The usual narrative of college places students in a “choose-your-own adventure” pathway, making them the writers of their stories, but last fall that changed. Now, VSU is taking the reins of students’ stories. In Dr. Ted Geltner’s Reporting class (JOUR 4550) Dr. Richard Carvajal, VSU president, gave a short form “state of the university address” to the class’ student journalists. ...

On any given weekend, you can find VSU students enjoying nightlife in various locations in and around campus. One of those locations isn’t normally Downtown Valdosta. The City of Valdosta is looking for ways to change that and drive more traffic to the downtown area, including VSU students. Currently, Valdosta has an ordinance in place which requires businesses that sell ...

Valdosta State University announced Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as its spring 2019 commencement speaker on April 12 via Twitter. Suffice it to say, many of its soon-to-be graduates weren’t happy. Taking to Twitter in response, graduates let their opinions—positive and negative—roll. Some of the replies to the Twitter announcement included: “Valdosta needs to do better.” “Great choice. VSU students are ...

As college students, application fees are a necessary evil in order to segue the route to higher education. This would also be true for the respective universities to which they are applying. After all, they hire professionals to review all their applications that come their way to see if the students would be a good fit for their institution. Those ...

Japan has long been steeped in vibrant culture and customs, but what Americans see of the Land of the Rising Sun is often not representative of its people and values. The Spectator sat down with senior Jacquelynn Trapani, president of the newly-founded Japanese Club, which celebrates Japanese culture on campus and abroad. What is the Japanese Club’s mission? Trapani: “Our ...

VSU makes it clear that it supports helping the environment through recycling. But is VSU’s carbon footprint as heavy as it seems? VSU provides students and staff an easy way to recycle by putting several recycling bins around campus. There are even designated bins for different recycling materials like paper, cans and plastic. But what happens to the recyclable goods ...

It rises from the palm trees like a colonial fortress, two-toned against the blue sky. Overlooking the clay-tiled roofs of every other building on campus, Odum Library guards over 550,000 bound volumes and is one of VSU’s largest buildings. Last week was National Library Week, and the stars aligned so that Odum Library also celebrated its 47th birthday on April ...

When faced with danger, most people run for their lives. These people run for others’ lives. VSU hosted Relay for Life, an annual fundraising event dedicated to raising money for the American Cancer Society, on April 12. Campus organizations like Black Student League, Gamma Sigma Sigma and the Blazer football team gathered on the front lawn to raise money for ...

The VSU Japanese Club not only recently brought Japan to students but served some tea as well. The Japanese Tea Ceremony event, on April 10, demonstrated a traditional Japanese tea ceremony to teach students about Japanese Culture and to gain interest in the club. It was executed by members of Tallahassee’s Japanese community, whose goal is to promote Japanese culture ...

The Student Union, the library and the front lawn are just a few of the many places that students like to hang out at around campus, but what stands just across the street from the front lawn is a small yet homey hangout spot that has dedicated its purpose to satisfying college students. “It’s not cheap, it’s free” is the ...