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Articles by Daniel Varitek
Why Georgia’s universities should treat civic leadership like STEM
Guest column More stipends for student organizations will help create leaders. Across Georgia’s campuses, institutional support for student leadership is inconsistent, even as the expectations placed on those leaders continue to grow. (Miguel Martinez/AJC 2025) By Daniel Varitek March 23, 2026 When I first joined Georgia State University’s student newspaper, The Signal, I earned $400 a month. The less-than-minimum-wage rate was measly, sure.
From the Editor: goodbye, and good luck
Dear reader, It is with bittersweet emotions that I share I am resigning my position as president and editor-in-chief of The Signal, effective Feb. 1, 2020. I have recently accepted a job offer more in tune with my desired career trajectory, and for this reason I have made the difficult decision to step down and allow new leadership to guide The Signal.
Parker H. “Pete” Petit indicted on accounting fraud charges
Parker H. "Pete" Petit | Image from MiMedx Parker H. “Pete” Petit, alumnus and multi-million-dollar donor to Georgia State, was indicted on accounting fraud charges last week Tuesday. The federal indictment comes on the heels of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that began in 2018 into Petit’s actions as CEO of Marietta-based healthcare products company MiMedx.
From the Editor: Perimeter reaches for more power with baseless special order
Perimeter representatives reached for more power tonight, and they fell flat — again. It was an effort that would’ve falsely boosted Perimeter’s representation within the University-wide Senate from 33% to 48%, a blazen attempt for more influence and leverage in an already stagnant legislative session. Alpharetta Sen. Margaux Abella, supported by a nine-person coalition, introduced on Nov. 14 a special order calling for a constitutional amendment on the spring ballot.
Student challenges professor for 7th District
Next year, students will head to the polls with an interesting decision: Should a Georgia State professor or a Georgia State graduate represent them in the 7th Congressional District? Carolyn Bourdeaux, a 2018 Democratic candidate for District 7, was a novice to the political scene last year. A professor within the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, she ran on Medicaid expansion and affordable college education.
From the Editor: For a free trip abroad, conflict at home
An international political debate has landed on Georgia State’s campus, just in time for the first week of school. Twenty four campus leaders travelled to Israel on a “fact finders� tour from Dec. 13 to Dec. 23, much to the objection of several political groups on campus. I was one of those leaders. “FREE Trip to Students,� the subject read. It arrived in my inbox on a Friday as I walked down the streets of Louisville, Kentucky, blocks away from the National College Media Convention.
Carolyn Bourdeaux, AYSPS professor, concedes congressional race
Carolyn Bourdeaux, Democratic candidate and Georgia State professor, conceded to Republican incumbent Rob Woodall on Nov. 21 following a neck-and-neck battle for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District. Bourdeaux lost by just 0.14 percent out of nearly 300,000 votes. Days after the Tuesday, Nov. 6 election, the race was still too close to call. The race came to a close after a recount was issued at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov.
From the Editor: How and why to request public records
Dear reader, Congratulations, you’ve made it to the end of the semester. Typically, The Signal’s editor would write a column here reflecting on the successes of the past semester, and deliver a promise for continued improvement next year. If I were to do so, I might write about how amazing my staff is, and how grateful I am for their dedication. I might tease our upcoming projects, like the Sex, Technology and Student Government issues (those are all separate, by the way).
Abrams disputes Kemp’s self-declared victory
In one of the most-watched races in the U.S. this election season, Republican Brian Kemp clutched victory for the governor’s office against Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams in the early hours of Wednesday, Nov. 7 — or at least that’s what he has declared. As the election creeped further into Tuesday night with no clear victor, many onlookers — most notably, Abrams herself — believed a runoff to be likely.
Abrams disputes Kemp’s self-declared victory
In one of the most-watched races in the U.S. this election season, Republican Brian Kemp crowned himself victor of the governor’s office against Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams in the early hours of Wednesday, Nov. 7. As the election creeped further into Tuesday night with no clear victor, many onlookers — most notably, Abrams herself — believed a runoff to be likely.
Is Kindr fixing Grindr’s apparent sexual racism?
“Go back to Mexico,� “You look like you’re on drugs,� “I have a preference for light skin guys,� and “Whites only.� These quotes feature in Grindr’s most recent attempt to curb racism and hate speech on its eponymous online dating platform. Earlier this year, Grindr launched its marketing campaign: Kindr. Grindr, a queer dating app, has often been criticized for the amount of racism and hate speech that runs rampant on the app.
SGA wants to ticket smokers. That’s illegal.
For years, the Student Government Association (SGA) has struggled to curb the appeal of smoking on campus. Now, despite assurances that they would not take a hard-line stance on the issue, SGA has said it’s considering ticketing smokers on campus. In a Thursday, Oct. 11, Atlanta Senate meeting, Sen. Kaelen Thomas of the Safety Ad Hoc Committee delivered an update on SGA’s no smoking initiative, which he’s spearheading. “We have some solutions available to us,�
Kavanaugh protests spark in Library Plaza
The deliberation on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, which has rocked the country for the past month, has made its way to Georgia State’s campus. The already hyper-partisan nomination came to a head last week as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee about her alleged assault by Kavanaugh. In total, three accusations of assault throughout Kavanaugh’s high school and college career have surfaced. On Thursday, Oct.
The Signal, beacon light of student affairs
Today, The Signal celebrates not just 85 years of existence but 85 years of independence. Daily, we are ever focused on the present and the future, assigning stories weeks in advance and networking with our sources for news of interest to you. But today, we welcome the rare occurrence of looking backward, reflecting on and appreciating the countless hours of journalistic discovery that propelled The Signal to national recognition.
The Panthers have a good mix of youth and experience heading into the season
The Georgia State men’s tennis team is looking to rebound from a season that ended a lot sooner than it wanted. The Panthers were the 2017 Sun Belt Conference champions, but they fell short in 2018. Their goal to win the Sun Belt championship and make it to the NCAA Tournament remains the same, and their journey starts this September when they begin their fall slate. “In the fall, there are a bunch of individual tournaments where you compete for your individual rankings and doubles rankings,�
‘You need a cool head to use it’: Experienced gun owners on campus carry
“I’m not a fan of campus carry,� Michael Hughes, director of Stoddard’s Range and Guns pistol match, said. “I’ve seen so many people come and go in [competitive shooting] that I’m quite confident to say there are a whole lot of people that should never touch a gun.� In wake of recent Georgia State shootings, attention shifted to the campus carry policy, legalized in Georgia on July 1, 2017, which allows anyone properly licensed in the state to carry a handgun in a concealed manner.
GSU returns home after winless road trip
For the second consecutive week, Georgia State (1-2) was outmatched on the road. Memphis (2-1) defeated Georgia State 59-22 behind a dominant performance all over the field. Running back Darrell Henderson shredded the Panthers with 233 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers’ defensive line was beat badly and often by Memphis blockers. Not only was Memphis’ run attack fluid, its passing game was also on point.
Inner peace on campus: the Sahaja Yoga club
When your schedule is overbooked and you feel overworked, all-nighters can get anyone stressed out of their minds. You may even feel like you need a breather or else you’ll explode. Luckily, there are ways to cool down, relax and get a clear mind right here at Georgia State. Enter: the Sahaja Meditation Club. Sahaja Yoga is a unique method of meditation based on an experience called self-realization, or Kundalini awakening, that can occur within each human being.
The festival party drug that uses balloons
Go to a rave, concert, festival, club, bar or house show and you might see people with balloons. “What are those for?� you wonder. It’s called whippits. It is affectionately named after the horrible noise it makes coming out of the dispenser and the euphoric “whah-whah� feeling it produces. Whippits are nothing new—they’ve been a popular recreational drug since the 1960s.
Student Center seeks $25 million expansion study
Georgia State students may not have to differentiate between Student Center East and Student Center West for much longer. In the next few years, both buildings could possibly merge following an estimated $25 million construction project. At the Fall Student Involvement Fair on Thursday, Sept.
Men's and Women’s golf look to get the fall started on the right foot
The men’s and women’s golf teams have both tee’d off to begin their seasons. Both teams are coming off disappointing endings from last season. The Panthers have worked this offseason to clean up their games, and they are underway to change their fortunes this season, beginning with their brief fall schedules. The men’s team won the Sun Belt Conference championship back in 2016, and the women finished second in the same year.
Are Bird and Lime a long-term solution or just a nuisance?
While walking in the city over the summer, I began to notice that scooter ownership had become very popular among intown residents. Of course, I was way off in my observation…sort of. As most of you probably know by now, Bird and Lime electric scooters are now woven into the fabric of our city. Seemingly overnight, these two companies have become to scooter commuting what Uber and Lyft are to ridesharing.
Georgia State’s sports story is deeply intertwined with Atlanta’s
As a city with an evolving presence in the sports industry, Atlanta has the opportunity to showcase its place in American history as a not just a major sports market but as a growing hub for business and entertainment. The city that hosted the 2017 College Football Championship game—with a successful weekend leading up the game—is slated to host the NCAA Final Four in 2020, but it’s the Super Bowl in 2019 that will prove the city’s mettle in terms of being a legitimate host city.
Mutiny In The White House
Thanks to the arrival of an anonymous op-ed published in The New York Times last week, we now know there is a resistance within the White House working to frustrate parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda and his worst inclinations. It’s no secret that many Republicans don’t like Trump very much—both senators and senior White House officials have made clear they don’t see eye to eye with the President’s values.
What you smoke can say a lot about you
After the introduction of the vape and the Juul, cigarettes are no longer in vogue, with many different options when it comes to picking your next buzz. These come with pros and cons leading many people with many different options of smoking. Today, smoking devices act as almost an accessory that speak for themselves. To some students, the traditional cigarette is treasured for being just that—traditional.
College football officials, the invisible men on the field
Imagine a stadium filled with thousands of fans booing and cursing, with frustration and hatred in their faces. All of the animosity is pointed towards you and at any point in the game at least half of the fans are likely to despise you. Alas, this is just another day at work for a college football official. Many people hardly think about the man behind the striped shirt, but officials for America’s four major sports—football, basketball, baseball and hockey—have an incredibly stressful job.
Weekly Crime Blotters: Sep. 17
Why so close to the station? A Georgia State student reported suspicious activity or behavior at One Park Place at 9:02 a.m. A Georgia state student reported another student for simple assault and harassing and intimidating a person at Patton Hall. There is an active arrest warrant out for a person not affiliated with Georgia State for “cruelty to children.�
Weekly News Briefs: Sep. 17
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported that a man is in custody after authorities executed a search warrant on a smoke shop in Pickens County. Law enforcement officers and emergency response personnel encountered an “unknown drug substance� that sent five to the hospital. Atulkumar Jayan Patel was arrested later that day, and he faces charges of manufacturing, distributing, dispensing or possessing controlled substances and distributing Nitrous Oxide.
Georgia State scores first, not again in 41-7 drag
Georgia State (1-1) was unsuccessful in its first road game of the season as they were dominated 41-7 by North Carolina State (2-0). Head coach Shawn Elliott and the Panthers had eight days to prepare for their second game, but nonetheless, North Carolina State was more effective in almost every element. The Panthers had a multitude of chances to pull closer to the Wolfpack, yet they squandered their opportunities, and it showed in the final score.
Ashley Beyer with the assist
Whether she’s wearing knee pads or holding a clipboard full of scouting reports, Ashley Beyer has always found success in college volleyball. Former Marquette University outside hitter Ashley Beyer recorded 1,214 kills during her three years with the team, fourth in school history. She began her professional career in 2012 and played until 2016 when she joined the Hartford as an assistant coach. Beyer then joined the staff for Georgia State volleyball prior to the 2017 season.
Grady Health System partners with Care Logistics, creating possible jobs
Grady Health System and Care Logistics, a leader in care coordination and patient progression solutions, announced a five-year contract to improve greater efficiencies in patient care delivery through a premier Hospital Operating System (HOS), according to a press release.
Georgia State scores first, not again in 41-7 drubbing
Georgia State (1-1) was unsuccessful in its first road game of the season as they were dominated 41-7 by North Carolina State (2-0). Head coach Shawn Elliott and the Panthers had eight days to prepare for their second game, nonetheless, North Carolina State was more effective in almost every element. The Panthers had a multitude of chances to pull within closer to the Wolfpack, yet they squandered their opportunities, and it showed in the final score.
City launches municipal services app
Atlanta launched ATL311, a new app that provides increased efficiency and communication between residents and the city, on Aug. 24. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said, “The creation of this app is about making it more simple to receive and respond to the concerns of our residents, business owners and visitors.�
Vine City: A photographical look at gentrification
As each day passes, more and more of Vine City, the historic African-American community where Martin Luther King Jr. sought refuge during the civil rights era, is gone, taken from the hands of its residents through a process called urban redevelopment. Artist C. Rose Smith, in a recent installment at the Rialto Center for the Arts, displayed a frozen-in-time remembrance of the community in her photo series, “Through the Ground Glass: Vine City.�
You won’t see this policy up in smoke
Forget enforcing the no-smoking policy. And forget creating a designated area, too. The discussion of smoking on Georgia State’s downtown campus requires a more nuanced approach than you might think. In September of last year, The Signal ran a frontpage story on the apparent importance of creating designated smoking areas on Georgia State’s campuses.
Senators gather from across all 6 campuses for their first university-wide meeting
Student Government Association (SGA) President Franklin Patterson opened the first university-wide senate meeting of the year on Thursday, Sept. 6 with a simple icebreaker to liven up the room before business began among the senators. The meeting began with 11 of 26 members missing, but throughout the first hour of business the rest trickled in.
Typecast on Tinder
“Are you one of those Asian girls that likes white men?� These are the kind of messages Angela Besso, a Korean-American student at Georgia State, regularly receives on Tinder. She said she is constantly barraged with the assumptions people make after seeing how she looks. “An overwhelming amount of men that I do match with, very often point out the fact that I’m Asian and stereotypes that go along with my race,� Besso said.
Atlanta sees a flood of new sports venue facelifts
Atlanta has emerged as a king in sports development. Considering the new and renovated venues that have popped up every other year, the capital of the South is excelling at bringing itself the national sports spotlight. Atlanta’s sports scene is in an excellent space right now—several teams are presently capable of competing for a championship, and a few more will be able to in the coming years. And of course, when our teams are playing at such an elite level, they require top-notch homes.
It’s us again - The Signal
Following Nike’s featuring (and implicit endorsement) of Colin Kaepernick in a recent ad, public backlash was severe. The Nike ad enraged a range of feelings, provoking some concerned citizens and political activists to destroy their own property. Being patriotic isn’t about kissing up to those in power. Being patriotic isn’t about watching the news and brigading against whoever they tell you to.
Esports at Georgia State sees professionalism and success
Georgia State was the 34th American university to sponsor an esports team when they did so in the fall of 2017. The team has backing from the university and a designated building to call home in the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII). This backing gives the team confidence to grow as an asset to the university.
Your brain on stress is not a pretty sight
Young adults are stressed out. Well over 40 percent of young adults had a clinical psychiatric disorder, often resulting from stress, in the past year. Mental disorders resulting from elephantine levels of environmental stress, the sum of massive debt, high performance expectations and hyper-awareness of national and global issues are a national epidemic, and the effects can be seen as locally as Georgia State’s campuses.
Financial Aid’s bad reputation
It’s safe to say students don’t have the best opinion of the financial aid office at Georgia State. For years, complaints about the efficiency of the Office of Financial Aid have plagued the university. In a recent Facebook poll in the GSU Book Exchange group, The Signal asked students for their experiences with financial aid wait times in the days leading up to tuition deadlines. “Called, waited two hours, they answered, got disconnected.
The bubble tea craze isn’t going anywhere
Bubble tea is on the rise. Look no further than Google Maps and you’ll be sure to spot countless swirling, colorfully named tapioca bars that weren’t there only a year ago. It can feel like every other post in your Insta feed features that bright pastel straw and milky cup filled with balls of tapioca. And tell your mom that it’s not just a phase. Researchers for Allied Market Research are confident boba tea is more than a trend and it won’t be going away anytime soon.
No Kaep: Nike stirs national buzz
Multinational shoe company Nike has been at the center of discussion across the nation after announcing Colin Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It� campaign. The caption of the advertisement states, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.� The image of Kaepernick and the commercial that followed were both released days before the start of the NFL regular season, and that certainly wasn’t by coincidence.
Make Meals like a Tinder Date
One dish for a weeks meals, that’s a sweet time management deal. No, it doesn’t say frat-atta.
Weekly News Briefs: Sep. 10
Ex-cheerleader who knelt for national anthem sues KSU after failing to make new squad CBS46 reported that Tommia Dean, a former Kennesaw State cheerleader, filed a lawsuit on Sept. 5 against her university. She alleges that Kennesaw State violated her first amendment rights and that members of the university were participating in a private conspiracy actionable under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The ex-cheerleader is one of five to take a knee during the national anthem last season.
Weekly Crime Blotters: Sep.10
A Georgia State student was arrested for underage alcohol possession in the University Commons at around 3 a.m. A theft of less than $500 was reported in the Urban Life building. A non-GSU person was arrested for driving on a suspended license at Piedmont Avenue and John Wesley Dobbs. A non-GSU person was arrested for drinking in public in Woodruff Park. GSUPD performed an agency assist off campus in the afternoon following a student’s complaint.
SGA convenes for brief first fall meeting
Last Thursday, Georgia State’s Student Government Association (SGA) gathered in a corner of Georgia State Stadium before the university’s opening game to kickoff a game plan of their own. At the meeting, SGA adopted a seating bill that allowed two liaisons, Rachel Disanto and Vivian Chew, to be sworn in as representatives from the College of Law. They were sworn in by Chief Justice for the Student Judicial Board for the Atlanta Campus Gavin Hall.
Q&A with XC star Lotte Meyberg and head coach Chris England
The Georgia State cross country team is set to kick off another season, one where the team has set higher expectations for itself. The Signal sat down with Lotte Meyberg, the team’s top runner, to talk about her sophomore campaign and the things that make her such a good runner. Last year at the Sun Belt Conference Championships she placed seventh and made the all-conference team.
Probation affects students’ academic behavior, says new GSU study
A Georgia State study found that students who are placed on the dean’s list or academic probation are equally likely to experience behavioral or strategic changes in academics. Nicholas Wright, the economist who conducted the study, said, “[I] examined the academic records of undergraduate students across all majors in the social sciences and the pure, applied and medical sciences. The result is an average impact across students enrolled in majors in these broad categories.�
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