Story and photo by Jenna Arnold, Editor-in-Chief. VSU’s campus lost over 1,600 trees due to the recent storms through 2023 and 2024. The campus faced hardships with hurricanes Idalia, Debby and Helene.  VSU was first recognized as a tree campus in 2013 by the Arbor Day Foundation. The Longleaf pines have been a crucial part of VSU’s identity, since the ...

The VSU Blazers fell to the Alabama Huntsville Chargers in the finale of the Gulf South Conference Men’s tournament championship 101-95.   Despite the Chargers sweeping the Blazers in the regular season, including their previous meeting coming down to the wire in overtime back in January, this game would determine the GSC conference champion.   The Chargers were fighting for their ...

Written By Christopher Mercer, Sports Editor. Photo Courtesy of Flickr  The VSU Blazers soundly defeated the Union Bulldogs 100-80 in the first round of the Gulf South Conference championship tournament.   Before this matchup, the Blazers won both regular-season matchups, 102-79 on Jan. 9 and 106-100 on Feb. 22.  This game was complete domination, as the Blazers held the lead ...

Written by Lloydrica Hudson, Staff writer. VALDOSTA, Ga. – The VSU Student Government Association (SGA) convened Monday evening in the Student Union Ballroom C to discuss upcoming events, budget allocations and key student initiatives.    SGA President William Burnett led the meeting, showing the organization’s continued efforts to pass resolutions and maintain student engagement.   “My predecessor motivated me to ...

Written by Jasmine Hightower, Copyeditor. The City of Valdosta honored the winning team from VSU’s social media class during a city council meeting Feb. 20.  During the fall 2024 semester, students in the social media class taught by Dr. David Nelson worked alongside the Valdosta’s Public Information Office to create a social media campaign to increase public engagement within the ...

Written by Jenna Arnold, Editor-in-Chief. The second largest wetland in the state of Georgia, Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area (WMA), has been under construction for four months and has restricted access to the general public.  Fallen trees and flooding caused by Hurricane Helene have damaged the boardwalk and prevented people from walking across the wetland and climbing the steps of ...

Written by Bailey Wilson, Managing Editor. VSU Theatre and Dance have continued to dazzle audiences with their spring dance concerts, and their latest show, “Evolve,” has taken the creativity of the department to new heights– in some moments, literally. The project includes a statewide premiere of a collaborative piece that has been years in the making, as well as VSU’s ...

By James Brown, Winter Dube and Ansley DeCenzo, Spectator Staff Writers  The entire VSU community is being heavily impacted by federal and state directives related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at universities nationwide.  VSU President Richard Carvajal spoke at a recent Faculty Senate meeting regarding how the federal decisions have impacted the university, including many changes to the ...

Written by James Brown, Entertainment Editor. Grammy winning singer and songwriter the Weeknd released his long awaited sixth studio album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” On Jan. 31.  Many fans have been anticipating the album due to the Weeknd’s established skill as a performer, as well as his upcoming movie of the same name.  With all of the hype surrounding its release, I ...

Written by Madeline Higdon, Staff Reporter. A pair of glasses caused quite a splash outside of Oak Parking Deck on Wednesday.  A student was helped by a fellow classmate, who went into the creek to save them in an act of kindness.  Dr. Clell Wright’s concert choir rehearsal had just gotten out and many students exited the Fine Arts Building ...