On Monday, April 30,  in the Student Union ballroom, President Richard Carvajal hosted a Town Hall-style meeting on the subject that’s created an undercurrent of tension across VSU’s sunbaked campus – the impending commencement speech to be delivered by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. An estimated 200-plus students filled the ballroom. A prayer was held among a few dozen students as ...

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. ...

Senior night is one that is always remembered. VSU baseball capped off the festivities with a win against University of West Georgia 14-8. Now, the Blazers will look to shock the world in the Gulf South Conference tournament. The offense was on fire, as they amassed 18 hits on the day and an eight run fourth inning propelled the Blazers ...

The coaches representing the Gulf South Conference casted their votes, and on Monday, the results were released. Now, I join in to present my own opinions on “Coach of the Year,” “Player of the Year,” and “Freshman of the Year”as well as my choices for an all-conference team. So without further ado… Player of the Year For the Blazers, the ...

The NFL Draft is where dreams begin, and that is no different for three former Blazers. Selected with the no. 238 pick in the seventh and final round of the draft, corner back Stephen Denmark begins what — he hopes — will be a long career with the Chicago Bears. He becomes the first Blazer drafted since 2013 when Edmund ...

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 ...

Hello to all my pop addicts of VSU. It has been a week since I’ve talked to you last. Hope that your house is in order, while you worrying about other folks business! Just kidding! I’ve got a nice cup of jade citrus mint tea brewing, so let’s get into it. Following the mass hysteria that it sent Beyoncé’s fans ...

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 ...