Page 8The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comFebruary 18, 2020Pop Culture Pop Quiz: How much do you know?Black History Month EditionWho was the first AfricanAmerican womanto win five GrammyAwards in one year?A. Billie HolidayB. Lauryn HillC. BeyoncéD. Aretha FranklinWhich popular rapartist’s real name isNayvadius Wilburn?A. BirdmanB. DrakeC. FutureD. Lil WayneWho played CraigJones in the iconicstoner film Friday?A. Morris ChestnutB. Chris TuckerC. Ice CubeD. Cuba Gooding, Jr.Who is the best sellingblack artist of all time?A. Janet JacksonB. Michael JacksonC. Stevie WonderD. Mariah CareyWho is the first selfmadefemale millionarein America?A. Madame C.J. WalkerB. Oprah WinfreyC. RihannaD. Cicely TysonWhich city is widelyacknowledged as thebirthplace of Hip Hop?A. Los Angeles, CAB. Atlanta, GAC. Memphis, TND. The Bronx, NYPhoto courtesy by Flickr.
Page 9The Spectator | www.vsuspectator.comFebruary 18, 2021Big Nick’s makes customers feel at homeMadison GruberStaff Writermagruber@valdosta.eduBig Nick’s is a popularrestaurant for students here atVSU. It is a common hangoutspot for people who lovesports, music, and soul food.The restaurant is situatedjust half a mile from VSU onBaytree Road, making it easyto locate and hard to miss.From the exterior, the redbrick building is accented withthe giant “BIG NICK’S” signadvertising to hungry drivers.On the sign, you will alsosee the face of the owner, Mr.Nicholas “Big Nick” Harden,with a giant smile on his face.As soon as we walked in thedoor, we were greeted with anenthusiastic, “Welcome to thefamily,” from the cashier whowas eager yet patient to takeour orders while we browsedthe menu.That greeting is differentfrom other stores or restaurants,where you usually aregreeted with the usual, “Hi.How are you today?” Thismade me feel at home andwelcome.The staff made sure toalways keep their masks on,even when there were no customersin line at the register orat the bar, watching the game.Once we ordered the food ,we were given a table numberand our beverage cups.It was around 7 p.m., so itwas not hard to find an emptybooth for my friend and I toenjoy our meal.The ambiance of the restaurantis very soulful. The speakerswere blasting with musicfrom the ‘70s and ‘80s, photosof historical figures hung fromthe walls and they even hadthe classic paper-towels-fornapkinsrolls at every table.We waited at our booth forabout 5-10 minutes before ourfood came out, piping hot,from the kitchen.I ordered the shrimp andgrits with a side of “Ma’sMac” from the dinner menuand my friend ordered a classicdinner of chicken tenders, friesand a side of “Ma’s Mac” aswell.These two orders plus thedrinks added up to be around$30 and some change. Ithought that was expensiveuntil we were served our food.The shrimp and grits weredelicious, though a little onthe salty side. I assumed it wasfrom the cheese sprinkled ontop. There was a lot of the foodas well, so enough for leftovers.Overall, it was a greatmeal.My friend’s order of chickentenders came with honey mustardand plenty of heat fromthe fryer. The chicken tendersseem to be, from what wecould guess, fried in the samegrease as the fish. This madefor the tenders to be extracrispy and delicious.The mac had to be the bestpart of the meal. It was cheesy,gooey and oh-so yummy. Iconsidered getting anotherorder of it to-go, but I wasstuffed from my meal.“Big Nick” himself was alsoin the restaurant and stoppedby our booth, as well as otherguests’ booths, to make surethe food was good, asked if weneeded refills, and if we areenjoying the experience.In May of 2015, Hardenestablished Big Nick’s and hasbeen in business ever since.You can definitely see thatthis restaurant and the employeespride themselves on greatfood, great service and an evengreater environment for it all.The “Big Nick’s” sign outside of the restaurant.The bar area inside the restaurant.The shrimp and grits platter with Ma’s Mac.The exterior design of the building.The dining area inside the restaurant.The chicken tenders and fries platter with Ma’s Mac.Black Lives Matter nominated for Nobel Peace PrizeKinlee WrightStaff Writerkinwright@valdosta.eduIn 2013 Black Lives Matterwas formed as a social andpolitical movement and wasfounded after the shooting ofTrayvon Martin. It continuesto grow today after theshootings of Ahmaud Arbery,Breonna Taylor and GeorgeFloyd last year. Black LivesMatter has been nominated fora Nobel Peace Prize.The Black Lives Mattergroup is a large movementto protest and help stand upagainst police brutality andracially motivated violenceagainst the black community.The organization was foundedby Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullorsand Opal Tometi.The Black Lives Mattermovement was nominated forthe Nobel Peace Prize by theNorwegian MP Petter Eide.According to The Guardian,“Nominations for the NobelPeace Prize are accepted fromany politician serving at anational level, and they areallowed just 2,000 words tostate their case. In his nominationpapers, the Norwegian MPPetter Eide said the movementhad forced countries outsidethe US to grapple with racismwithin their own societies.”“Eide is a member of Norway’sSocialist Left Party andthe former Secretary Generalof the Norwegian branch ofAmnesty International. He haspreviously nominated humanrights activists from Russiaand China for the prize,” accordingto USA Today.The Black Lives Mattermovement is not just somethingthat is happening in theUS.“The summer of 2020 sawBlack Lives Matter demonstrationsin Hong Kong,Dakar, Berlin and othercities around the world. Insome places, like Bristol,England, protesters toppledracist statues as well,” accordingto KQED.The Nobel Peace Prize isawarded to the person theythink “shall have done themost or the best work forfraternity between nations,the abolition or reductionof standing armies and forthe holding and promotionof peace congresses,” accordingto Alfred Nobel’swill, who the Nobel PeacePrize is named after.According to NBCNews, this prize would bevery important to the BlackLives Matter movement becauseit would recognize andreward their struggle againstracism and racially motivatedPhotos courtesy of Bailey Storey, Photo Editor, and Madison Gruber, Staff Writer.Photo courtesy of Flickr.Will the polarizing movement win the Nobel Peace Prize?violence.The Norwegian Nobel Committeewill make the decisionof the winners by casting amajority vote in October. Theaward ceremony is scheduledfor Dec. 10in Oslo, Norway.
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