Issue 2 | Volume 102

GOOGLE-OPOLY LAWSUIT MARKS THE FIRST BIG TECH ANTITRUST TRIAL OF THE CENTURY

Kate Verity

News Editor

On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the trial to decide if Google is a monopoly began. Google is under fire for having what some parties consider to be a monopoly on internet browsing. Most of this sentiment stems from an agree-

ment in which Google pays Apple to make its search engine the de fault on Apple devices.

A monopoly is when one company or firm possesses complete control and regulation of a specific market in the economy. To create more fairness and pro tect competition in the zero remaining viable brought new technol-

ogy and, with it, many less-than-tangible industries. The search engine industry is difficult to monopolize, as it is a free service for all consumers.

However, the case the United States Department of Justice makes in this instance is not that Google is attempting to monopolize the mar-

The Eras, The Renaissance and The Economy

Who run the world? Girls.

Olivia DeRosa

Contributing Writer Opinion

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, two of the most famous pop artists, are both touring the world, while simultaneously stimulating local economies as they go.

According to CNN, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is projected to gross $2.2 billion, and Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour is expected to surpass that by the time it finishes in Oct.

Between the tickets, hotel rooms, restaurants

and transportation, local economies are booming from the pop powerhouses visiting their cities. The Eras Tour alone is said to generate around $5 billion in consumer spending.

A usual weekend concert ticket costs around $100, and with added expenses, one could spend around $300. However, the BeyHive and Swifties are going all out for outfits. Local bars are making drinks based on popular songs, like “Lavender Haze,” a popular hit off of Swift’s latest “Midnights” or getting new nail sets from nail

technicians that can cost from $60 to $150. Some cities are even recording shortages in glitter, sparkles and beads, as fans are bejeweling entire outfits for these shows.

PBC RUNNER OF THE WEEK: PHILIP BULATAO

Brennan Schmitz Sports Editor

GC men’s cross country was in action for the first time this season at the Foothills Invitational hosted by Jackson-

ville State University. The team placed 11th overall with 274 points.

This was a good showing for the Bobcats, as they were one of 28 teams competing in the race, with a total of 236

runners. Some of those teams were NCAA Division I, including Auburn University, who would go on to win the race.

Many Bobcat runners posted good first performances, with some placing from the range of 29 to 153.

Most notably, GC allPeach Belt Conference runner Philip Bulatao claimed the 29th spot with a time of 16:12.1, a performance that earned him PBC Men’s Runner of the Week. He was followed by Daniel Laird, who just missed the top 50 with a time of 16:30.2, and Denver Oates, who placed 63rd with a time of 16:39.8.

“People are going to come here to Atlanta who wouldn’t have been here otherwise and are gonna spend a bunch of money,” said Dr. Tom Smith, Emory Goizueta Business

School professor, when speaking about Renaissance for an interview with Fox 5. Beyonce’s Atlanta show is estimated to bring in around $10 million in revenue.

ket to take advantage of consumers. Rather, the opposition claims that Google illegally asserted its market dominance and the obstruction of its competitors through its deal with Apple.

Chicago was seeing similar numbers, selling out over 44,000 hotel rooms across the weekend that Swift performed.

The intrusion and harm of AI

Drew Oldham Opinion Editor

Whether you asked for it or not, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is here and virtually ubiquitous in our lives. The indubitable nature of this fact is corroborated by a Forbes article titled “The 10 Best Examples of How AI Is Already Used In Our Everyday Life,” which says in its introduction, “You might imagine that artificial intelligence is only something the big tech giants are focused on, and that AI doesn’t impact your everyday life.

In reality, artificial intelligence is encountered by most people from morning until night.”

The AI systems we

encounter today are in an extremely advanced state of development and are much more sophisticated than they were even two decades ago, as the computing power of these machines has increased exponentially in this time span. AI is now capable of conducting comprehensive numerical calculations and extremely complex analyses of relationships and patterns within unfathomably massive data sets. The calculation capability of these AI systems exponentially exceeds that which even the greatest mathematical minds mankind has to offer possess.

The rapid learning and adaptive capabilities

of these machines have made them a hot commodity among many technologically-based businesses, which look to implement cutting-edge experimental technology in their application to improve users’ moment-to-moment interface with their content. As a result of AI technology’s potential to “up the game” for ambitious tech companies with an extensive track record of looking towards experimental technology to separate themselves from competition, you likely interact and play an active role in improving AI technology on your smartphone every single day

Courtesy of GC Athletics

Beyonce Knowles-Carter at the Renaissance Tour

In post-Roe America, New Mexico is a safe haven for women seeking abortions.

After months of waiting, the NFL returns. College students skip class all the time. But what affect does this have on their education — and education itself?

has several spots to eat, but it is missing one thing: an ice cream shop.

Canada issues U.S. travel advisory for LGBTQ+ citizens

Chance Curbow Staff Writer

The Canadian government issued a travel advisory to its LGBTQ+ citizens warning against traveling to the United States. A national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans was also issued in June by the Human Rights Campaign, a U.S.based advocacy group. This advisory come after U.S. state governments have proposed almost 500 anti-trans bills throughout 2023, compared to less than 200 in 2022, according to Trans Legislation Tracker.

Dr. Joanna Schwartz, professor of marketing, is the first out trans professor to work in the University System of Georgia

GOOGLE

Continued from Page 1

According to StatCounter Global Stats, a tool used to compile various economic statistics, as of August 2023, Google owned nearly 92% of the search engine market share worldwide. The question remains whether this clear economic dominance is a result of illegal action or consumer preference.

GC’s online system is based on Microsoft 365 applications. Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel must be used by students, even with Google having mirroring services of Gmail, Docs, Slides and Sheets. Even though the college provides all students with Microsoft accounts

and began her transition while working at GC.

“In the country overall, there’s been a really heavy conservative legislative push against LGBT people,” Schwartz said. “Someone from outside could look at that and see that there really is potentially a large segment of our population, no matter what state you’re in, who might not respect you as a person, and you might not feel safe to travel there.”

The bills being proposed in many southeastern states are targeted at stripping rights away from the LGBTQ+ community, specifically trans and non-binary people. However, Georgia is not passing bills at the same rate as Florida or Alabama.

and assignments are often due in that format, many students still use what Google offers.

Iliana Martin, junior psychology major, uses both Google and Microsoft applications on her MacBook.

“I feel like it’s(Google Drive) a lot more user-friendly,” Martin said. “And aesthetically, it’s just easier for me to type in Google Drive, and I feel like I get more done when I’m in Google Drive. I’ll literally copy my essays over from Google Docs to Word.”

With students in the room expressing their agreement with Martin, it is clear that GC’s implementation of a Microsoft-based campus has not successfully edged out students’ use of Google. Undeniably, Google

Editorial Board

Jennifer Crider.................

Cale Strickland................

Julia Jensen.......................

Kate Verity.........................

Shadimon Smith.........

Brennan Schmitz.........

Emily Henderson...........

Paige Blakemore............

Kylie Rowe........................

Drew Oldham..................

Isabella McComis..........

Kylie Noles........................

Avery Blair..........................

Kassie Arps.......................

William Burke..................

Alabama only has laws in place protecting LGBTQ+ citizens from basic in-school bullying and from being denied acceptance to colleges within the state due to their gender or sexuality.

Florida has laws in place specifically targeting the LGBTQ+ community, but also has many laws specifically against them, having passed sodomy laws, HIV/AIDS criminalization laws as well as laws excluding transgender

people from being included in sports or talked about in schools.

“The current legislative environment in the United States is still trying to protect our rights,” Schwartz said. “If the country moves really far to the right and the kind of things that are passed in Florida pass nationwide, at that point, just as I said, I might have to move out of Georgia. It’s perfectly possible I might have to move further than that.”

Georgia has similar laws against the LGBTQ+ community as Florida but offers more healthcare coverage and higher protection of LGBTQ+ youth, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

“In comparison to where I was living five years ago [Puerto Rico], I do feel like I’ve found a lot of freedom; I don’t face as much discrimination or harassment,” said Sebastián Emanuelli, senior liberal arts major.

In Emanuelli’s experience, he finds that the U.S. still offers more protections than many other countries throughout the world.

“In the U.S., there are a lot more rights for LGBTQ+ people,” Eman-

uelli said. “However, I do feel like moving to a southern state wasn’t to my advantage. Systematically, I do receive more protections, I believe, and I do feel safer here presenting as lesbian, bisexual, trans, whatever than in Puerto Rico.”

The U.S. is a historically progressive country where some states are currently working to reduce the rights of some citizens. Legislation is being proposed, and tracked by the American Civil Liberties Union, that directly confronts the ideals of both acceptance and inclusion that the country was founded upon. The LGBTQ+ community needs - and deservesrespect for their rights.

has succeeded in cementing itself as a frontrunner in office technology.

Dr. J.J. Arias, chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, finds the government’s argument that Google’s popularity is grounded in illegitimate practices to be somewhat of a weak case.

“It [having 90% market share] could just be that Google is superior, and they’re just offering a superior product,” Arias said. “Microsoft had their own browser for a long time called Internet Explorer. That was the default browser on all their PCs, all their laptops, all their computers.”

This memory of people actively swapping their preloaded browser for Google goes against a principle called default

bias. In the study of behavioral economics, researchers have proven that people tend to just stick with the initially offered option. This concept is called default bias.

“Well, eventually, people just preferred Google, and so, I mean, I remember when we’d get computers at work or anything, Google was not the default. But people began to switch out of the default towards what they thought was a better product,” Arias said. wDefault bias could be an argument used to explain Google’s popularity, as it is pre-downloaded on Apple products, and users have to go out of their way to use an alternate search engine. But Arias’s account of the downfall of Internet Explorer shows that

many people truly saw something desirable in what Google had to offer.

This trial is set to continue over the next

I’ll literally copy my essays over from Google Docs to Word.

-Iliana Martin

10 weeks as the Justice Department attempts to prove that Google’s market dominance is not a result of genuine consumer performance but is instead the product of illegal and unethical actions. If Google does lose this trial, everybody may see some of the ramifications in their own technology.

“What would happen is, Apple or Android, they would just decide what they want to be their default browser,” Arias said. “But the thing is, if Google really does have that much market share and it really is a superior browser, they’ll probably just pick Google anyway.”

These companies may be legally required to make it easier to swap browsers or even have the user select their own browser upon initial product purchase. However, if the results of this case do affect future smartphones and laptops, it will not be for many months.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Rain extinguishes Burning Man

Hannah Dunn Staff Writer

Burning Man, the world-renowned annual festival held in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, faced unexpected challenges this year, as heavy rainfall transformed the iconic event into a muddy disaster, leaving over 70,000 attendees stranded and struggling to conserve vital resources.

From Aug. 27 to Sept. 4, attendees typically gather to celebrate art, music and community, culminating in the burning of the iconic “Man” structure on the second to last day.

However, this year, a record-breaking 0.8 inches of rain drenched the desert, equivalent to two to three months’ worth of precipitation for northwest Nevada.

Due to the downpour, attendees struggled to maneuver in the muck,

with mud-coated shoes, feet and car tires. Organizers and local authorities issued a shelterin-place order, urging attendees to conserve food, water and fuel. Roads in and out of the event were closed to prevent vehicles from getting stuck and worsening the muddy predicament.

While some determined individuals embarked on extreme treks to reach the exit, most RVs remained immobilized in the muddy terrain. Attendees claimed the conditions made walking or biking impossible.

“I think the people planning the event could have checked for heavy rainfall,” said junior Gia Lasher, a biology major.

Lasher also said that better preparation and appropriate gear for rain could have made the situation more manageable.

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office and fes-

tival organizers noted that they were not sure how long it would take for the roads to clear enough for vehicle travel. The temporary city of Black Rock, which is built annually to host the festival, had to close its gates and airport to all but emergency vehicles.

Stranded attendees, expecting a weekend of art and community, found themselves rationing supplies, including water, food, fuel and charging devices. Panic ensued as many tried to cancel flights, book hotels and share news online, leading to limited service and thousands of dead phones.

The situation left countless visitors dehydrated and hungry, emphasizing the need for better preparedness in the face of such unforeseen events.

Faith Varner, a junior equestrian studies student at the Savan-

nah College of Art and Design, has attended Burning Man in the past.

“I would still want to go back to Burning Man, even after the unfortunate event that occurred, as long as there were emergency plans in place for future events,” Varner said. “Most people attending have researched the festival, where they understand the dangers that could occur in the event of a flash flood.”

In an attempt to make the best of a difficult situation, some attendees embraced the mud, creating sculptures to bring a sense of fun and creativity to the challenging conditions.

A few days after the initial rainfall, organizers set up mobile cell trailers throughout the event to provide Wi-Fi access, and buses were arranged to help those wishing to leave the festival grounds.

Dr. Kristine White, an environmental sci-

ence instructor at GC, stated that she believes the rains are indirectly linked to climate change.

“Due to climate change and extra heat energy being stored in the ocean, it did not cool as much as it has in the past, which then brings extra heat and moisture that will shift the regional weather patterns,” White said.

The unpredicted rainfall in Black Rock Desert sparked media coverage concerning the effects of climate change and the negative outcomes that are not far behind.

Burning Man’s official website had cautioned attendees to be prepared for unexpected weather.

“Long, sustained rainfall is uncommon, but storm cells may bring high winds, lightning, and rain, so you should be mentally and physically prepared for this,” Burning Man officials said.

Located on the event’s website, their “Survival

Guide” recommended bringing plenty of essential supplies, such as a bucket — in case the portable restrooms were out of commission — clothing suitable for colder temperatures, ample food, medicine and a battery or solar-powered radio. This incident highlights the importance of thoroughly reading and adhering to a festival’s survival guide, which could have helped attendees cope better with the challenges they faced.

As the festival ended, attendees and organizers alike reflected on the unexpected turn of events and the need for improved disaster preparedness, ensuring that future Burning Man festivals can continue to be celebrated in the spirit of art, music and self-expression.

Abortion laws: New Mexico v. America

Carly Henderson Staff Writer

In 2023,New Mexico passed laws protecting reproductive rights making it a safe haven to women seeking abortions.

In 2022, Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade by determing that the right to an abortion was no longer constitutional. This allowed states to establish their own laws regarding abortion, and since 2022, 22 states have passed motions to ban abortion.

The Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act, or HB7, in New Mexico prohibits public bodies, including local municipalities, from denying, restricting or discriminating against an individual’s

right to use or refuse reproductive healthcare or healthcare related to gender. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed this bill in March.

“I believe New Mexico will remain a safe haven for women in need because women need a place like New Mexico,” said Makenzie Flenniken, senior public health major. “Although states surrounding New Mexico may pressure them to become anti-abortion, as long as a woman who understands women is fighting for women’s rights, New Mexico will continue to be that safe place.”

Texas, New Mexico’s neighboring state, has a near-total ban on abortion; therefore, New Mexico allotted $10 million

ic near the state’s border.

Some students are worried that public opinion could have an impact on laws placed.

“The public opinion is very influential when it comes to government decisions,” said junior Daly Kennedy, a political science major.

“Elections are one of the primary ways in which public opinion translates into political power. Most elected officials are heavily influenced, with their decisions based on the majority of voters in order to keep their seat in favor and to secure a reelection.”

The new laws passed in New Mexico also protect healthcare workers.

The Dobbs decision brought uncertainty to healthcare workers who provide reproductive

care. A New Consult survey stated that one in 10 healthcare workers have considered leaving their industry because of new abortion bans or restrictions.

“As nurses, it is our job to advocate for our patients’ values and beliefs, whether we agree with them or not,” said Amy Pickett, senior nursing major. “With recent changes in laws, especially regarding subjects with so much emotion at-

tached to them, it is very important for medical professionals to educate themselves so they can provide medical advice without showing any bias that derives from their own personal beliefs.”

The overturn of Roe changed what care healthcare workers can provide. Students preparing to enter the healthcare industry might have to adjust to these recent changes that could affect their future careers.

“As a student soon to be entering the healthcare field, I think it could be difficult to preserve my values and remain strong in them while still being able to educate and advocate for my patients, no matter what they believe, with an unbiased opinion,” Pickett said.

Many other states are expected to make decisions regarding the legality of abortion and reproductive rights following the Dobbs decision.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

Biden halts Alaskan oil drilling

Kylie Rowe Asst. Arts & Life Editor

On Sept. 6, the Biden administration announced that drilling in 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska will be prohibited, cancelling all drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

After making promises to combat wildlife during his election campaign, this is the first big step that President Biden has taken to combat the continuing climate change issue. One of the administration’s goals is to strike a balance between the environmentalists and the oil companies.

The Trump administration signed oil and gas leases for permis-

sion to drill in 2016 and there has been a big push by environmentalist groups to shut down the drilling, which was one of Biden’s campaign promises in 2020.

However, the environmentalists and oil companies are establishing goals that are further from each other than before. According to the New York Times titled “Biden Approved a Big Oil Project”, climate activists were angry with Biden for waiting this long to take action continuing the Willow project after enlisting these measures.

Though the Biden administration claims these are “maximum protections,” many environmentalists are not happy that the $8 billion Willow

Project in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve is not only ongoing but was directly approved by the Biden administration earlier this year.

The Willow Project is a oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips that was originally created to operate five drill pads with up to 250 oil wells.

“We might be living in a time where it is harder, as a politician, to strike a balance between the environmental interests and industry interests as it was in the past,” said Max Harleman, assistant professor of public administration at GC.

It is also important to note that the Indigenous people who live in the Arctic Refugee have also been affected by these changes

in policy and need to be considered by both sides of the aisle when making decisions about the future of the land.

“The Arctic Refuge is my home, said Robert Thompson, an Iñupiat wildlife guide. “It has been home to my people, the Iñupiat, for thousands of years. It is now as it has always been. I wish for it to remain this way for future generations of Iñupiat. When my granddaughter was a small child, we were out on the land; she raised her hands and said, “Thank you, God, for this good land.” If we were in an oil field, would she have been so inspired?”

Because environmentalists’ goal is to get carbon emissions to net zero, it is harder for politicians to retain their support if they authorize any amount of drilling.

“Whether forgoing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will get the U.S. to net zero faster depends entirely on whether the forgone energy will be

PHILOSOPHY MAJOR SPOTLIGHT: HUNTER COATS

Jack McKinney

Contributing Writer

Hunter Coates is a senior double majoring in philosophy and history. He has exemplified the liberal arts platform to a notable degree.

GC often prides itself on exemplifying liberal arts education, which, although diverse in studies, is fundamental in finding solutions to complex topics. Whether it be chemistry, English, business or other majors, there are plentiful studies to demonstrate the intricacies of liberal arts.

Relatedly, it can be understood that some majors may be bound to liberal arts through natural academic concepts. Philosophy, the study of the fundamental nature of reality, knowledge and existence, is applicable to this connection.

The official GC website

says, “Philosophy, Religion, and Liberal Studies provides the foundation of a well-rounded Liberal Arts education.”

During his time at GC studying philosophy, Coates has been able to engage in philosophical discussion with peers and professors, all the while reflecting thorough concepts in the process.

“Small discussions are a huge positive about a liberal arts college,” Coates said. “Discussing ideas is a huge part of my major and classes.”

There were a few reasons why he chose this major, one being discussion-based education, and the other being political theory.

“In high school, I was always interested in political theory,” Coates said. “I eventually decided to study philosophy because of my political and historical passions,

as it was interconnected with philosophy itself.”

Philosophy relates to other studies present here at GC, and even STEM majors can still relate to philosophy on a large scale.

“Although philosophy is a field on its own, it applies to all other fields,” Coates said. “Even if you’re in science, there is an entire philosophy branch to the study.”

This broad narrative provides a unique approach to how philosophy interacts with the liberal arts environment here at GC. Not only can the discussion of philosophy be found in seemingly unphilosophical studies, but it also creates new speculations of existing concepts in the process.

“I have gotten my STEM friends involved with philosophy due to these correlations,”

replaced by burning fossil fuels that were extracted elsewhere or by renewable resources,” Harleman said.

In CNN’s explanation of the Willow Project controversy, released in March, the issue most environmentalists focused on was that the drilling could release 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year.

However, some critics argue that the carbon emissions will continue to increase whether the drilling project continues or not. According to the International Energy Agency, 36.8 billion tons of carbon emissions were released in 2022. These emissions are among the highest contributing factors to global warming, which is why many environmentalists are fighting against the project.

Transportation in the United States is highly reliant on oil production. Although, there are small changes being made, such as electric cars, and the stopping of this

project altogether may not result in as much positive environmental impact as assumed.

Many speculate that environmentalists, such as Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest organization, are fighting this particular drilling for symbolic purposes. As far as the state of Alaska’s lawmakers are concerned, the project will create jobs and boost their economy.

This fight is purely based on the environmental implications, which have few comparative calculations published.

Many believe that even if the drilling is proposed for another area, it will not be as politicized as this because the land is not protected like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Also other oil and gas leases have yet to be stopped and environmentalists want to stop future drilling projects to help solve the bigger issue of climate change.

Coates said. “Especially in research, philosophy is very interdisciplinary.”

In a corresponding manner, as a soon-to-be graduate of philosophy, Coates has found his own space in establishing individualized philosophical arguments. One of his most prestigious accomplishments follows suit, as he published his first book in February. “Conspiracy & The Subject: A Lacanian Enterprise” explores the multi-faceted creation of conspiracy theories through a Hegelian philosophical framework.

“My book is largely on psychoanalysis, particularly applied to conspiracy theories and how they attach to other themes in my book,” Coates said.

Within the understanding that conspiracy theories pose a dangerous threat in modern politics, Coates mani-

fests new connections on how to deal with the ever-changing effects.

Relatedly, solutions such as finding alternatives to profit-centered economic systems are primary in the book.

Writing a book is a long process, as it usually takes many months or even years, depending on word count and complexity. However, one strategy that helped Coates was to simply start fresh and let his mind ramble.

“My book was originally a 20-page paper, and I reached a point where I wanted

to keep and keep writing,” Coates said. “That’s kind of my motto: Keep writing and don’t stop.”

Regardless, the depths of philosophy had certainly brought passion to Coates’s work and the work of other like-minded philosophy majors as well.

Specifically, here at GC, many consider philosophy to pair quite well with a liberal arts education, as it remains rooted in critical discussion and finding solutions to life’s most substantial issues.

Hunter Coats

College football delivers an exciting slate of games

Davis Camuso Staff Writer

Texas did the unthinkable. The Longhorns traveled down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for what turned out to be a thriller of a game. The No. 11 Texas Longhorns faced off in a rematch versus the No. 3 team in the country, the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was looking for revenge from last season after going down with an injury in the second quarter that eventually led to a Texas loss. The Alabama team fans saw in this game was much different from what they showed in Week One against Middle Tennessee State.

Jalen Milroe struggled trying to get the offense going, as he threw two interceptions. Those two interceptions led to 10 points for the Longhorns.

Along with Quinn Ewers’s perfect night, penalties set back Alabama from being able to escape the game with a victory. Alabama was penalized 10 times for 90 yards, with two of those penalties having to take away touchdowns as well.

Texas would be able to squeak out a victory on the road with a 34-24 win.

College football Week Two answered many questions. Colorado surely had the answer to the question of whether or not their football team was legit.

After a dominant game against Nebraska, their team looks to be for real, and they will likely not go away anytime soon.

Even though Nebraska has not shown their best football in the last several years, it was still a good test for Coach Deion Sanders and his team to see how good they actually are.

With a slow start to

the first quarter, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders came ready to play again. Sanders threw for 393 yards and added two more touchdowns as well.

Travis Hunter was able to play on both sides of the ball and excelled at both positions. The final score of the game was 36-14 in favor of the Buffaloes.

Many college football fans on campus are very impressed with the Buffaloes thus far.

Another notable game was North Carolina’s double-overtime win over Appalachian State. The Mountaineers always make this game exciting but never seem to come out on top.

The star quarterback of the Tar Heels, Drake May, usually is the talk of the game, but it was running back Omarion Hampton that stole the show.

Hampton ran for

The NFL kicks off the 2023 season

Drew Bogumill

Staff Writer

Week one of the 2023-2024 NFL season is over, and there were a lot of exciting things to talk about.

The season kicked off with a Thursday night matchup between the reigning super bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions.

The Chiefs were without their star tight end Travis Kelce, which definitely put a wrench in their overall offensive production. Patrick Mahomes was forced to spread the ball around to a wide spread of receivers.

In a close game, the Detroit Lions barely edged by the Chiefs, winning the game 21-20. Star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and newly acquired running back David Montgomery had great games, which helped the Lions get the win.

The Atlanta Falcons took on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in a big opening divisional game. The Falcons star rookie Bijan Robinson had 56 rushing yards as well as six receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown, which helped the Falcons get the win.

Junior business major Michael LaRusso is a huge Falcons fan and was happy with week one’s result.

“You can never be upset with a week one victory when it comes to the Falcons,” LaRusso said. “I am very excited to see how Bijan and our offense progress throughout the season.”

fense performed against Joe Burrow,” said sophomore undeclared Ryan Collins. “My favorite player is definitely Myles Garrett, who had a huge play.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars took on the Indianapolis Colts with their star receiver Calvin Ridley. Ridley missed

234 yards, with a longest run of 63 yards, for the Tar Heels. He would also tack on three touchdowns too, and North Carolina won 40-34.

The No. 1 team in the land, the Georgia Bulldogs, faced Ball State, and they were able to dominate three out of the four quarters in this matchup.

totaling 264 yards between the air and the ground. The Jaguars won the game 31-21.

“My favorite team is the Jaguars and I was very pleased with our week one performance,” said senior accounting major Tucker Sutton. “I think Calvin Ridley will be at least a top 10 receiver this year which should really help us.”

On Monday night, the New York Jets took on the Buffalo Bills in a much anticipated start for star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers signed with the Jets over the summer after spending his entire career in Green Bay.

After being tied 0-0 at the end of the first quarter, standout receiver Mekhi Mews took a 69yard punt return to the house to get the Dawgs started on a 31-point second quarter. It was smooth sailing from then on out, and Georgia won the game 45-3.

Teams like Penn State,

BULATAO

Continued from Page 1

Bulatao has been an irreplaceable member of the men’s cross country team for the past few seasons, but that does not come without loads of hard work in the offseason.

“I pretty much just stayed consistent throughout the whole summer,” Bulatao said. “Most of the summer, we just do easy runs to build up a base, but it is really hard to do that when you are by yourself, so I just tried to stay consistent for the most part.”

While cross country is mainly an individual sport, Bulatao credits the company and support of his teammates as a way to sustain success throughout the long year ahead.

Duke and Florida State were all able to stay red-hot to start off the year, all winning their games very effortlessly. College football delivered excitement to fans for yet another week, and it looks to continue to do so for the coming months.

niable running talent, Bulatao attributes a majority of his successes to his team here at GC.

“It is really helpful having people there that are doing the same thing as you and just out there to support you and make sure you are doing your best,” Bulatao said.

The Bobcats were back on the trail on Friday, Sept. 16, at the Julius Johnson Invitational hosted by Mercer University, where Bulatao and the men’s cross country team continued to improve.

Bulatao had another amazing performance at this invitational. He was able to finish 10th overall, with an 8k time of 27:22.7. This performance was the fastest for the Bobcats.

The Cleveland Browns shocked the Cincinnati Bengals, holding them to only three points for the entire game. Bengal’s star QB Joe Burrow had one of his worst ever games, going 14for-31 for just 82 yards and zero touchdowns.

Brown’s running back Nick Chubb had a good game, rushing for 106 yards on 18 carries. The Brown’s running game paired with their strong defense allowed them to win 24-3.

“I loved how our de-

all of last season after getting suspended for gambling on games.

Ridley came out to play, catching eight passes on 11 targets for a total of 101 yards and a touchdown. The Colts were without their big time running back Jonathan Taylor, which definitely hurt their offensive production.

One upside for the Colts was their rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson. Richardson showed promise for the rest of this season

Disaster struck in the first minutes of the game, as Rodgers got sacked then struggled to get back up. Rodgers left the game, and later that night, the news broke that he tore his achilles and would be out for the season, leaving Jets fans devastated.

Week two kicks off this Thursday with a matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams have very explosive offenses, so it should be a very exciting game.

“It will be a lot easier working with a team and a coach,” Bulatao said. “Having support is really helping me so far to get to that goal.”

Despite his unde-

Philip’s top performance along with four other Bobcats finishing in the top 20 helped secure second place in the tournament.

The Bobcats return to action on Sept. 30 at the NCAA Southeast Region Preview hosted by University of North Georgia.

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes

Courtesy of GC Athletics

Cale’s cinema corner: “Bottoms” review

Cale Strickland Managing Editor

Whether you love it or hate it, chances are, you have seen “Fight Club.”

Since its release, David Fincher’s classic has run both the critical and cultural gamut.

It debuted to mixed reviews. Many critics, including Roger Ebert — often regarded as the most important film critic of all-time — dubious of the artistic value of Fincher’s grisly, unflinching depiction of masculinity and violence, panned the film; in fact, he called it “fascist.”

Despite critics’ reactions, the film became a cult classic and lived on — through DVD, in dorm-room posters and on the Internet.

By the 2010s, many critics reclaimed the film, hailing it as a masterpiece and one of Fincher’s best, if not his best.

Today, the film is synonymous with the wave of terminally online “sigma males” it has inspired, who litter social media with posts praising the film’s antagonist, Tyler Durden.

As a filmmaker and, by extension, a cinephile, Emma Seligman has seen “Fight Club.” In fact, as she told Sean Fennessey, the host of my favorite podcast, “The Big Picture,” she loves it. But she never made Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri and the rest of her cast and crew watch the film when preparing for “Bottoms,” her sophomore feature.

Her decision is ironic, as “Bottoms” is in the lineage of “Fight Club,” and there are endless parallels between the narratives surrounding the two films.

As a young, hotshot director, Fincher cast two of the ‘90s’ up-

and-coming stars, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, in “Fight Club”; Seligman cast Gen Z’s equivalent, Edebiri and Sennott, in “Bottoms.”

Sennott headlined “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and appeared in Max’s “The Idol”; Edebiri is coming off starring and costarring roles in FX’s “The Bear” and Fox Searchlight’s “Theater Camp.” Although “The Idol” and “The Bear” received polar opposite reviews, both were big, big hits. Young people know who Sennott and Edebiri are. And if they do not yet, they will.

The film follows PJ, played by Sennott, and Josie, played by Edebiri, a pair of best friends who start a — yes — fight club to get girls.

It is a simple premise and a simple film, which is a compliment; an hour-and-a-half

comedy is a breath of fresh air in an industry brimming with twoand-a-half-hour dramas.

“Bottoms” knows what it is: one of the best, and only, comedies of the year and a breezy, laugh-a-minute joyride.

Sennott and Edebiri are, as expected, terrific, as is the rest of the film’s cast. I had not heard of many, if not the majority, of Sennott and Edebiri’s costars, but they are all wonderful. Of course, As an NFL and ex-Seattle Seahawks fan, I had heard of Marshawn Lynch, who knocks his first role, as PJ and Josie’s staff sponsor, out of the park.

Acting is important, but jokes are the foundation of comedy. And all the jokes land. Older filmmakers have attempted to appeal to teens and 20-somethings’ sense of humor for years and years,

Women supporting other women

GC’s efforts in protection against female violence

Rebecca Meghani

Senior Writer

Earlier in September, Rho Bashe posted videos on her social media pages showing her injuries after a man threw a brick at her face after she did not give him her number. She details her story in these videos that went viral across many social media platforms and have sparked a new conversation regarding violence against women and protection for women.

“What have I ever done to anybody in my life to deserve this,” Bashe said on her social media. “I have never done anything in my life to hurt anybody. Literally, a man asked me for my number and I said, ‘No.’ And he picked up a brick, in front of so many men, and was like, ‘What are you going to do?’”

This situation has started up a conversation that has been on-going for years. Sexual harassment and violence is a prevalent issue for women across the world. In June 2014, the Stop Street Harassment organization commissioned a national survey in the United States that found that 65% of all women had experienced street harassment.

Surveys done by Cornell University ILR school and the nonprofit organization Hollaback! show that 85% of American female respondents faced street harassment before the age of 18, nearly 70% before the age of 14 and close to 80% have stated they were followed by their harassers.

With women of all ages having experiences like these, there have been federal efforts for prevention down to the local level. In Milledgeville and at GC, there are many active efforts to help women facing harassment and violence.

The Women’s Center on campus hosts a variety of support for students, like the Project BRAVE initiative, standing for Bobcats Rising Against

prevention education.”

Through the grants, the Women’s Center has engaged in efforts like direct victim services and has previously provided advocacy for students. There are active efforts against violence supporting victims in Milledgeville, like The Bright House, a sexual assault support center that opened in 2019. Another effort has been raising awareness of

campus. We invite people to share their experience to find community with other people and find a way to talk about it because we don’t really talk about it in our society.”

Break the Silence will be taking place during the week of Oct. 23 this semester. Additionally, during the spring, April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, where the Women’s Center hosts Take Back the Night, a

and none of them have succeeded. Last year’s “Bodies Bodies Bodies” was the closest we had gotten to a true Gen-Z comedy — until now.

It is not surprising, as our generation’s filmmakers have not been afforded the opportunity to make films yet, in part because many of them are still in school but also because studios are reluctant to put money in young people’s hands.

Seligman is a late

millennial, or “zillennial,” old enough to gain “Bottoms” distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s seal of approval — which is shocking, as MGM is one of Hollywood’s oldest studios.

“Bottoms” is a miracle. I have a feeling Seligman, Sennott and Edebiri are going to part of our lives for years, if not decades. Hollywood, a new generation has arrived, and they want — and deserve — a seat at the table.

Violence Everywhere.

“We received grant funding from the Office on Violence Against Women, the campus grant program from the Department of Justice,” said Jennifer Graham, Associate Dean of Students for Student Inclusion and Belonging. “We have received it twice, first in 2013 and renewed in 2016, and through that funding, we started Project BRAVE. We train peer facilitators all throughout campus for bystander intervention, consent, stalking, they do classroom presentations and

these issues and the resources that the Women’s Center provides.

“Every fall semester, we participate in the Clothesline Project, a national visual awareness campaign raising awareness about different forms of violence, but it also provides people who have been impacted by power based interpersonal violence an opportunity to speak out,” Graham said. “We invite survivors or people who have been impacted by violence to come out and make a shirt and we hang all of them across front

rally that offers survivors an opportunity to speak out. Along with their awareness programs, they offer consistent support with connecting people to the Bright House, the Counseling Center on campus, get people connected to Title IX, offer community building, engagement and leadership development for women.

In conversation of harassment and consent, there remains the question of how can we solve this?

“It’s not something that is talked about, and

it becomes a perpetuating cycle of not talking about it,” Graham said. “We, as a society, are not comfortable talking about sex, which makes it really hard to talk about consent. Sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination happens all the time. A lot of socialization and the way gender is talked about in society, misogyny is a part of that. The patriarchy contributes too.”

“Do you consent to holding hands? Do you consent to getting a kiss? Do you consent to getting a hug? Those are very age-appropriate conversations that we have to have with kids so it’s not a new concept that you’re being introduced to in middle or high school.”

At the federal level, acts like the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, and the Victims of Crime Act, or VOCA, sends support directly into communities. These are dollars that are collected at a federal level then are redistributed out to states, coalitions and different government agencies to help money get closest to where things are happening and where it is most needed.

“I’m always glad when VAWA gets reauthorized,” Graham said.

There has been an increase in conversation around consent, with the importance of teaching it at a younger age becoming more prevalent in our society.

“I’m excited when I hear my peers talk about the conversations they’re having with their children around consent and really starting consent conversations from a young age, starting those conversations when they’re toddlers, because consent isn’t just something that happens when we do or don’t want to have sex,” Graham said.

“There were a couple years where it didn’t. We, as a campus, have directly benefited from VAWA because we have received two cycles of the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women funding. Those grant funds go directly into communities. They help fund campus programs across the nation. They help to fund sexual assault centers and domestic violence shelters and state coalitions that are doing this work, so that funding is tremendous and helping.”

While the ongoing conversation of harassment and consent continues, there remains support for those who face these issues on a federal to a local level, including on campus.

Kylie Rowe | Asst. A&L Editor

TOURS

Continued from Page 1

When Swift performed in Glendale, the concert generated more revenue than this years Superbowl.

After attending both tours in Atlanta, I can confidently say that both had an electric atmosphere, even if the aesthetics of the show were different. Swift’s show was full of bright colors

and friendship bracelets, and fans were decked out in outfits displaying different Swift “eras,” whereas Beyonce was metallic with disco ball cowboys everywhere, recreating her latest album cover.

The total cost of traveling to attend the Renaissance tour, including tickets, a hotel room, outfits, transportation and restaurants, was around $1,600 for two people. Staying at a

hotel in Atlanta for Beyonce’s show was the way to go. The W Hotel bar had a photobooth for Renaissance-esque photoshoots and they served Beyonce-themed drinks at the restaurant.

Many other companies are capitalizing on these tours to make a profit. In New York City, the ferry line Circle Line Cruises hosted dance lessons for BeyHivers to learn the choreography

Beyonce and her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, perform at shows. Tickets for this event were $25, and they had an open bar, as well as a DJ aboard the two-hour ride.

The hard seltzer brand Truly LA hosted a friendship-bracelet making table outside Swift’s Los Angeles, California shows. Swifties could make bracelets ahead of the show and pass them to other fans in the ven-

ue, an Era’s Tour tradition that was inspired by a lyric from her song “You’re On Your Own,Kid”.

“The positive impacts of Swift and Beyonce’s tour do not seem to be slowing down anytime

Chronic absences in college students

Are students too cool for school?

Drew Oldham Opinion Editor

Schools in every region of the United States are experiencing a significant decline in attendance along with a wide-scale emergence of the attendance pattern of chronic absenteeism among students.

Chronic absenteeism is used to refer to any time a student misses 15 or more full class days during a given school year, and it is a nightmare for both the educator and the quality of education the student is receiving.

According to statistics published by the Education Advisory Board, chronic absenteeism has risen substantially in students since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the national rate for chronic absenteeism was 16%, and in just three short years, it more than doubled to 33% in 2022.

The empty desks created by absent students not only greatly inhibit their ability to learn and grow intellectually in school; they also weaken the school culture as a whole. Half-empty classrooms are not going to be conducive to thought-provoking conversations or an immersive and collaborative classroom climate,

and learning, in general, suffers because of it.

Chronic absenteeism in students is associated with a broad variety of poor outcomes for these students.

“Due to chronic absenteeism, 6.5 million students are at risk of falling behind academically,” said Buena Speaks in “The Causes and Effects of Chronic Absenteeism.

at a higher frequency than their counterparts that maintain regular attendance at school.

“I think that absences, in any capacity, are negative,” said Christy Garlock, senior psychology major and Psi Chi president. “School absences, in particular, can lead to a decline in grades, a loss of the quality of connection and

loop that moves one further away from regular attendance and proficient performance in school. The more school one misses, the more difficult they will perceive school to be, which will cause a drop in motivation that leaves them even less likely to resume regular attendance.

Diana Young, associate professor of psy-

rection towards achieving the grade they want.”

It is nearly impossible to help students if they do not show up to class in the first place. As a result of the alarming decline in attendance, concerted efforts are being made by schools to increase student attendance rates.

One such effort here at GC is the implementation of the Quality

soon. With Beyonce playing shows in North America through Oct. and Swift headed on the European leg of her tour, both women are headed towards shattering even more glass ceilings..

Director

“Missing days in the beginning years of school are associated with difficulties later in life.”

These difficulties include the lower likelihood chronically absent students have of graduating on time and the higher rate at which they fail courses. They also often experience negative life outcomes, such as an increased likelihood of experiencing poverty and poorer mental, as well as physical health

relationships one has with the professors and students around them and an absence of motivation for achievement.”

Chronic absence and low school attendance is a pervasive and crippling threat to educational institutions trying to facilitate learning, achievement and the development of critical thinking abilities. This is attributable to the fact that chronic absenteeism is a positive feedback

chology, has experience studying the realm of cognitive psychology.

“As a professor who wants to see everyone in my class succeed, it is really rough when a student fails to show up to class and becomes unresponsive to emails,” Young said. “When it becomes difficult to connect with a student, it makes it much more difficult to facilitate the student’s success and see them turn the corner in a positive di-

Enhancement Program, or QEP. By addressing a wide variety of potential threats to education, this program looks to improve GC students’ educational experience.

This includes ushering students towards more regular attendance to increase their engagement in pursuit of their education. Additionally, the program also reimagines the traditional school-to-student relationship in a way that is

more holistic, flexible and mutually beneficial for both parties.

The primary focus of the recently enacted QEP is the pursuit of maximizing the mental and physical health and well-being of GC students to enhance their educational experience and build a stable foundation for learning to occur.

“The current QEP here at GC will be in place for seven years and is all about students’ mental health,” Young said.

“This QEP looks to progressively improve overall student mental health and well-being, as these factors directly impact a student’s ability to thrive in their classes by showing up and engaging,”

The effects of the QEP on attendance rates and the student experience at GC remain to be seen, as the program is still being actively incorporated into the curriculum.

The hopes are that its implementation will immunize the university from the wide variety of negative impacts poor student attendance brings to both the students themselves and the entirety of the educational institution.

Julia Jensen | Art

AI

Continued from Page1

Anytime that one uses Google Maps, scrolls and reacts to TikToks or posts on social media, they are interacting with AI. This is because every major technology conglomerate, including Apple, Meta and Google —which essentially have a monopoly on technology in America— employ AI systems in every sector of their businesses.

However, some effects of AI integration into virtually every aspect of our daily lives appear to be quite negative. The technology companies who brought us the technologies that powered the technological revolution of the last half century, have done so in a brazen and ambitious way that stands to seriously harm humanity.

Due to both its lucrative nature and unlimited potential for technological advancement, AI has been implemented in our lives in a way that lacks serious forethought, or consideration of a variety of problems it could create for humans in terms of our long-term safety, survival and well-being.

AI has made it possible for social media

companies to employ algorithms that prey on the mental and physical health of those that use them in order to profit maximally off of their “users.” In a chilling but accurate insight, Professor Edward Tufte says in the movie “The Social Dilemma,” “There are only two industries that call their customers

‘users’: illegal drugs and software.” Much like your local illegal meth lab — something Milledgeville knows all too well—, or the gas station attendant that does not card. Social media sells you a product that is addictive, harmful and supplied through an ethically objectionable business model.

In the view of society broadly, it seems absurd to compare highly successful and seemingly tidy technology companies to a meth dealer and an indifferent gas station attendant. But at least the people at the meth lab do not ask you to cook a batch for them, and the guy at the gas station will not have you mopping the floors for him before you drive off with your black bag of his addictive goodies.

Social media is designed to get one addicted to the product so that

the social media algorithm that is powered by data can constantly feed on your data and improve the algorithm’s ability at adapting to your preferences so you will stay on the app. Every action that you take on social media is put through a finetooth comb by advanced AI machine learning behavior algorithms which mine infinitely many points of data from every single user.

This influx of data is then used to improve that same algorithm so that it can more effectively do its job, which is to get you and everyone else to use it more and more.

If you have or have ever had social media, you, the reader, are unknowingly an entry in the data set that AI systems use to get better at manipulating and selling you products. Additionally, much of the data the algorithm uses is not data you would necessarily want it to have access to, and data collection often occurs even when you are not using that particular app.

In 2018, Facebook Owner Mark Zuckerberg was asked to testify before a congressional committee because 87 million Facebook users’

personal information ended up in the hands of a voter-profiling company. The investigation this hearing prompted into Facebook’s dealings led to the discovery that Facbook tracked both users and nonusers. Even while they were not on Facebook or did not even have it, Facebook continued to collect extensive biometric and demographic data on almost all people with a phone.

In an article for the New York Times titled “What You Don’t Know About How Facebook Uses Your Data,” Peter Eckersley, the chief computer scientist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital-rights nonprofit, claims “Facebook can learn almost anything about you by using artificial intelligence to analyze your behavior.”

Individuals who use

social media platforms are exploited by algorithms that intentionally expose them to negative and highly emotional content to get them either sad or impassioned, which are the two emotional states that most compel you to continue interacting with the site. Increased interaction with the site is the primary way technology companies profit off of you as a consumer, as a more captivated and attentive consumer base is much easier to advertise to and make money off of.

This practice is highly unethical, conducive to poor health outcomes for those that use it and extremely invasive. To distance ourselves from the clear harm to our rights of individual privacy and mental health these algorithms bring us, we need to halt our development and implementation of

advanced AI until we better understand it.

I am not the only one who thinks this. A growing body of notable figures in the technology industry and trusted intellectuals have signed the petition to “Pause Giant AI Experiments.” This letter implores all AI labs to stop training AI systems more sophisticated than Chat GPT4 due to what they believe to be the imminent danger the implementation of these technologies pose to humanity. Figures that have signed this petition include Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and Tristan Harris.

If you would like to view, or sign this petition to halt AI development that I have identified is dangerous to humans in a variety of ways, it can be found on the Future of Life Institute’s official website.

Downtown Milledgeville needs an ice cream shop

Drew Oldham Opinion Editor

Downtown Milledgeville has done a great deal of growing over the past few years. For instance, recent valuable additions to the downtown scene include JK Korean BBQ, which offers a full buffet of authentic Korean food, and Dungeons and Daiquiris, a more tranquil bar where one can eat good American food and play poker and video games with friends.

However, there exists a great confectionary void in downtown Milledgeville. Drunken college students, leaving the downtown bars after a long night, are dismayed to find that there exists no ice cream shop, pastry place or

restaurant that sells both of these things and remains open into the wee hours of the night.

The fact that the nearest dessert to downtown past the hours of 9 p.m. requires a drive to far away Cook Out, McDonald’s or Freddy’s is both a travesty as well as an un utilized opportunity for a daring venture capitalist to make serious bank.

A dessert place is desperately needed as the “cherry on top” for a serious upgrade to the nightlife Milledgeville has to offer.

Having a dessert place downtown would improve the dating scene, as you and your significant other, or the confusing in between “not dating but basically are”, could grab a sweet treat after a good meal at one of the many

amazing restaurants downtown has to offer.

This dessert place would also serve as a centerpiece in the drunken lore of many friend groups who take downtown on and a great place to unwind from a long night of raging with friends before retiring for the night.

Not only would this greatly benefit downtown-goers themselves but would also serve as a potentially lucrative project for whoever decides to undertake it.

The captive audience the hustle and bustle downtown brings to this part of Central Georgia is not to be underestimated, as it leaves one with a large body of paying customers

New experimental restaurants have fared

quite well downtown. Milly Grub, which no longer exists, was founded by two business students at GC, and it became profitable very quickly just by offering pretty bland, basic food till 3 a.m.. Similarly, Dungeons and Daiquiris, a gaming tavern that is not typically seen in the region we live in, has also seen great success.

As a result of both the improvement a dessert shop would bring to the downtown scene and its great potential for profitability, it is baffling that this idea has not been done already.

Milledgeville already has the iconic bars, amazing food and oldcity street vibe that put it up there as one of the greatest complementary

scenes to GC’s beautiful antebellum campus.

I dream of the day that I leave a restaurant in downtown Milledgeville and go get a sweet treat without having to get in my car and drive. When that day comes, and someone gets stupid rich off of making this dream a reality, just remember that you heard it here first.

A photograph of the average user’s chatbox with my AI,which is pinned to the top of all user’s friends list