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VALdOSTA STATE uNiVErSiTy’S iNdEPENdENT STudENT NEWSPAPEr
The SpecTaTor
Thursday November 10, 2011
W W W. V S u S P E C TAT O r . C O M
Inside This Issue
VOLuME 82 iSSuE 13
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Blazers must beat UNA to save season Blazers to play North Alabama Saturday at 2 p.m in Bazemore-Hyder stadium Chris Natch s ta f f
writer
chnatch@valdosta.edu
following two tough conference losses the Blazers football team is faced with a must win situation against the University of North alabama saturday. against west Georgia and for the second game in a row, VsU took a lead late into the fourth quarter, only to give up a goahead touchdown with little time remaining. the loss dropped VsU to 6-3 on the season and 1-2 in conference. “it was disappointing,” Head Coach David Dean said. “we basically had everything in our hands. we held our own destiny. if we won that game, as it turns out, it wouldn’t matter what we would have done against North alabama, and i think we would have been in the playoffs. it hurt because we basically lost it the same way as we did the week before, on the last drive of the game.”
Obama offers loan relief to students
the loss turned an already son. huge game into a must-win for “it’s a playoff mentality,” said the Blazers, if they intend on Dean.“we got to win, there’s no participating in postseason play. doubt about it. if we don’t our the good news for VsU is season is over. we got twelve they are coming off a bye week guys who do not want to play while North alabama is coming their last football game this satoff an impressive 28-3 victory urday.” over the same west Georgia team that defeated VsU the week before. “We got 12 guys who do not there’s no doubt VsU is using the bye week as want to play their last footan advantage heading into ball game this Saturday.” this saturday’s game. “when i first looked at the schedule, i thought, ‘Gosh, i hate having the off week so late in the season,’ but it turned out to be a blessing,” Dean said.“Coming off two straight losses, it gave us an opportunity to heal up, it gave us an opportunity to sit back, refocus, regroup and recharge our batteries. we’ve been able to kind of sit on it and let it build here for a couple weeks.” the bye week has also given Dean and his team a chance to reassess their mentality heading into the biggest game of the sea-
s ta f f w r i t e r
a new plan has been put into effect to help reduce the $1 trillion debt of student loans held by college graduates. the plan, currently known as the Loan forgiveness Program, was supposed to go into effect in 2014. However recent studies published by the College Board put pressure on the government to make this program go into effect next year. according to the College Board, the total student loan debt has passed $1 trillion, more than the nation’s credit card debt. the Board also estimated that the average college student will graduate with $22,000 worth of debt under his or her name. “i think it is ridiculous that trying educating yourself and making a decent living comes with such a huge finaical burden,” Michelle smith, a junior education major, said. a lot of students feel that student loans are a burden. the Loan forgiveness program is expected to help out 6 million college graduates. the program is also lowering the maximum required payment on student loans from 15 percent of discretionary income annually to 10 percent for eligible borrowers. Under the student Loan forgiveness program, the loan period is reduced from 25 years to 20 years.this indicates that if you have been paying your monthly installments on time and without
J. Daniel Young/THE SPECTATOR Sophomore quarterback Cayden Cochran hands the ball off to freshman running back Troy Braswell during the game against West Georgia Oct. 29 where Braswell rushed for 188 yards. The Blazers are in a must win situation going into Saturdays game.
Forum raises awareness about sex trafficking Morgan McFarland msmcfarland@valdosta.edu s ta f f w r i t e r
William Garrett wlgarrett@valdosta.edu
season last year, we were not able to in the playoffs and they scored a lot more points on us,” Dean said. “Our front four has to get in there and make sure we get around the quarterback a lot. when they make catches, which they are going to do, we have to hit them. we can’t let them turn those 5, 6, 7 yard catches into 14, 15 yard gains.” On a defense that includes 7 former Division-i players, there’s no doubt that North al- COaCH DaViD DeaN abama may have the most talented defense the Blazers will have the Blazers defense will once faced this year. However, Dean again face a very stout offense. believes his team can have sucNorth alabama ranks a top the cess against them if they do one Gulf south Conference in passthing: limit mistakes. ing offense, averaging 302 yards “we’ve got to be able to mix per game also averaging over 30 throws and runs. we can’t be points a game. one dimensional and we force it’s going to be important for them to make us one dimensionthe Blazers to put pressure on the al. we can’t make a lot of misquarterback in order to aid their takes. we can’t have penalties, defensive backs against this poturnovers, drops, missed blocks, tent pass attack. we have to perform,” said Dean. “we have to be able to put “they take advantage of a lot pressure on the quarterback and mistakes that you make and we that’s what we did in the regular don’t want to do that.”
it was the untold stories that struck the interest of students. Quintella Bohannon and shalita Dickson brought those stories to VsU. Bohannon and Dickson, both members of Delta sigma theta, presented a forum on female genital mutilation (fGM) and sex trafficking wednesday in the student Union. the purpose of the forum was to bring acknowledgement and awareness of the international issues of fGM and sex trafficking being brought to the United states, and surprisingly enough
the audience soon learned that those residencies were in fact some familiar places. the disposition of the forum fell heavy when the speakers presented the location of the 13th largest sex trafficking place in the world—atlanta, Ga. about 42 percent of the sex trafficking events happen in North Metro atlanta with young children that are around the average age of 12-14. another place familiar to all the students was Valdosta, Ga. “it takes place in some of the country areas in Valdosta,” Jillian thomas, 20, a junior nursing major said. “i’ve heard about the massage parlors and how they are really brothels.” Bohannon, an accounting major, and Dickson, an exercise
Sex Trafficking Facts and Statistics •Sex trafficking include, pornography, prostitution, sex tourism, stripping, and promises •About 1 million children are trafficked a year. •The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 prevents the main ways most children are trafficked, which include being sold by parents, being kidnapped, false marriages, and empty promises. Graphic by Desiree Thompson
physiology major, expressed the importance of embracing other women and letting not only women know, but men as well
Zumba instructor gets special surprise from fiance
keberry@valdosta.edu s ta f f w r i t e r
Zumba instructor Deanna webb, a freshmen pre-nursing major, was surprised by her fiance, sr amn eric Dahmer during her Zumba dance class on tuesday night at the Campus recreational Center. “as soon as i stepped in there and seen her, it took a lot for me to not run up there and grab her.” said Dahmer. read the full story at www.vsuspectator.co m.
Correction
Question of the Week How do you feel about Joe Paterno getting fired? A. They should have let him resign. B. i don’t think he deserved it. C. Who’s Joe Paterno? Vote online at www.vsuspectator.com!
LaVisa Darling/THE SPECTATOR
being the chipper excited young girl that she is.” the speakers also struck a particular emotion on the future of the students present, and some think it was because they could relate to the speakers passion on their subjects. “they were both very passionate about the message,” Bianca white, 20, a junior mass communications major said. “i think they did touch more people because they were our age.” if you are or know anyone with similar situations, Bohannon and Dickson provided the following contact information for those seeking guidance or help: to contact the National Human trafficking resource Center (NHtrC) call 1-888-373-7888.
Tuition increases 8.3 percent in Georgia Kyle Berry
See LOAN, Page 2
in last week’s issue, the spectator should have reported that Jeffery Hargo was arrested in connection with the robbery, but not convicted .
that people are all different. No matter the culture they want others to know when you judge someone you are unaware of anything they may be going through, whether it is extreme or not. the speakers shared some graphic clips and scenes to support both aspects of the presentation to help the audience truly empathize with their point of views. Bohannon and Dickson both left an impression on not only the audience, but the thought of close loved ones. “My sister is 11 so it really impacted me because the ages for the statistics were 12-14,” Dezsarae Gill, a junior said. “i couldn’t imagine seeing her change in a snap of a finger from
tuition increases, most dramatically at research institutions, are happening nationwide due to budget cuts by the state. according to the associated Press, average in-state tuition and fees at four- year public colleges rose 8.3 percent this semester, or $631 in comparison to last year. the cost of a full tuition load totals to more than $8,000.the government helps families through federal grants and tax credits.the Director of financial aid, Doug tanner, provided more in depth information about the tuition increases here at VsU. “Our tuition and fees have been going up on average of about 5 percent a year over the last few years,” tanner said. “that doesn’t include additional charges like the institutional fee that’s been added over the last three years. that started at $200 a semester and is
now up to $295 per semester.” in the past, according to tanner, most public schools like VsU have received their funding from the state, but now we are receiving less than half of our funding from the state. He said there was no way to cut fees unless the funds from the state get reinstated. “it’s difficult to do away with a fee or for tuition to go down,” tanner said. “some private school tuitions have been going down, but they had large tuitions to start with and some of them could afford to cut fees.” according to tanner tuition increased by a little lower than four percent this past year. the increases for next year won’t be calculated until the spring. Despite this, tuition increaseswill not affect rising juniors and seniors, who are protected under the state’s fixed-for-four program. this program guaranteed See TuiTiON, Page 2
Last week’s question Weather at VSU Will you take part in the upcoming election? 57 % 21% 22%
Today Friday Saturday
Yes, local government matters
No, I'm leaving the country Who cares?
14 VOTES
Mostly Sunny
Mostly Sunny
Mostly Sunny
67 H 56 L 65H 33 L 72 H 40 L