Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill on April 12 that allows Georgia residents to carry a handgun in public without a permit or background check. This includes residents of 32 other states who visit Georgia, including Alabama, Tennessee and Arizona. Before this bill was signed, Georgians were required to pass a background check, pay a fee of approximately $75 and ...

This year, numerous bills have been proposed, which would take away many rights that we, as U.S. citizens, currently enjoy. Florida House Bill 991 is an example of an obvious infringement on free speech. This bill lowers the bar on who is considered a public figure for defamation purposes and on what is considered defamation. “[Florida HB 911] weakens state ...

With the beaches, road trips and worry-free attitude of Spring Break now in our trails, it’s time to get back into the groove as we inch closer to the end of the semester. At this point in the semester, many students are overwhelmed, exhausted and ready for everything to be over with. Between school, jobs, extracurriculars and personal lives, it ...

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it is important to recognize the immense contributions that women have made throughout history and continue to make today.  This day is not only a celebration of women’s achievements, but it also serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for gender equality.  Despite significant progress in recent years, women continue to face systemic ...

While tough and controversial topics may arise on VSU campus, The Spectator editors and reporters strive to be bold journalists and bravely advocate for our rights to ensure our campus is informed. This year, Feb. 23 is Student Freedom Press Day, a national day that raises awareness of student journalists’ work, highlights the censorship that students face and empowers those ...

Recently, Stanford University has been the subject of controversy involving a conversation around freedom of speech. A student posted a Snapchat of another student reading Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” autobiography while making an exaggerated thoughtful expression. A complaint was filed by an unknown student organization. The university did not take disciplinary action and instead went for a variety of options to ...

Many students have already noticed that this semester feels a bit … different than usual. Maybe even the past few semesters, really.  Students seem to be suffering from mental burnout, whether that be from having senioritis, going to school while being a parent, having to juggle jobs, or all three. It is a constant fight to keep up with life while trying ...

After Raphael Warnock won 49.4% of the election vote and Herschel Walker 48.5%, Georgia is headed to a runoff election. Georgia law requires a runoff election if a candidate does not receive at least 50% of the vote in general elections. Louisiana is the only other state that has this requirement. While this may seem like a fair law, ensuring ...

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Georgia’s ban on abortions violated both the Constitution and a previous Supreme Court ruling. The ban, which outlawed abortions after six weeks, was deemed void according to the laws in place when it was created three years ago. Though the state attorney general’s office filed an appeal, McBurney’s ...

On Nov. 8, Peacock announced the upcoming release of “Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies,” a three-part docuseries that premieres on Nov. 29. The docuseries focuses entirely on Casey Anthony as she breaks her silence for the first time in 11 years. She was infamously acquitted for murder and manslaughter charges of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, who went missing in ...

Conversations about recycling, sustainability and energy conservation are becoming a huge topic amongst the current generation as we find out new information about the climate crisis, and VSU should not be an exemption from it.   For decades, people have known that we were and are currently in a climate crisis with temperatures slowly rising, the ice caps melting and, of ...