 20 years.

Then, one day, you wake up, and it’s been 25.

Espen: I see you have been to 57 KISS concerts. Where does your love for the band come from?

$1.5 million $1 million $950,000 $850,000

to-do

my notes

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monday TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

THE SIGNAL 19

C O M M I T T E E O N S T U D E N T C O M M U N I C AT I O N ( C S C )

ANNUAL MEETING 2019 The meeting provides general information and takes questions from the student body.

The CSC is responsible for overseeing the leadership of five student media organizations: Album 88, Neo Network, New South, The Signal and Underground.

C

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CM

MY

CY

CMY

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FRIDAY September 20 10:30 a.m.

Cinefest Theatre

For more information on the CSC and its bylaws, email bmcneil1@gsu.edu or visit: studentmedia.gsu.edu

STUDENT MEDIA

Student Center West, Suite 456 404-413-1592

studentmedia.gsu.edu

To request disability accommodations at this event, please contact Disability Services, 404-413-1560 or via email: dismail@gsu.edu.