Today’s Birthday (08/31/15). Rise into your own this year. Use your influence for a greater cause, especially after 10/13. Your natural precision grows family accounts after 10/27. Discover a kindred spirit and partner after 3/8. Forgiveness creates breakthroughs after 3/23. Share your love. To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. ...

Written by Jamel Shorter, Staff Writer Thomas Hayden Barnes was a student here at Valdosta State University in 2007 under the presidency of Ronald Zaccari. Hayden Barnes became known for his lawsuit against Zaccari, VSU, and the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia. Barnes filed the lawsuit in 2008 due to his rights being violated under the First ...

Written by Gabe Burns, Staff Writer On August 13, Valdosta State Athletic Director Herb Reinhard announced Todd Smoot as the new head coach of the cross country program. Smoot previously coached the Blazers in a part-time role from 2008-2013. Smoot had an impressive run in his first stint with VSU. His five seasons under the helm resulted in 10 All-GSC ...

Written by Aldean Starr, Staff Writer Jimmy John’s: Jimmy John’s is a sandwich restaurant that has a reputation for great delivery. Jimmy John’s sandwiches are plain slims, 8-inch subs, giant clubs and its premiere sandwich is the “J.J. Gargantuan”. Jimmy John’s offers the best delivery fee at 25 cents and has no minimum price amount for delivery. Domino’s: Domino’s is ...

Written by Tyra Mills, Social Media Editor Sandra Bland was 28, living in Chicago, and on her way to her new, dream job in Waller County. She was pulled over for changing lanes without using a signal. The traffic stop was all caught on camera, and you can see tensions clearly rising between Bland and the officer. He was upset ...

Written by Niamani Carlyle-Hollis, Staff Writer A new addition has been added to the Valdosta State Athletics and Blazer basketball program, with the hiring of Jason Mays to be an assistant coach. With years of experience under his belt, Mays was a great choice for the program. Mays’ began his career by being a graduate assistant under the leadership of ...

Written by Tiarra Bell, Staff Writer VSU will kick off the 2015 season against one of its oldest football rivals, the Albany State Golden Rams on September 5. Coming off a breathtaking 10-3 season, the Blazers have been working hard all summer to continue to build on what they established last year. Senior running back Austin Scott will be one ...

Written by Lia Armistead, Asst. Sports Writer Each year, the Valdosta State Athletic department collaborates with Zaxby’s for an event called “Meet the Blazer’s” for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade who are interested in sports. All athletic teams participate in Meet the Blazers before the beginning of each season. The event is an hour long camp that has players ...

Written by Stuart Price, Staff Writer VSU Campus Wellness and the city of Valdosta will host the 10th annual 5K Blazer Dash and 2nd annual Youth Splash this Saturday, August 29th at 7 a.m.  The participants will meet in front of the VSU Recreational Center and follow a course through the nearby streets. The event is open to all VSU ...

Written by Julia Rodriquez, Staff Writer The media has been frantic lately over the Presidential campaigns; however, the election date is over a year away. Some find this bombardment of information unnecessary, because it is so early. But, the coverage is important when preparing to have well informed voters. Even if a voter is not attentively following the campaign, they ...