Aiyana Hunter Staff Writer A VSU student who is listed as secretary of the Georgia College Republicans and has connections to other collegiate Republican organizations in the state says that racially charged messages that appeared under his name on a local Facebook group were not written by him.   In late March, The Facebook group Lowndes County Word of Mouth investigated some anonymous posts from ...

By: Aiyana Hunter Staff Writer On the afternoon of Feb. 26, a group of students gathered in front of the dining hall with signs in hand and a speaker at the ready.   They all shared the mindset that negativity had been given too much of a pedestal in the country recently and wanted to counterbalance it with peace and acceptance. According to them, hate has ...

By: Armone’ Gates, Copy Editor & Megan Callahan News Editor  VALDOSTA, Ga. – It’s time to turn over a new leaf, as VSU’s communication program will be leaving the College of the Arts starting in the fall of 2026 to join the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.   The program will be joining the Department of English for the creation ...

By: Madeline Higdon, Staff writer FARGO, Ga.– A vicious wildfire has been ripping through Echols and Clinch counties since Sunday, April 18.    The fire’s core is located at Pineland Road in Fargo, and it has spread close to 17,000 acres – which is roughly 26 miles of fire. The initial cause of the fire is currently unknown.    A Level 3 evacuation order is currently in effect for those who are living ...

By: Rut Labrada, Staff writer Dr. Zhiguang Xu, VSU computer science professor who redesigned the department’s senior capstone course to allow students to work with local organizations, died on March 31, at his home in Orlando, Florida.   Dr. Xu, who worked at VSU since 2002, was one of three professors spearheading the development of an artificial intelligence track for the computer science major that was set to start in the fall 2026 semester.  According to Computer Science ...

By: Rut Labrada, Staff writer At a town hall meeting on April 17 at the Student Union Theatre, guest speakers and more than 70 city residents discussed concerns regarding an artificial intelligence data center to be built near the Foxborough subdivision, concluding, among other things, that the data center would not create many jobs for the City of Valdosta. The data center, which is being spearheaded by lawyer Pope Langdale ...

By: Dionte Daniel,  Staff Writer   The sound of the ball connecting with the bat bounced around Minute Maid Park. Gabriel Burns looked up to see where the ball would land before he knew he was about to watch a home run.   “Oh my God,” Burns spoke aloud from inside the press box. Jorge Soler ended up hitting a three-run ...

By Madeline Higdon, staff writer On Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2025, a student discovered an anonymous message written on a stoplight box – located near the corner of North Patterson and College street – across the street from the VSU Wesley Foundation.  The message read: “Caution!!! Ahead on the left (roadside) 35-45 paces is a camera put up illegally funded by ...

All of us at The Spectator would like to with our staff a very happy Faculty Week! We appreciate all that you do to ensure that all of us Blazers get a great education. Keep doing what you do best.

By: Rut Labrada  Lowndes Residents Urge the County for Transparency Regarding a Proposed AI Data Center. Lowndes County residents call for transparency from the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, as concerns regarding a proposed artificial intelligence (AI) data center on Coleman Road, near the Foxborough subdivision, continue to spread throughout the county.  The project is being spearheaded by lawyer and businessman Pope Langdale the III, who is working with AI infrastructure provider DC BLOX, ...