By Ashley Jones, Arts & Entertainment Editor  Zaxby’s restaurant plans anniversary celebration of grand opening in Valdosta. On March 27, the Zaxby’s store located on North Ashley Street will celebrate the first anniversary of its grand opening.  The Valdosta restaurant will open the celebration with a ribbon-cutting ceremony taking place at 9:45 a.m.  Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, Zaxby’s will offer the first 100 guests Deck of Dealz (a year full of free food), free Birthday Cake milkshakes for everyone, swag, coupons, and other fun activities.  In addition, anyone from ...

By: Rut Labrada, Staff Writer On March 25, the Student Life Office hosted their annual Winning Wednesday event on Converse Square amidst increased efforts to promote upcoming athletic events, as well as sororities, fraternities, and other on-campus organizations.  This event was hosted as part of an ongoing endeavor to grow engagement with student organizations on campus, which has significantly declined in the past years.  The event ran from noon-2 p.m., and it ...

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, ...

Welcome back from spring break, Blazers! We at The Spectator hope you’ve had an amazing week. To keep your spirits high, we’re here to remind you that there’s only six weeks left in the school year! That means it’s time to kick it into high gear. Finish those classes strong, go out with a bang, prep for graduation (reminder: the ...

By Ailyn Quiroz Staff Writer This Sunday and Saturday, Drexel Park will be filled with a variety of vendors, events, and activities for everyone to enjoy.   “We’re very excited to continually expand the Azalea Festival to include our community partners and to give out out-of-town patrons even more of a reason to make Valdosta and Lowndes County their destination for the entire weekend,” said H. ...

By: Austin Sellars, Staff Writer  VALDOSTA, Ga – VSU baseball hosts a three-game conference series this weekend against Delta State at Billy Grant Field in Valdosta, Ga.  The first two games are a doubleheader with two seven-inning games on Friday, March 13, at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. The final nine-inning game will take place on Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m.  ...

By Rut Labrada  Staff Writer On an early Friday morning in March, 19 bleary-eyed staff writers and editors of the VSU Spectator were dressed in their business-casual finest—cardigans, skirts, khakis, and button-ups—as they walked down the bright streets of Athens, Georgia.  The group was preparing to attend the Georgia College Press Association’s Better Newspaper contest, a yearly event where student newspapers from across ...

By: Lloydrica Hudson, Sports Editor The VSU women’s tennis team battled to secure a victory, while the men’s team came up short against No. 42 Columbus State on Wednesday afternoon.  The women’s match came down to the final court in a tense finish, something head coach John Hansen said it reflected how competitive the day was.  “Neither match was even close to ...

By: Rut Labrada, Staff Writer  On an early Friday morning in March, 19 bleary-eyed staff writers and editors of the VSU Spectator were dressed in their business casual finest—cardigans, skirts, khakis, and button-ups as they walked down the bright streets of Athens, Georgia.  The group was preparing to attend the Georgia College Press Association’s Better Newspaper contest, a yearly event ...

By Madeline Higdon, staff writer  Since I was six years old, my life has been a euphonious wave of chord blending, vowel matching, head voice vs chest voice, and singing in comically named spaces such as “Disney Princess”, “Pizza Burn”, and “Ah Ha”. Which ultimatley reminds me to sing with my soft palate lifted. My earliest memories of music is ...