To the Editor: In the aftermath of the Mark George and Ben Carson fiascoes, some friends and I compiled a list of concerns over the way things are done at VSU: welcome to ataViSm U…. Definition: atavism: reversion to an earlier type; a throwback; so, think of the baby born with a tail; or, in more general terms, think of ...

President McKinney, Defender of Dissent and Free Speech? Dr. McKinney’s recent letter to the VSU faculty claiming he is an ardent defender of free speech and dissent is simply absurd given his recent actions against the Mary Turner Project (MTP) and his refusal to address serious questions about the Ben Carson event. On July 28, Dr. McKinney personally ordered the ...

It’s outstanding to witness students speaking up for themselves and their peers. For that, I applaud the SGA. In response to their resolution and recent articles in The Spectator, the Office of Social Equity (OSE) would like to provide pertinent information regarding meeting the needs of students from diverse backgrounds. The disparity between representation of both faculty and students from ...

I generally find visits to SGA meetings refreshing, inspiring and informative, and I admire the spirit of shared governance typically displayed at these events. There is no doubt that the students at VSU have a Student Government Association they can be proud of. I am not stating this to score cheap political points, but this is my sincere conviction, just ...

Given the concerns raised by the op-ed and the letter to the editor in last week’s edition of The Spectator, I thought I would extend an apology to several entities on campus who I may have regrettably misled or misinformed during the scheduling-revision process. First of all, I would like to extend an apology to Maren Clegg-Hyer who is absolutely ...

In a recent letter to The Spectator, Dr. Aubrey Fowler wrote about creating a “culture of change” through his proposed longer schedule for the university. He has never served on the faculty senate scheduling committee; I served for three years. He probably doesn’t know that the “new plan” which would give VSU the longest school year in the state of ...

LaMarcus Wilkerson’s story (Lesser of 3 evils, March 13, 2014) got an arrow-splitting bull’s eye exposing cannabis (marijuana) prohibition.  Another reason to end cannabis prohibition that doesn’t get mentioned is that prohibition increases hard-drug addiction rates. Government claims heroin is no worse than cannabis and methamphetamine and that cocaine is less harmful by insisting cannabis is a Schedule I substance alongside ...

I have spent the past year and a half trying to extend finals from the current three day exam period to something that is much more conducive to student success. Under the current system, too many students find themselves with three and sometimes four finals on the same day, or they might find themselves with a final late on Friday ...

After reading the Feb. 13 article by Joe Adgie entitled “Student majority opposes ban,” I am left with significant concerns regarding the accuracy of the reporting it contained. In the front-page piece, Adgie notes that a majority of students−53 percent−opposes a proposed Board of Regents smoking ban, based upon a Web survey promulgated via email by the Student Government Association. ...

Recently, there have been changes regarding the upcoming Commencement ceremonies. These changes have belittled and degraded all students who attend VSU preparing for their upcoming graduation. Many graduate students feel the changes are unsupportive and do not show recognition for the amount of dedication and perseverance put into for the requirements of graduate level classes. Graduate students are held to ...