Written by Jordan Barela, Editor-in-Chief  First off, welcome to Valdosta State University! You are about to begin your freshman year. The stereotype of what a freshman is, to put it simply, is outdated. A freshman is typically a fresh out of high school student, away from his or her parent(s) for the first time. With a taste of absolute freedom, ...

Written by Kenzie Kesselring, Opinions Editor  Editor’s Note: To watch the full convocation, click the link here: Cecil Staton, the VSU Interim President gave the Fall Convocation last Monday in Whitehead Auditorium at 10 a.m. During the convocation, Dr. Staton addressed the importance of the incoming freshman class of VSU, and the importance of focusing on student retention and success in ...

Written by Jordan Barela, Editor-in-Chief    “The Spectator is the independent student newspaper of Valdosta State University.” This is the one thing that staff members and editors have been saying whenever someone asks about the paper, calling for an interview, or just simply describing the paper. There is one keyword in that phrase that is becoming dated: newspaper. The Spectator ...

Written by John Preer, Editor-in-Chief  Provost and Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Hudson Rogers, has stepped down from the position in order to resume teaching in the classroom.  Dr. Rogers will continue teaching as a tenured member of the Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration faculty.  Before taking on the role of provost, Dr. Rogers served as finance ...

Written by Jordan Barela, Editor-in-Chief  The decision for bond on appeal for Eric Sheppard has not been announced as of Wednesday. Sheppard, 21, was transported to the Lowndes County Jail, after being arrested last month. Sheppard was denied bond earlier this month. Sheppard was arrested on June 4 in Tampa, FL, after hiding from law enforcement. In April, Sheppard was charged with ...

Photos taken by Zenobia Harris, Copy Editor  Copy Editor Zenobia Harris recently went on a study abroad trip to Ireland, with some of her fellow Mass Media peers. While there, the Mass Media students, along with Mass Media professors Marie Elliott and Frank Barnas, shot footage for a media workshop course and toured numerous destinations in Ireland. This is the ...

Written by Kenzie Kesselring, Opinions Editor  Eric Sheppard was arrested Thursday morning in Tampa, Florida. After being arrested, Sheppard was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail. He will remain there until he can be brought back to Lowndes County. Authorities have been searching for Eric Sheppard since April 22, after he allegedly brought a handgun onto Valdosta State’s campus. Throughout ...

Written by Jordan Barela, Editor-in-Chief    UPDATE: Shawn Merdinger provides more clarity on a statement in the article. He states that “this particular phishing attack email did not contain a malicious attachment or contain embedded code that would compromise the user.” Merdinger also states that “users should be wary when opening any email, especially attachments like .zip and .doc files, ...

Written by: Elan Waite, Editor-in-Chief  VSU President William McKinney held a press conference on the Front Lawn at 6 p.m. Tuesday, minutes after campus police issued an alert announcing a manhunt for a VSU student. In the alert, which was issued to students Tuesday at 5:44 p.m., police reported that a gun was found on campus that was linked to ...