Mike Helfer’s fiery passion and cool confidence make him one of the most respected coaches in the country but his success never came overnight. Helfer was born in Newark, Ohio, where he attended Newark Catholic High School. During his teenage years, Helfer was heavily involved with athletics. He was a tri-sport star, receiving All-State honors in basketball and football, while ...

On Monday, Feb. 12, SGA started its weekly meeting off with a review of the Tiered Parking Model Proposal for the upcoming year. VSU Parking and Transportation Director Jill Ferrell and Auxiliary Services Director Shannon McGee explained the proposal to the gallery. Over the past few months, SGA, as a whole, worked with auxiliary services on editing the proposal to ...

On Monday, Feb. 12, the VSU website announced that “The Bonfire is now live.” The Bonfire coins itself as “the official blog of Blazer Nation.” “We’ve had the idea for a while now, but we’ve been actively dreaming up ideas, creating content, and designing Bonfire about five months now,” Halle Zimmerman, VSU’s communications specialist, said. Jessica Pope, the communications and ...

When college students return home for winter break, it is an opportunity for parents to notice changes in their children, and sometimes they’re not always good changes. Those changes could include eating disorders. The real signs of an eating disorder not only lie in appearance but also mood and habits. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 25 percent ...

On Wednesday, Feb. 7, the VSU Police Department arrested a Valdosta man who stole two bikes on campus earlier this week. Ralph Donaldson, 58, is facing multiple charges including two counts of possession of tools during a commission of a crime, two counts of theft by taking and one count for criminal trespass with unlawful purpose. The total amount of ...

The Spectator: I know this is really weird, but I did not think you would be as tall as you were Waka Flocka: Yeah, a lot of people be thinking that. It’s crazy The Spectator: Have you been to Valdosta before? Waka Flocka: Yeah, definitely. The Spectator: When? Waka Flocka: Before I was famous. I went to Valdosta for spring ...

In the two seasons that she has been coaching at VSU, Carley Kuhns has been a firecracker of success and shows no signs of burning out. Women’s Basketball Head Coach Carley Kuhns produced VSU’s first 20-plus win season since 2011 and the first NCAA South Regional Tournament appearance since 2010 in her first season with the team. This season she ...

The Spectator proudly introduces its new marketing manager, Azhia Smothers. Smothers is a junior English major at VSU who will strengthen The Spectator’s relationship with its readers. She will also help facilitate a viable, open forum for students’ voices to be heard using interactions with The Spectator as a platform. Smothers’ background includes a bachelor’s degree in communications from Jackson ...

A new texting-while-driving law is being pushed by a Republican state representative to more severely punish those who use their cellphones behind the wheel. The new law, if passed, would not only increase penalties for drivers who are caught, but would also cost drivers points on their driving record. In addition, the penalties would increase by a large margin, ranging ...

Born in Tallahassee, Florida and raised in Suwanee, Georgia, Christopher Thompson splits up his jam-packed days between work, school organizations and classes. However, his real passion is helping people better themselves, and he somehow finds ways to incorporate that desire into everything he does. “There’s a drive in me that always pushes me to be a little bit better,” SGA ...