February is Black History Month, and VSU is acknowledging the celebration with multiple events. VSU’s own integration history dates to the early 1960s. On Sept. 8, 1963, Valdosta State College, as it was called at the time, admitted its first two Black students. Drewnell Thomas, 17, and Robert Pierce, 18, were Valdosta residents, who had previously attended segregated schools and ...

Despite rampant speculation, no decision has been made on the future of the public relations program, according to the interim dean of the College of the Arts. During the first week of the spring semester, communication majors with an emphasis in public relations received some unexpected news about upcoming changes in the PR program. Public relations students were told that ...

With a chance to clinch a spot in the Gulf South Conference tournament, graduate guard Ryan Black made sure the Blazers would get the job done. Black came off the bench and made eight threes, rallying the Blazers (17-9, 13-7 GSC) from an early deficit to an 83-72 win over the West Florida Argonauts (12-12, 8-12 GSC). “Coming off the ...

The president of VSU club A Chance To Initiate Opportunities Now was arrested Jan. 28 for battery involving family violence and taken to Lowndes County Jail. In addition to being the president of ACTION, David Jonathan “DJ” Davis is a sociology graduate student and event coordinator for Deep Release Poetry Society. According to Lowndes County Jail records, Davis was released ...

Jackson Charles Bebiak, a VSU student and Phi Sigma Kappa brother, died on Feb. 12. President Richard Carvajal released a statement the morning of Feb. 13, informing students of the loss. “Jackson was a first-year management major from Marietta, Florida,” according to the statement. “VSU quickly became his home away from home, and he truly loved his time here. He ...

On Jan. 31, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his plan to ban state universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as part of his higher education agenda. This announcement came after an earlier promise by presidents of Florida’s two-year community colleges to not teach critical race theory and other related concepts. Many Republicans across the country have ...

The VSU softball team is ready to return to Steel’s Diamond for hopefully yet another successful season. But even though it’s a new season for the Blazers, Head Softball Coach Thomas Macera said the mission remains the same. “We have the same goal every year,” said Coach Macera. “We’re here to compete nationally, get to the end and compete for ...

On Saturday, Jan. 21, VSU’s Speech and Debate team competed in the first debate tournament of the year, advancing to the quarterfinals of a nationwide competition. During this tournament, the debaters went up against opponents from different states to debate some of the most diverse topics of today. These schools included Spelman College, Florida State University, Park University, University of ...

It just seemed nothing could go wrong for the Blazers against Delta State. With the latest Hall of Fame class and stars such as Kenny Moore in attendance, the Blazers (14-8, 10-6 Gulf South Conference) put on a show. VSU led wire-to-wire as they blasted the Statesmen (6-13, 5-11 GSC) 93-44 to snap a two-game losing skid. However, perhaps the ...

The Lady Blazers and their conference-leading scoring defense continue to cause opponents trouble. After cruising past Mississippi College (4-15, 3-13 Gulf South Conference) 82-31 on Jan. 19, the Lady Blazers (15-3, 14-2 GSC) stifled Delta State (7-13, 6-10 GSC) in the second half en route to a 59-40 win on Hall of Fame weekend. The Lady Blazers have now won ...