By: Rut Labrada, Arts & Entertainment Editor The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners announced at a regular meeting on Oct. 27 that an ordinance draft will be released Nov. 2 following the ending of the 60-day moratorium on applications to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Many Lowndes residents still feel skeptical, however, and the issue has continued to incite ...

By Rut Labrada, Arts & Entertainment Editor Fortify Pizza & Burger Bar is undoubtedly one of the hottest new places in the City of Valdosta. Since its opening in late August, Fortify has already made headlines multiple times for its perfect score on a recent food inspection — and for being robbed of multiple alcoholic drinks by someone Valdosta residents ...

By Rut Labrada, Arts and Entertainment Editor A new immigration policy restricting duration of stay for international students has sparked concern among VSU students and community members. The policy, enforced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), went into effect on Sept. 15, affecting all universities in the country. According to the DHS, the new policy seeks to end the ...

By Rut Labrada, Arts & Entertainment Editor Three years ago, I was a senior in high school when K-pop fans began to debate the existence of a fifth generation of idols, only five years after the beginning of the fourth generation in 2018.   For those unaware of the intricacies of the K-pop system, since the birth of the K-pop genre ...

By Rut Labrada, Arts & Entertainment Editor VSU is seeing an increase in the number of students choosing to enroll at the school this fall semester.  In an email earlier this semester, Vice President of Enrollment and Student Affairs Vincent Miller wrote that preliminary numbers showed a total increase of 7.8%.  “VSU begins this semester with 11,254 students, an increase ...

By: Rut Labrada, Staff writer On April 14 and 15, the VSU Debate Team competed in the Regents Cup Tournament in Columbus, Georgia, winning first place in individual debate.  VSU received three awards in the competition. The school tied for second place in the overall competition; Cassandra Ayers, a sophomore communications major, won first place as Individual Debate Champion; and Ava Peeples won second place for Individual Novice Debater.   Competitors from all over Georgia participated in the Regents Cup, which included 16 schools, such as Columbus State University, University of Georgia, ...

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 ...