Georgia
Georgia Southern students return to campus
STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) – As we have been covering a lot of back-to-school stories this past month it is officially time for local universities to start as well.
Wednesday, was the first day of class for Georgia Southern University.
WTOC was on campus to see how the first day went for both students and staff.
Wednesday marks the first day of classes for over 27,000 Georgia Southern students across all of their campuses.
We went to the Georgia Southern campus in Statesboro and checked in with students and faculty to see how the first day of class is going.
Many students we spoke to said they are looking forward to starting their core classes in a wide variety of majors.
“Intro to Criminal Justice,” said student, Maria Marin.
“Business Management here,” said student, Jimmy Fallstrom.
Tuesday night, the university kicked off their First in Flight event to welcome new students.
For the first day, the common challenge seemed to stay the same navigating campus.
“To just learn about the school and just not get lost around campus which…I just did,” said Marin.
However, faculty like Aileen Dowell the Dean of Students said they were prepared for this challenge.
“Today, is just going to be a lot of way-finding for students like where is this building, where is this class, how do I get there? So, actually today I’ll be helping with welcome tents that are all over campus. We have staff, students, and faculty pointing students to the right direction,” said Dowell.
Dowell said that for the more than 4,000 freshman, excited nerves are what makes this day so special.
“So today is going to be a lot of excitement, a lot of wow this is a new place, like how do I navigate it,” said Dowell.
Across campus, staff that have served this campus for years, like Chef Kathy Thomson, said that Wednesday is exciting because they get to see their beloved students again.
“I’m kinda like a mentor since I’m older and I kind of tell them the right thing, what to do, and go to school, graduate so you can get a good job so you can make some money. But I love them, I treat them like my own kids,” said Thomson.
University officials tell WTOC that their goal for the rest of the week is to make sure that the old and the new students are feel at home as much as possible.
Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.
GEORGIA, Ga. (WALB) — A new bill introduced to the Georgia Senate could create a constitutional amendment to restrict voting to legal U.S. citizens.
The bill, Senate Resolution 4EX says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.”
If passed, Georgians will vote on the constitutional amendment in the November election.
Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said “I have been calling on the legislature for years to pass this amendment to the state constitution. I am glad to see the legislature finally act to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”
According to Raffensperger, Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizen verification of voter rolls. Since 2022, Raffensperger’s office conducted two citizenship audits of Georgia’s voter rolls.
SR 4EX Text
“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship. Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. U.S. Citizens should decide Georgia elections. Period. I urge the legislature to pass this important legislation.”
The state uses information from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to identify people who are non-citizens. This data is based on documents provided to DDS, through its REAL ID drivers licenses or state identification cards.
That information is also ran through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify an individual’s citizenship status.
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To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, Instagram and X. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.
Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.
The Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt in their 11-4 win over the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the College World Series finals. It is OU’s second trip to the finals since 2022 but this one feels far more improbable.
A bubble team toward the end of the regular season and down 8-2 in an elimination game against Georgia Tech, Oklahoma has defied the odds and powered its way to the finals in Omaha. On Wednesday night, the Sooners hit five home runs against a Bulldogs team that led the nation in home runs per game this season.
Jason Walk got the home run party started, and Dasan Harris hit a pair of two-run bombs to help Oklahoma separate from one of the best teams in college baseball.
From the mound, freshman Nick Wesloski put together a strong performance for the Sooners, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched. L.J. Mercurius worked 3.1 and allowed just one earned run against the vaunted Georgia offense.
Everything is clicking for Oklahoma heading into the finals, which begins on Saturday. They’ll face a good North Carolina Tar Heels for all the marbles. But before we get to the championship series, here’s a look at how social media reacted to the Sooners win over Georgia.
Playing for a Natty
Incredible Job by Skip Johnson
Definition of Team
Just Unreal
Got Hot at the Right Time
The Moment from the Dugout
Freshmen Phenoms
Nothing Easy, Everything Earned
Team of Destiny?
Exceeding All Expectations
Dasan Harris is that Dude
Incredible Story
Sooner Magic is alive and well
Playing for a trophy
Time to lay it all on the line
Just doing ridiculous things
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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