April 6, 2018•Volume 103, Issue 26•nique.
net
technique
News 2
NEW YORK TIMES WRITER SPEAKS AT TECH p8
LIFE
Top L: Photo by Casey Gomez Student Publications; Top R: Photo courtesy of Wil Roberts; Above: Photo by Casey Gomez Student Publications
Peterson reminisces on football past Tech PUBP runs for
HARSHA SRIDHAR
SPORTS EDITOR
Before he was the presi-
dent of the Georgia Insti-
tute of Technology or a
professor at Colorado State
University or a program
director at the National
Science Foundation or a
research scientist at NASA
or a high school mathemat-
ics teacher, Bud Peterson
was a lanky pass-catcher
running across the fields of
Manhattan.
Manhattan in the state
of Kansas, that is.
The academic program
— mechanical engineering
at Kansas State University
— was a natural fit for the
tinkering Peterson, who,
per the Tech alumni maga-
zine, spent his spare hours
in college putting together
OPINIONS
. .
LTE: SGA budgeting
Opinions 5
SPORTS
a classic car. The football
program, on the other
hand, provided a steeper
climb. The team was com-
petitive in the powerhouse
Big Eight conference; both
quarterbacks who started at
the university during Peter-
son’s time went on to play
significant roles on their re-
spective NFL teams.
But Peterson was ac-
customed to working for
things. Work, after all,
was his introduction to the
sport. In junior high, Peter-
son, who grew up idolizing
local players, wanted to play
football against his parents’
wishes. A deal was made: if
he earned enough money to
pay for the equipment him-
self, he could try out.
So Peterson did what
any aspiring athlete would
do. He began a paper route.
He cut lawns. When a
Life 8
neighborhood friend quit
the team early in the sea-
son, Peterson bought his
equipment at a discount-
ed rate. He conveyed the
news to his dismayed fa-
ther, who was out of town
on business at the time.
Peterson was on the team.
Photo by Casey Gomez Student Publications
Tech president Bud Peterson speaks at an Institute
town hall. He once played football for Kansas State.
ENTERTAINMENT
p5 Ph.D. student musician p13
Entertainment 12
Peterson grew up idol-
izing former Notre Dame
standout and three-time
All-American Jim Seymour.
Seymour was a tall, fast re-
ceiver who to date holds his
alma mater’s record for most
receiving yards in a game.
See PETERSON, page 18
NEWS
GA House
JONATHAN JEFFREY
STAFF WRITER
It was a difficult deci-
sion for Darryl J. Terry, II,
a third-year PUBP, to run
to represent District 56 in
the Georgia State House of
Representatives.
“Even though I might be
the youngest elected,” Terry
said, “I probably was the
latest to get into the race.”
But after praying and
being talking with fam-
ily and friends in Febru-
ary, Terry was determined
to run for the position as
a Democratic candidate.
After qualifying as a can-
didate on March 9, it has
been full-speed ahead for
his campaign.
Sports 20
“The campaign has defi-
nitely gotten me meeting
residents,” Terry said. “You
know, the district has about
57,000 people in it, and I’m
glad to say we’ve already
knocked on about 200, 300
homes.”
District 56 cuts a
northeast-southwest di-
agonal slice across Atlanta
from Piedmont Heights
in the north to a little be-
yond Florida Heights in
the south, with Tech in the
middle.
Terry’s team of over 20
volunteers has been cover-
ing that ground by knock-
ing on doors and asking for
support through pledges
and donations.
See TERRY, page 2
News
POLLY OUELLETTE
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
ALL TRUCKERED OUT
Shortly before midnight on
March 28, two officers responded
to a call regarding a male laying
on the ground underneath a truck
in the lower level of the Peters
parking deck.
They made contact with the
relatively young man, who was in
and out of consciousness, but was
breathing and slow to respond
to verbal requests. The officers
NEWS EDITOR:
Casey Miles
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR:
Polly Ouellette
news@nique.net
moved the man from under the
car without escalating the situa-
tion any further, and observed the
reek of alcohol emanating from
his person.
Grady Memorial Hospital
paramedics arrived and trans-
ported the male to the hospital via
ambulance. Before the individual
was carted away, he was found to
be in possession of a legal license
that showed that he was under the
age of 21. In addition, he was also
in possession of a fake identifica-
tion card from another state that
made him over the age of 21.
The student was issued a Stu-
dent Code of Conduct violation
for underage possession of alcohol
and possession of false identifica-
tion.
FRESHMAN WITHOUT FRESH AIR
An officer just happened to be
meandering around the area of
Bobby Dodd Way and Techwood
Drive around 3 a.m. on March 29
when he noticed that a Grady Me-
morial Hospital Ambulance was
responding to a freshman resi-
GA Legislature Adjourns
The GA House of Representatives and Senate
have adjourned. Some bills affecting stu-
dents went to the governor for approval44
dence hall in the area. He set off TERRY FROM PAGE 1
to investigate.
The first person he asked about “A lot of it is just hitting
the incident was a paramedic, the ground,” Terry said, “to
who told him that they were re- get to as many people as we
sponding to a call about a male can and get our message out.”
student having trouble breathing. Although Terry runs a mul-
The individual who had made the tifaceted campaign, his top pri-
911 call was a young woman, his orities are economic in nature:
friend. fighting gentrification in the city
She told the officer that the as well as increasing the Geor-
two of them had been drinking off gia minimum wage up to $9.25
campus and after they returned or above. Currently, Georgia’s
to campus, her male companion minimum wage is $5.15, over
started complaining of breathing two dollars less than the federal
difficulties. minimum wage of $7.25, which
The officer encountered the covers most Georgia workers.
young man in the bathroom of the “The district is part of the west
residence hall, but the individual part of Atlanta, what we con-
seemed to be alert and breathing sider underserved areas around
normally. The student told the of- Atlanta,” Terry said. “So we’re
ficer that he had consumed “about working together with our team
five shots of vodka” at the party just to kind of figure out how we
off campus. keep citizens, and long-time citi-
After determining that he did zens in particular, interested in
not need medical attention, the staying, because the problem that
officer drove the student home. they have is they can’t afford their
The student was issued a student rent and the increases in rent.”
code of conduct violation for un- If elected, Terry said that he
derage consumption of alcohol. would want to work with metro
Atlanta developers, who might
technique
Friday,
2
April 6, 2018
tative for District 56 since 2013.
While Terry has worked with
and for Rep. Thomas in the past,
serving on her campaign, he will
be running against Rep. Thom-
as in the Democratic primary.
“There comes a time and a pe-
riod where there needs to be a new
voice in the legislature,” Terry
said. “She has taught me so much
as an individual. However, I do
think that it’s time to, you know,
make sure that someone else steps
up and is able to be the sound-
ing board for the community.”
Despite still being in col-
lege, Terry says he has already
worked on every level of the
government — except federal —
and those skills would come in
handy if he were to be elected.
Terry’s campaign is currently
concentrating its efforts on win-
ning the primary on May 22 (and
the potential runoff in June), as the
Democratic candidate for District
56 is expected to win the gener-
al election in November easily.
Above all, Terry encour-
ages students to register to vote
and make sure their voices are

BILL SUMMARY
BILL
Men’s Club Basketball
Homecoming Concert
Taal Tadka Concert
HAC Honor Week
President’s Trophy Regatta
E
ach week , this sec tion of TAAL TADKA be able dedicate some of their heard in the ballots, regardless
News will include coverage Taal Tadka approached UHR proceeds and efforts to affordable of the candidates they support.
of different aspects of bills with two bills this week, one for housing and mixed-use projects. “I just want people to know that
and resolutions that have passed their end of semester conference The incumbent representa- you can get involved. It doesn’t
through Student Government. This
and one for travel and registration tive for District 56 is Rep. “Able” matter who you vote for,” Terry
for a national competition. Mable Thomas (D), who has a said. “Please, please, please vote.
will include the Undergraduate
While there were questions and total of 19 years of experience in It’s important that people vote .”
House of Representatives, Graduate discussion surrounding the bill the Georgia House of Representa- For more information on Ter-
Student Senate and the Executive for their end of semester concert, tives and has been the represen- ry’s campaign, visit djterry2.com.
Branch of both government bodies. most of the representatives wanted
to know more details about their
CASEY MILES trip to Chicago and the national
NEWS EDITOR competition.
Some reps were staunchly
against passing both bills since
Taal Tadka had already received
AMOUNT GSS UHR a large amount of funding from
$1,377.60 14-0-0 29-0-0 SGA this year on a per person ba-
sis. Others disagreed stating that
the a capella group shared their
N/A 13-0-1 29-0-1 music with many people at their
events, not just the members.
$360 14-0-0 29-2-1 After that debate was settled,
reps were worried that the regis-
$102.75 15-0-0 31-1-0 tration for the competition had
already been paid for, after doing
some research they found that Photo by Casey Gomez Student Publications
$750.00 15-0-0 31-0-0 registration had already been paid Darryl J. Terry argues a point to his fellow undergraduate
for and struck it before passing. representatives in the Undergraduate House of Representatives.

sliver // your thoughts

hello
Daigle, go fuck yourself.
nique.net
technique
The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
NEWS EDITOR
Casey Miles
FORTNITE OPINIONS EDITOR
let’s get the kitkats together and stage a photo Zahra Khan
Brighton Kamen EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
next time i steal fries thanklessly from u they better be warm LIFE EDITOR
I don’t think Aslan could roll a blunt The jury is still out. David Raji MANAGING EDITOR Samira Bandaru
Taco Bell is pioneering the far reaches of what bad service can be. ENTERTAINMENT
Uncle Jemima Founded in 1911, the Technique is the student newspaper of the EDITOR
Sports are good Playing them is fun Others like them too Run- Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an official publication of Monica Jamison
ning and jumping happen Time runs out Sports the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. The Technique SPORTS EDITOR
silver is actually gold publishes on Fridays, weekly in the fall and spring and biweekly in Harsha Sridhar
Why are people so unashamed of using Chegg?? You are literally the summer.
cheating!! At least try to hide it, or just use google for free, dum- PHOTO EDITOR
mies. This campus is going down the tubes!! ADVERTISING: Information can be found online at nique.net/ Casey Gomez
I’m Shrek motherfuckers ads. The deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m. one
DESIGN EDITOR
lack of extroversion makes me an extra virgin week before publication. To place a reservation, for billing infor-
Lauren Douglas
Half my exes live in Texas mation or for any other questions please e-mail us at ads@nique.
*impressively realistic farting noises* Exactly what we needed. net. You may reach us at 404-894-2830, Monday through Friday LAYOUT EDITOR
test from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beatrice Domingo
If Tech ever offers a course on the “social construction” of western Copyright © 2017, Brighton Kamen, Editor-in-Chief, and
science, leave this place. 3spooky5me. the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. No part of ONLINE EDITOR
i try to have fun on here, i try to post something nice, and all of this paper may be reproduced in any manner without written Zoie Konneker
you freaks brutally piss all over me. Im done permission from the Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of WEB DEVELOPER
update from the good time line—Bacion is legal to eat at work Student Publications. The ideas expressed herein are those of the Tristen Allen
thanks to President Banksy in the whitehouse, now known as the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of
the Board of Student Publications, the students, staff or faculty of
star wars house the Georgia Institute of Technology or the University System of
EDITOR EMERITA
i regret to inform you, that by resorting to Swear language, you Vidya Iyer
Georgia. First copy free; for additional copies call 404-894-2830.
have forfeit this debate. Farewell my bitch
// NEWS technique • April 6, 2018• 3

The Honor Advisory Council (HAC) is a group of undergraduate and graduate Tech stu-
dents who understand the ins and outs of the Honor Code and work to improve awareness of
it on campus. HAC advises students going through the process of academic misconduct cas-
es, additionally, they run an ethics seminar for all students and host Honor Week on campus.
As a part of their effort to increase visibility and knowledge of the Honor Code on cam-
pus, HAC relaunched their Academic Integrity Climate Survey this past year. The survey had
not been performed in almost 15 years, with the last set of results coming from a survey done
in 2003.
538 students filled the survey out in its entirety. Out of those 538 students there was
almost equal representation from both graduate and undergraduate students, giving HAC
data that could allow them to see what students from across the board thought of academic
integrity on campus.
Working in tandem with the Office of Student Integrity (OSI), the students created the
newest version of the survey with 17 questions. The questions ranged from simple back-
ground information regarding year and major to open ended response questions asking stu-
dents whether or not professors could trust their students during an unproctored exam.
With the results from this survey, HAC plans to implement some changes regarding what
they offer to students. Additionally, using this survey data and feedback obtained from those
students who took it, they plan to add more questions to give them a clearer picture of aca-
demic integrity on campus.
HAC will be hosting Honor Week from April 16-20. The council will be tabling on Skiles
walkway for part of the week, and on Thursday, April 19, they will host a stress relief carnival.
The carnival will include King of Pops, a coloring booth and stress dogs.

One of HAC’s main goals is dispelling possible myths

and educating students on OSI.
“A great deal of our caseload [at OSI] is unintentional
violations,” said Associate Dean and Director of Student In-
tegrity Bonnie Taylor. “It isn’t just the student who’s hacking
into something.” Using the results from this survey, HAC will
also adjust their current offerings to students.
“From the survey results we were able to change our eth-
ics seminar,” said HAC Chair Toral Kadakia, “which is some-
thing that a lot of students who violated the academic honor
code will have to take in the process. Through that we’ve
made some changes to help them understand what their
options are after they’ve gone through the process.”
While the survey conducted this year gave them good
results, HAC is looking to change some questions in the sur-
vey for this coming year.
“Mostly, we added in some more questions about how
people perceive how easy it was to cheat on different sorts
of assignments,” said HAC Vice Chair Kenji Tanaka, “and
what the risk was. That’s one aspect you can’t really see from
OSI’s numbers.”
“We also added international student vs domestic stu-
dent to see how these students perceive the honor code
differently,” said HAC Member Saubhagya Singh Rathore.

Design by Lauren Douglas

Georgia Institute of Technology

Class of 2018

Schedule your Graduation Portrait for the Blueprint

Yearbook on behalf of the Class of 2018!

No Cost to be Photographed!

Photographers will be on campus starting Wednesday, April 11th

Location: Wenn Student Center, 2nd Floor Commons Spring Room

Schedule your appointment now at the link below!

http://www.ouryear.com/schedule/?sc=87169
Or you can call us at 1-800-687-9327
Monday through Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Images are great for your LinkedIn Profile too!

Opinions
OUR VIEWS | Consensus Opinion
On the teachers’ strike
Supporting the education system from the ground up
In the past few weeks, the United
States has seen teachers walk out of
schools in several states where their pay
is barely above minimum wage and their
schools are crumbling because of a lack
of resources.
Most recently, teachers in Oklahoma
have been demanding raises after a de-
cade of large cuts to funding for education.
Many of them are forced to work multiple
jobs to remain financially stable. As stu-
dents that are part of the United States’
education system, the majority of us have
received secondary education in public
high schools and have seen firsthand the
effects of underfunding.
Whereas professionals in higher educa-
tion enjoy great job security, less stressful
classroom settings and more flexibility
with their schedules, teachers in the pri-
mary and secondary school system are not
afforded the same luxuries. In states like
Oklahoma, teachers often have to pay for
The Consensus Opinion reflects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of the
Technique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.
technique editorial board
Brighton Kamen EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
David Raji MANAGING EDITOR
Casey Miles NEWS EDITOR
Samira Bandaru LIFE EDITOR
Harsha Sridhar SPORTS EDITOR
Tristen Allen WEB DEVELOPER
Casey Gomez PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
PLAYDATE GONE WRONG BY TONY WU
OPINIONS EDITOR: Zahra Khan
“
”
What is freedom of expression?
Without the freedom to offend, it
ceases to exist. — Salman Rushdie
supplies and other school expenses out
of pocket, something that few other jobs
would require one to do.
The direct consequences for paying
teachers less and cutting money for edu-
cation are fairly straightforward. How-
ever, the problematic circumstances at
hand serve to fundamentally undermine
the value of the education itself. Payment
reflects the intrinsic value we as a society
place on work. The conditions in public
primary and secondary schools in Okla-
homa as well as other states reflect how
little primary and secondary education is
valued in certain regions of the U.S., often
in stark contrast to how much we value
higher education.
Teachers getting paid less than others in
their line of work are going to start looking
elsewhere, and ultimately they have no in-
centive to continue working in a field that
is responsible for such a critical time in the
youth’s development.
Zahra Khan OPINIONS EDITOR
Monica Jamison ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Lauren Douglas DESIGN EDITOR
Zoie Konneker ONLINE EDITOR
Beatrice Domingo LAYOUT EDITOR
technique
Friday,
April 6, 2018
5
YOUR VIEWS | Letter to the Editor
Response to the UHR
budget editorial
The article by David Raji titled account of their financial perfor-
“A possible alternative to the fla- mance.
grant behavior of UHR” moves We are in a world that is mov-
me to share a similar instance. ing rapidly away from print me-
I was a member of the gradu- dia and reading towards click-
ate body (“senate”) of SGA some baity titles and getting news from
years back and encountered simi- Snapchat. In such a scenario, col-
lar discussions in lege newspapers
the course of bud- still have a role
get discussions. “ ... college newspapers to play to provide
Primarily, print
media (including still have a role to play avenues that can
create real jour-
Technique) came to provide avenues nalists.
under a strict I hope that
scrutiny. The ar- that can create real Mr. Raji’s article
gument was simi- journalists.” leads to an intro-
lar to what Mr. spection by the
Raji mentioned ABHINAV MALHOTRA SGA, which be-
in his article, of PH.D. CHBE ing a democratic
s u s t a i n a b i l it y, body (although
readership and with a abysmal
profitability of print media in gen- voter turnout in the “senate” elec-
eral. There were statistics provided tions) not only needs to reflect the
which could be inferred as print feelings of the wider student body,
media being a waste of Student but also ensure that it holds itself
Activity Fee. accountable to them. Flagrant
Yours truly spoke vehemently violation of rules that it applies to
against it with the argument that other student organizations only
college campuses need to be a safe serve to diminish its reputation
haven for these media organiza- and serve the notion of dictatorial
tions without having them give an rule rather than a democratic one.
YOUR VIEWS | Online Comments
Great American Novel
So...Lady Bird was set in 2002, and isn’t about the mundanity
of everyday life but the struggle to come to terms with her
own sense of self. The entire movie is the title character trying
to figure out who she is. AND to call time of death for the Great
American Novel is to misunderstand the function of the novel.
Also...radio drama listeners are binging on podcasts now.
This piece is poorly written and ignores the context of all its
arguments. I would call this drivel.
John Quinn
UHR budget talk
I agree that UHR is not living up to their standards and
responsibilities, but is scrapping the entire wing of SGA the
most resolute way to solve a problem?
Maggie Kelley
Write to us: are responses to or commentaries on
content found within the pages of the
opinions@nique.net Technique. Along with these letters,
we are open to receiving letters that
Got something to say? Then let focus on relevant issues that currently
your voice be heard with the Tech- affect Georgia Tech as a university, in-
nique. Sliver at Nique.net, tweet us cluding its campus and student body.
@the_nique or check us out on Face- When submitting letters we ask
book at facebook.com/thenique. We that you include your full name, year
want to hear your opinion and want (1st, 2nd, etc.) and major. We ask that
to make it known to all of campus. letters be thought provoking, well
We also welcome your letters in written and in good taste. We reserve
response to Technique content as well the right to both reject or edit letters
as topics relevant to campus. We will for length and style.
print letters on a timely and space- For questions, comments or con-
available basis. cern, contact the Opinions Editor at
Each week we look for letters that opinions@nique.net.
6 • April 6, 2018• technique
A 24-hour library jeopardizes students
On Wednesday mornings, I go
to the library to print out assign-
ments for class, and without fail,
there is always someone asleep
in a booth on the second floor.
There are often people curled up
in sleeping bags, presumably try-
ing to get in a few last minutes of
sleep before class after pulling an
all-nighter.
I understand the drive and
pressure to stay up all night to
keep working, but prioritizing
sleep is essential for good men-
tal and physical wellness. With
all the work that we are assigned
as college students, it is hard to
imagine how everything will get
done if we do not work around
the clock. When there is a huge
exam or a final project the next
day, we often calculate how long
we can stay up working, powering
through exhaustion to maximize
our time, but staying up all night
GMOs: not as evil as you might think
Genetically modified organ-
isms (GMOs) are organisms that
have their genomes altered in fa-
vor of specific traits. For example,
using the technology, you could
create a corn crop with larger
cobs, larger kernels and, poten-
tially, a larger yield. GMOs can
make specific foods healthier by
giving greater concentrations of
nutrients or introducing genomes
to antioxidants. The use of GMOs
in this way could potentially solve
many food shortage problems and
create solutions worldwide.
However, there are some con-
siderations and potential threats in
using GMOs. In a debate in biol-
ogy class, one of my peers brought
up the Irish Potato Famine. Say
you create a crop of tomatoes with
COLLEGE DAY
thursdays | 2pm- 10 pm
Join us at Chick-fil-A West Midtown from 2pm-10pm in
the Fall 2017 Semester. All students with valid college ID
will receive a FREE Medium Fry.
Offer valid only at Chick-fil-A West Midtown rom 8/24/17-5/3/18 from 2:00pm-10:00pm. One offer per customer. Not valid with any other offer. Offer valid while sup-
plies last. Closed Sundays. Ask Restaurant for details. Chick-fil-A®,Chick-fil-AStylized®,andTheChick-fil-ACows® are registered trademarks of CFA Properties,Inc.
affects our quality of work and
leaves us exhausted the next day.
Because the library is open for
24 hours a day, it becomes a place
for students to go in order to work
24/7 nonstop. This is seen as a sell-
ing point to incoming students;
however, keeping the library
open 24 hours promotes the idea
that students should and need to
abandon healthy sleep schedules
in order to succeed. Keeping the
library open all night continues
to foster an environment where
success, prestige and grades take
precedence far above balance and
personal health (mental or other-
wise). The effects of this can be
seen when students boast about
how little sleep they got. Just as it
is seen as a problem to spend the
night in the office in the corporate
world, it should be recognized as
a problem when your students are
bringing sleeping bags to the li-
“ ... science and selection
have ‘interfered’ with food
yields for centuries.”
KIRSTEN REYNOLDS
ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY
EDITOR
identical traits and, essentially, the
same genome. If a bacteria or dis-
ease evolves to destroy one of the
tomatoes, the entire crop will be
destroyed because there is no dif-
ference in genome to promote that
natural selection that has carefully
crafted organisms since the begin-
ning of time.
Chick-fil-A West Midtown
(404) 249-2491 • 1100 Northside Dr.
www.facebook.com/cfawestmidtown
brary with them just to keep work-
ing. In a world where prioritizing
proper health is already a struggle,
supported policy should help en-
courage healthy balance instead of
hindering it. It is difficult enough
when everyone around you says
that school should consume your
entire life without the campus
policy promoting that as well.
The solution for this issue is
two-fold. Firstly, I think the in-
stitute should abandon the policy
that the library is 24/7 in favor of
being open from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.,
except during finals week when
it could be 24 hours. This leaves
only a three-hour window where
the library would be closed, but
students could really benefit from
being forced to go home for at
least a few hours. This does not
mean they are going to sleep, but
it is at least a friendly reminder
that sleep is important and that
The stigma is another thing.
Just because we do not think
GMOs are dangerous now does
not mean they will not potentially
arise as a health danger later down
the line. But this notion perpetu-
ates a fear of science. Current
research shows no health threat
with the use of GMOs. The simple
“ ... keeping the library open
24 hours promotes the idea
that students should and
need to abandon healthy
sleep schedules ... ”
LAUREN DOUGLAS
DESIGN EDITOR
a few hours is better than none.
Most importantly, it promotes the
idea that school should not come
before any aspect of your health,
and that on some level, Tech ac-
tively wants its students to priori-
tize healthy sleep patterns.
The second solution is that stu-
dents need to take some responsi-
bility for their own healthy hab-
its. Closing the library for a few
hours each night helps to encour-
idea that, “one day, GMOs might
make everyone sick,” is a simple
fear mongering tactic.
With this and the organic
foods trend, many people are con-
cerned with GMOs. I think this is
because the title “GMO” sounds,
well, scary. It is now almost a
point of pride when a company
can write “non-GMO” on the side
of their product. People seem to
fear this idea that science is “inter-
fering” with their food. However,
science and selection have “inter-
fered” with food yields for centu-
ries. What distinguishes genetic
trait selection in GMOs from
mating the bigger, stronger cattle
to produce bigger, stronger off-
spring to give a larger food yield?
This practice to generate farm ani-
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL
Showcase, Present, and Inspire
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH @ GT
gttower.org
// OPINIONS
age healthy habits, but it does not
mean that students have to follow
healthy habits themselves. Getting
a good night of sleep benefits you
and everyone around you, but you
have to choose to prioritize your
health in order for any changes
to be made. If we as students are
going to push for greater changes
in the attitude towards health, it
has to begin with us making these
choices for ourselves.
mals is used today, but this form
of selection is not shunned. Many
people, and maybe those same fear
mongering people discussed ear-
lier, may argue that the laboratory
genetic modification may pose a
threat to human genomes. This is,
quite frankly, ridiculous and has
no basis. If you are not concerned
with the DNA of a strawberry al-
tering your DNA, you should not
be concerned about the DNA of a
genetically-modified corn crop al-
tering your genome, either. After
all, GMOs are not just used in the
food industry. Modern-day insu-
lin is a GMO. It continues to save,
millions of lives every year. The
widespread acceptance and use of
consumable GMOs can very well
do the same.
// OPINIONS
Seven Bridges
The construction outside
Mason and Howey has finally
taken shape. The area has been
converted to a small park that
mirrors the historic Seven
Bridges Problem. The idea is
that each land mass in a an
area should be visited through
seven bridges that connect
them. It’s a popular concept in
graph theory and it is fitting, if
not a little gimmicky, for Tech
to pay homage to mathemat-
ics.
ME 2110 Competition
The past couple of weeks
have resulted in many sleep-
less nights for the Mechanical
Engineering sophomores. The
hard work of students taking
ME 2110 will come to fruition
and be up for display on Fri-
day, 6th April. Students in the
class have to construct a me-
chanical device from scratch
that can perform certain basic
tasks. It has been a long semes-
ter for the students, MARC at
6:15 p.m. on Friday.
Whistle Out of Sync
Tech’s steam whistle, which
has marked class changes for
years and years, was notably
off-schedule earlier this week.
The error caused much in the
way of stress and anxiety on
social media platforms; the
Tech subreddit saw numerous
users lament the failure of the
whistle to stay coordinated.
The whistle’s schedule changed
to align with the class schedule
changes that were implement-
ed last fall.
Hawks on Bottom
The Atlanta Hawks are
sadly in the worst standing
in the NBA’s eastern con-
ference. With only 22 wins
on the season, they are 34.5
games behind the number one
seeded Toronto Raptors. With
no hope of getting into the
playoffs, the games are simply
abysmal at this point. The only
solace that can be found is that
the Hawks’ record is not as bad
as that of the Phoenix Suns in
the western conference.
The unseen prejudice of
giving blood
“Human life is more
important than the prejudices
we hold ... ”
ZOIE KONNEKER
ONLINE EDITOR
This week, I was confronted is why these restrictions are
with signs on Skiles walkway and problematic.
by the Student Center alerting me As we all know from our mid-
to the Red Cross blood drive hap- dle school health classes, anyone
pening on campus. I have donated can contract HIV if they are sexu-
at Tech before, so I was interested, ally active, so why are we specifi-
but I was unable to because of re- cally refusing healthy gay and bi-
cent health issues. Because of this, sexual adults from donating blood
I was able to consider the feelings and not all people who are sexu-
of other people who have the de- ally active? If blood is being pro-
sire to donate but cannot. cessed and tested anyway, why do
Despite the donation centers’ we not even allow LGBT+ people
claims that they treat each of their to have the chance to donate?
donors fairly, there is still a stigma For years, LGBT+ people have
against LGBT+ people that pre- fought to earn the right to do-
vents them from donating blood nate blood. If there are healthy
at their drives. This is not directly individuals ready and willing to
their fault. They are required by donate something as essential
law to follow federal guidelines to life as blood, why would we
that detail the restrictions on who deny them this opportunity? Af-
can and cannot donate blood. ter the Pulse nightclub shooting,
For starters, men who have the LGBT+ community of Or-
had sex with other men are dis- lando came together to send sup-
allowed from donating. Women port to the families and friends
who have had sex with men who of their fallen members. Though
have possibly been intimate with they were able to raise money and
other men are also not allowed show their love, they were unable
to donate. Rules are generally to give blood to people who were
crafted for a reason, so here’s the injured in the shooting despite the
rationale: People who have anal urgency of the situation.
sex are statistically more likely to There is always a possibility
contract HIV. I won’t get into the for infected blood to slip through
specifics of this; I assume you have the cracks with any virus. Instead
Google and know how sex works. of banning an entire group of
However, what I will explain people who are willing to donate,
technique • April 6, 2018• 7
though, why don’t we implement
better, more accurate mechanisms
to be able to provide healthy blood
to those who need transfusions?
Additionally, this is not just a
health issue. Many donation cen-
ters would like for LGBT+ people
to donate blood, but the regula-
tions are holding them back. The
problem is not the risk, the prob-
lem is prejudice. Gay people are
not “dirtier” or “riskier” because
of their sexual habits; that is false
rhetoric crafted by those who want
to keep gay people out of sight and
out of mind. But when we have
crises where blood is needed, we
cannot prevent any viable donors
from potentially saving lives. It
is so important to deconstruct
stigma, not just because they can
save our lives, but because they are
people too. They deserve the same
chances, respect and trust that all
other people do.
Healthy individuals, no matter
their sexual orientation or history
of intimacy, should be able to give
blood. This simple act of kind-
ness is integral to preventing loss
of life. Let gay people give blood.
Use technology to make sure do-
nated blood is safe to use, do not
use discrimination as a tool for a
process that is being completed
anyway. Take out the pointed,
discriminatory questions in the
surveys before the donation.
If we can choose to have the
chance to save a life, why don’t
we do so? Put aside your differ-
ences and come together to help
other people. Human life is more
important than the prejudices we
hold, so it is time to enact change
to improve the system that could
one day affect each and every
one of us.
4 • April 6, 2018• technique
House and Senate bills passed to Gov. Deal
LILY STEELE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Georgia General Assem-
bly adjourned Sine Die on March
29, marking the end of the forti-
eth and final day of lawmaking.
During this legislative session,
Georgia senators and representa-
tives considered several bills and
resolutions that, if made law, will
impact the University System of
Georgia (USG) and Tech.
Of the several Tech-related
bills considered during this ses-
sion, House Bill 683 (HB683) was
the first to be passed and signed
by the Governor, with a vote of 54
to 0 in the Senate and 155 to 8 in
the House.
An amended Fiscal Year 2018
appropriations bill, HB683 pro-
posed amendments to the 2018
budget including provisions for
and changes to certain appropria-
tions for the university system and
common schools, and will become
law on the bill’s effective date, July
1, 2018.
Of the bills that did not pass
in the final days of the legislative
session, two were especially rel-
evant to Tech students. One of
these was Senate Bill 348 (SB348)
which primarily aims to decrease
the jurisdiction of campus police
departments from 500 yards to
500 feet beyond university prop-
erty.
Although the bill passed in the
Senate with a vote of 48 to 1, its
failure in the House’s Public Safe-
ty Committee means that Tech
students can continue to expect
campus police patrols and arrests
976 BRADY AVE NW, ATLANTA GA | DONETTOATLANTA.COM |
beyond the two-block boundary
that the bill would have imposed.
Senate Bill 405 (SB405) was
another highly anticipated bill
that did not pass this legislative
session. SB405 intends to estab-
lish a new $1500 grant program
for students who demonstrate fi-
nancial need but are not eligible
for the HOPE and Zell Miller
The Georgia Capitol building in downtown Atlanta. Several bills that underwent discussion
in the recent legislative session directly pertained to Tech’s campus community.
NOW HIRING
BARTENDERS, SERVERS, SERVER ASSISTANTS AND LINE COOKS
APPLY IN PERSON AT DONETTO
OR SEND RESUMES TO JMURRAY@THEINDIGOROAD.COM
scholarships. Despite passing in
the Senate with a vote of 44 to 5,
it failed to pass in the House and
will not continue at this time.
Five additional bills pertaining
to Tech and the USG were passed
by the General Assembly and have
been sent to the Governor for ap-
proval. The first of these is House
Bill 684 (HB684), the general
appropriations bill for Fiscal Year
2019.
HB684 includes many USG
and Tech specific priorities. It pro-
poses $51.1 million to be shared
among USG schools for enroll-
ment growth, as well as an addi-
tional $60 million to repair USG
facilities. Most relevant to Tech,
the budget also includes $30.6
Photo by Tom Hightower Student Publications
@DONETTOATL
// NEWS
million for the Price Gilbert Li-
brary and Crosland Tower renew-
al project and $5 million for the
Georgia Advanced Biomanufac-
turing Center. HB684 was passed
by both chambers of the General
Assembly, in the Senate with a
vote of 54 to 1 and in the House
with a vote of 175 to 1.
Along with HB684, two other
finance-focused bills were passed.
House Bill 700, which expands
certain educational loans to in-
clude graduate degree program
candidates, received unanimous
approval from both chambers.
House Bill 787, which increases
funding for state charter schools,
was passed in the Senate with a
vote of 43 to 7 and in the House
with a vote of 111 to 56.
Senate Bill 315 (SB315) was
also just passed in the Senate with
a vote of 42 to 7 after receiving
House approval with a vote of 107
to 63.
SB315 defines unauthorized
computer access as a crime, pro-
viding that anyone convicted of
password disclosure or unauthor-
ized computer access will be “pun-
ished for a misdemeanor of a high
and aggravated nature,” according
to the language of the bill.
The final approved bill of this
session, Senate Bill 339 (SB339),
establishes policies of free expres-
sion on college campuses and out-
lines penalties for violating these
policies.
Having passed in the Senate
with a vote of 35 to 17 and in the
House with a vote of 110 to 57,
SB339 joins the other bills cur-
rently awaiting the Governor’s ap-
proval.
Life
LIFE EDITOR:
Samira Bandaru
ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR:
Hanna Warlick
Want to take a break from studying for final exams? Check
out upcoming events in April, including an Atlanta United
life@nique.net game and the Capstone Design Expo. 410
NYT science writer visits Tech
by Polly Ouellette, Assistant News Editor
A recent public lecture given by James Gorman,
science writer at large for the New York Times, was
titled “Sex, Flies, and Videotape: Explaining Science
in Old and New Media” and enlightened attendees
on the importance of and techniques behind com-
municating science to the public.
The lecture, held on Tuesday, March 27, was part
of the “Frontiers in Science” lecture series held by the
College of Sciences that features experts speaking
about breakthroughs, their personal stories as well as
providing some sage advice.
Gorman began his lecture by telling the audience
about the many and varied experiences he has had
that have lead him to where he is now. Gorman’s
resume qualifies him as an expert on the subject of
communicating science to the public.
He has been a writer and editor at the New York
Times for 25 years, doing everything from editing a
personal technology section to hosting and writing
the ongoing video series “ScienceTake.” He has also
written for magazines such as the New Yorker and
the Atlantic.
During his lecture, he shared with students his
international travels and experiences as a science re-
porter in the hopes of inspiring them to work hard at
trying to communicate in a way that the layperson
can understand, even tough engineering concepts.
“Communicating science is hugely important for
the public and for anyone involved in the sciences
and engineering,” Gorman said. “Translating techni-
cal information for people outside your field should
be something that all professionals work at.”
Gorman went on to talk about the ways that print
has changed throughout recent years, and how visual
media have been introduced in combination with
traditional print media forms. He showed several of
the videos he has worked on and gave examples of
why sometimes, videos can show things and reach
audiences that long articles simply cannot.
His series “ScienceTake” does just this. It tackles
technical science topics such as dueling flies and crab
courtship in weekly two minute videos that draw
people in by showing something they have never seen
before.
The videos not only portray a scientific finding,
but give an audience insight into the processes by
which the discovery was made. Videos don’t have to
technique
Things to do in April
8
Friday,
April 6, 2018
rely on a big discovery like articles sometimes must,
but can dive into more specific nuances or small but
significant finds.
Gorman had a few tips for engineers and scien-
tists that want to communicate their findings to the
public. He insisted that they keep their audience in
mind, shoot for simplicity over complexity, and use
metaphors the audience is familiar with. He also said
that communicators have to be willing to try some-
thing new, or insert a little of their own flair into
their work.
“I often tend to introduce some humor into it,
which I don’t think lessens the importance of the sci-
ence,” Gorman said. “In fact, I think it gets people
interested.”
Later, during time set aside for questions and
answers, Gorman addressed the fears an audience
member had that this kind of science communica-
tion simplifies information too far.
“If you deliver science in all its detail and com-
plexity to the average person, none of that informa-
tion reaches them,” he said. “They are not informed
at all, because they didn’t hear anything you said. If
you deliver a little tiny bit, you have informed them
a little bit. The hope is that you pull them in a little
bit more.”
In response to another question about the largest
challenge facing science communicators, Gorman
lamented the level of scientific illiteracy in the pub-
lic and the disconnect between complicated, serious
stories that get little attention and light, fun ones
that are popular.
He had a few words for the aspiring science com-
municators in the room, and encouraged listeners to
do as much writing and content producing as possi-
ble, and not to ignore the wide variety of media plat-
forms available in order to reach a wider audience.
“One of the things that has surprised me as I have
been doing this is that the scientists have generally
been happy with what I thought was dumbed down,”
Gorman said. “They’re happy because they get to
reach a big audience.”
In Gorman’s eyes, any little bit of information
that can reach the public is great, because it can
teach them something new about the world in which
they live.
Design by Lauren Douglas Student Publications
// LIFE
Seniors reflect
on their time
at Tech
ROSEMARY PITRONE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Tech will celebrate its spring
2018 graduates on May 4 and 5
at Commencement at the end of
this semester.
As students prepare to com-
memorate their accomplishment
of making it through Tech, many
also feel nostalgic about the cam-
pus they have called home for four
years (or more.)
The Technique asked graduat-
ing seniors to reflect on some of
their most treasured memories
from their time at Tech.
Arielle Perez, fourth-year BA,
shared one of her most favorite
moments of Tech campus cama-
raderie.
“I’ll never forget when we had
the snow day last December,”
Perez said. “It was so funny to
see people coming out of their fi-
nals to find Tech Green more like
‘Tech White.’ So many people
were building snowmen, and oth-
ers were starting snowball fights.
Usually during finals, everyone is
a little less energetic, but the Tech
spirit was alive and well — it was
a good time for everyone.”
For some, the best moments of
the Tech experience, specifically
those that came about during the
course of classes, involved simple
Graduating students may reflect on hurrying from class to class
and being accosted by organization reps along Skiles walkway.
strength in numbers and bonding
over Tech authority and Institute
laws.
Joseph Hooper, fifth-year CS,
recounted the details of his expe-
rience:
“One time I got to class and
the teacher didn’t show up for
fifteen minutes. One kid said we
were legally allowed to leave. So
we did.”
Others reflected on the sup-
port systems that have helped to
See GRAD, page 11
Photo by Brenda Lin Student Publications
How to deal
with gossip
ALIX MACKLIN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It starts as early as grade school.
“Jenny likes Nick!”
“Oooh!” The class goes wild.
However harmless cooties and
crushes may be at a young age,
fabricated tales evolve into nastier
falsehoods when kids get older,
smarter and more imaginative.
Gossip can literally ruin people’s
lives — in the short and long-
term.
Although high school students
arguably have it the worst, old
habits die hard and, unfortunate-
ly, gossip infiltrates college, work
and family life too.
Gossip is not always meant to
harm people or hurt their feel-
ings; sometimes it merely happens
when two friends are catching
one another up on their respec-
technique • April 6, 2018• 9
tive lives and individuals involved
therein.
However, some gossip can spin
off into nasty rumors if the wrong
person latches on to a story, and
that is when juicy chats over wine
and margaritas turn into a night-
mare for someone else.
We can make the personal de-
cision to engage or not engage in
gossip and potentially perpetuate
the rumors, but what can we do
when we are the topic of discus-
sion?
Here are some tips and tricks
for dealing with the nosy neigh-
bors who have nothing better to
do, the mean girls who are clearly
stuck in their glory days and the
innocents who may not even be
aware that they are misinterpret-
ing facts and spreading fake news
about your life.
IGNORE IT
If you are confident and happy
about your life, and know that
you are surrounded by true friends
who know the truths and impor-
tant aspects about you, why does
it matter what other people say?
Those who matter will not care
about the ridiculous chatter be-
cause they will know the real you.
Those that do care, do not matter.
Gossip eventually dies out. Do
not fuel the flame by lashing out
at the antagonist with harsh words
that will just lead to more gossip.
CONFIDE IN SOMEONE
If a rumor is really impacting
your daily life and making it hard
to live peacefully, seek help. Talk
to a counselor, confide in your
See TIPS, page 11
10 • April 6, 2018• technique // LIFE

Design by David Le Student Publications

JOIN THE
Technique
FLAG 137
- Tuesdays -
AT 7:00 P.M.
No Experience
Necessary

WE HAVE FREE PIZZA

// LIFE
GRAD FROM PAGE 9
mentally and emotionally sustain
them throughout their years at
Tech.
Rani Tilva, fourth-year BA, re-
flected on her experience at Tech’s
convocation.
“When I went to convocation
as a freshman, I remember going
with people who were complete
strangers — I thought ‘why are
they sitting next to me?’” Tilva
said. “After, we took a photo at
this random photo booth. Look-
ing back, it’s on my wall now,
and when I see it I think, ‘Wow,
we’re actually still friends.’ But
Students listen to a Tech tour guide as she takes them past the Flag building. Graduating se-
niors may look back on this time nostalgically, reflecting on their time as prospective students.
Sushi Happ y Hou r
HALF PRICE SUSHI ROLL MENU
Monday+ Wednesday
5 P. M . - 7 P. M .
1085 HOWELL MILL RD
ATLANTA,GA 30318
4 0 4 . 5 0 0 . 2 3 8 3
O-KUSUSHIATL.COM
at that moment when the photo
occurred, I had no idea who they
were. It’s funny to see how one
small moment has turned into
lifelong friendships over the past
four years.”
While graduating students
can reflect on sleepless nights and
dismal quiz grades, they can also
view their experience from a dif-
ferent perspective. Oftentimes,
students discover their passions
while at Tech.
Alix Macklin, fifth-year ME,
shared one such experience.
“I came in biomedical engi-
neering, and was convinced to
switch to ME,” Macklin said. “I
technique • April 6, 2018• 11
love Georgia Tech. My favorite TIPS FROM PAGE 9
control their words and internal-
activities have been doing re- ize your thoughts and feelings is
search and being an undergradu- mentor or seek out a safe space or up to them.
ate research ambassador trying to peer counselor. It is okay to ask Unfortunately, the bullies of
get more undergraduates involved for help, and everyone deserves to the bunch will probably not learn
in it. live in an environment where they a lesson and may continue talking
“Tech just has so much to of- feel happy and safe. nonsense about you, and in that
fer, so I try to take advantage of all A confidant, especially one case, consider points one or two.
that. I did study abroad; I did an who is older and wiser, may have However, it may be surpris-
internship. Everyone says you can encountered a similar situation ing how confrontation in a calm
actually do it all at Georgia Tech and could provide helpful insight respectful manner can help some-
and that’s the truest statement in on how to deal with it. one see that what they are doing
my opinion.” It is also strategic to seek ad- is harmful to you and potentially
The Technique congratulates vice from a third-party observer, others.
the spring 2018 graduates. For who is unfamiliar with the situa- People are not inherently that
more information about Com- tion and able to provide unbiased bad, and at their core, never in-
mencement, visit commence- advice. tentionally want to be malicious.
ment.gatech.edu. We are all human and working
CONFRONT THE PROBLEM through life together.
If you are feeling level headed, No matter which approach you
fearless and mature, confront take when you find yourself as the
the person spreading the gossip topic of gossip, try to remain
about you. Communi- optimistic about the
cation is ultimately situation. It will
the best way to ad- eventually get
dress problems. better.
Take some Surround
time to think yourself
about what with kind
you want to and car-
say and re- ing friends
main calm who are
when you not drama
talk to the Design by David Le Student Publications centric. Al-
person you are ways keep a
conf ront ing. level head in
Let the person the situation.
know how you feel. Do not give the
If you feel hurt, humili- gossipers more reason
ated or angry, convey that to to talk by being melodra-
them and make sure they under- matic and definitely avoid heated
stand that. confrontations.
Ask them to stop spreading Gossip is not fun, but it is
Photo by Casey Gomez Student Publications false rumors and thank them for manageable. Stay positive and
respecting your privacy and your strong and do not let the rumors
feelings. Whether or not they get to you.

Entertainment
Excess nostalgia hinders ‘Ready Player One’
FILM
Ready Player One
GENRE: Sci-Fi
STARRING: Tye Sheridan,
Olivia Cook
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
RATING: PG-13
RELEASE DATE: March 29
OUR TAKE: «««««
MOHAR KALRA
STAFF WRITER
“Ready Player One” feels out of
place in today’s cinema landscape.
Based on the novel by Ernest
Cline that explores a futuristic
world steeped in 1980s nostalgia,
the film’s gratuitous nostalgic el-
ements are overshadowed by the
sense that this film was meant to
come out maybe 20 years ago.
“Ready Player One,” likely
unintentionally, harkens back to
works that follow a completely
bland, unremarkable everyman
as he learns that he is inexplicably
special and must use his nonspe-
cific specialness to save the world
and defeat a cartoon villain. Along
the way, he meets a beautiful girl
who exists only to fall madly in
love with him and support his
quest for glory. In the end, all is
resolved with a kiss and an “And
I would have gotten away with it
too!” from the bad guy.
Directed by Steven Spielberg
(“Jaws”), this adaptation takes
place in the slums of Columbus,
Ohio in 2045. The 18-year old or-
phan Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan,
Inaugural ARTlanta Fair highlights local talent
An artist works at the ARTlanta gallery in Fort McPherson.
The gallery will be the venue of the first annual ARTlanta Fair.
“The Tree of Life”) spends his
days adopting the avatar of Par-
zival within the VR realm known
as the Oasis.
Launched in the 2020s by re-
clusive genius James Halliday
(Mark Rylance, “Dunkirk”), the
Oasis is a massive digital world
and playscape into which most
people escape to find reprieve
from their real lives. Halliday,
a man obsessed with 1980s pop
culture, seeded three 80s oriented
keys and clues into his game to be
found upon his death.
The player that finds all three
keys will inherit Halliday’s estate
and have full control over the Oa-
sis. Watts is a “Gunter,” one of
many players seeking to find the
keys before Nolan Sorrento (Ben
Mendelsohn, “Rogue One”), the
CEO of the oppressive telecom
company Innovative Online In-
dustries (IOI), can do so and per-
vert the Oasis for his own nefari-
ous ends.
On his quest, Watts finds a
romantic interest in the form of
fellow Gunter Art3mis (Olivia
Cooke, “Thoroughbreds”), who
leads the insurgent forces fighting
IOI in the real world. Perpetually
by his side is Wade’s emphatically
professed best friend Aech (Lena
Waithe, “Master of None”).
“Ready Player One” might
have been compelling if viewers
were moored to relatable, multi-
dimensional characters. Unfortu-
nately, Cline, who co-wrote the
screenplay with Zak Penn, felt
that the only characteristics worth
imparting to his protagonist are
a vague sense of poverty and an
encyclopedic knowledge of 1980s
pop culture. After all, who needs
Photo courtesy of ARTlanta Gallery
a personality when one can ace
‘80s trivia?
Though several characters wax
poetic about how special Wade
is and how important it is that
he be the one to inherit the Oa-
sis, Wade’s flat character fails to
meaningfully engage viewers in
the narrative. There is little engag-
ing to viewers about a man who
proudly garners cheers by belting
out pre-rehearsed facts about ‘80s
video games.
Perhaps if there were other,
more developed supporting char-
acters, the movie would be elevat-
ed, but nearly all other characters
Tye Sheridan and Lena Waithe star in Steven Spielberg’s new film ‘Ready Player One.’ The film
takes place in a futuristic fantasy world in which people escape their troubles with virtual reality.
MONICA JAMISON
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Looking to eat a funnel cake
while looking at innovative
paintings? Or ride a Ferris wheel
after watching a local artist per-
form? The upcoming ARTlanta
Fair combines the typical com-
ponents of an art show and a
fair: visual art, performance art,
music, amusement rides, games,
fried food.
This event aims to fill a void
in the Atlanta creative commu-
nity by highlighting local art.
“We’re in the habit of going to
other places to show off our tal-
ent, like we’ll go to Art Basel,
we’ll go to LA or New York. But
there’s really nothing here for us,
by us, so I’m trying to create that,”
said Tyree Smith, founder of the
ARTlanta Gallery.
Smith and the Fort McPherson
Local Redevelopment Authority
(LRA) are debuting the ARTlanta
Fair on April 12 through 15 and
will feature over 50 local artists,
including Miya Bailey, Fabian
Williams and Ebo Haze.
The four-day event will have
activities for youth from 12 p.m.
to 7 p.m.; evening events from
8 p.m. to 11 p.m. are for an 18
and over audience. Adult events
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Monica Jamison
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Josh Trebuchon
entertainment@nique.net
exist as planets in Wade’s unin-
spiring orbit. Cooke’s Art3mis
plays the role of the aloof female
heroine who melts and falls to
Wade’s side as soon as he stutters
out that he loves her shortly after
their first meeting. Through the
remainder of the film, she exists
as little more than Wade’s cheer-
leader, the object of some kind of
male wish fulfillment.
Mendelsohn’s Sorrento like-
wise is exaggeratedly evil. But, in
Cline and Penn’s script, it appears
as if Sorrento’s most despicable at-
tribute is his apathy towards the
80’s and video games, despite his
include a “Music. Arts. Drinks.
(MAD)” event on Thursday, April
12 and an ‘80s-themed party on
Saturday, April 14. Both events
run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Gen-
eral admission tickets are $5 for
all ages and can be bought in ad-
vance at https://www.ARTLAN-
TAgallery.com/fair.
The Fair embodies the ART-
lanta Gallery’s goal of creating a
platform for young creatives. By
putting on non-traditional arts
events, the gallery tries to “get
the youth to swallow the pill of
art a lot easier,” Smith explained,
comparing their process to the
“Spoonful of Sugar” song in
“Mary Poppins.”
Smith himself was fascinated
with fairs since childhood, even
dreaming of running away with
the circus. Now he is excited to
“have everybody run away to the
circus for four days” and build an
inclusive community for the arts
in this fun atmosphere.
The festivities on Sunday will
also benefit a good cause. During
an art drive from 12 to 5 p.m., art
supplies can be donated in lieu
of buying a ticket, and The Book
Bank Foundation will redistrib-
ute the collected supplies to local
schools. The nonprofit promotes
literacy and also combats hunger,
homelessness and abuse.
technique
12
Friday,
April 6, 2018
aspirations to monopolize and
monetize the Oasis.
The only truly delightful char-
acter is Mark Rylance’s James
Halliday. Though Halliday is as
archetypal and flat as the other
characters, Rylance is able to im-
bue this introverted Wozniak-type
man with charmingly humorous
idiosyncrasies that assure viewers
that, yes they are indeed watching
a real person.
Though the script and source
material are rife with head-
scratchers, Spielberg’s direction is
competent and dynamic. Numer-
See READY, page 14
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.
Serving as the Vice Chair of the
Fort McPherson Public Art Coun-
cil, on the MARTA En Route Art
Council and as a Jury Panelist for
Art on the Beltline, Smith’s in-
volvement in the arts community
goes far beyond curating.
“Recognizing that we need
to bring some positive awareness
and attention to Fort McPherson,
we’re trying to create a nexus for
creatives here,” Smith said. This
historic military community in
southwestern Atlanta is undergo-
ing revitalization, and Smith not-
ed that the local government has
been helpful in making this “safe
haven for creatives” possible.
While the ARTlanta Gallery
is currently focused on managing
the Fair, they hope to expand with
locations throughout the metro
area in the future.
As for the Atlanta arts scene
and its competition with estab-
lished cities, Smith sees the future
as bright so long as avenues that
other global cities and arts hubs
have, like public funding and
sponsorships, are developed.
“It’s a game of catch up right
now, but I think we’re going to
get there sooner than everybody
expects,” Smith predicted. Catch
a glimpse of the artists who will
lead Atlanta into this future on
April 12 through 15.
// ENTERTAINMENT
Grad student musician prepares to release EP
MONICA JAMISON
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
When not researching robot-
ics, autonomy and human-robot
interaction, AE Ph.D. student Wil
Roberts writes and records alt-
rock music as Bandn. He has re-
leased two singles, “Dayglide” and
“Going West,” on Bandcamp and
anticipates releasing the EP “Day-
glide” at the end of the summer.
Focusing on the effect of technol-
ogy saturating modern life, the
EP’s title was coined by Roberts
to describe “all the technological
21st-century drugs that we buy
into like candy.”
“It’s become so inseparable
from our way of life that to
some extent you can’t really re-
move it,” Roberts said about
technology. “I don’t think any-
one would want to get rid of the
great benefits that these things
afford. Somehow we’re going to
have to figure out how to live in
that tension.”
The track “Dayglide” wraps a
critique of this inescapable techni-
cal obsession in the catchy pack-
age of an upbeat rock tune. This
track has aired on 99X (98.9 FM),
one of Atlanta’s most popular ra-
dio stations for alternative rock.
The folksy “Going West” brings a
narrative to life with more promi-
nent vocals. Roberts hopes to
bring this music to the Tech audi-
ence with a performance at Under
the Couch in the future.
While he has not performed
music from this new project, mak-
ing music is nothing new for Rob-
erts. “I’ve literally just been sur-
rounded by music since I was in
the womb,” Roberts said of his up-
bringing — his mom was a music
teacher, and he played trumpet for
the band in high school. He was
a music major for two years and
interned at Nashville record label
before switching to engineering.
Today, he integrates his pas-
sions for engineering and technol-
ogy with music in multiple ways.
“You’re understanding sound
and the mechanics of an instru-
ment in a more fundamental way
than you would if you didn’t have
that engineering training,” Rob-
erts explained.
His technical background
also makes him more comfort-
able with the tools necessary for
recording and producing music,
from microphones to audio inter-
faces. According to Roberts, “As
an engineer, working on software
and hardware, the tools you use in
a recording studio aren’t that in-
timidating. You view it as another
software tool that’s probably a lot
less complicated than some of the
other things you’re working on.”
He has also quite literally fused
engineering and music by build-
ing his own electric guitar from
scratch in the Invention Studio.
For Roberts, his musical pur-
suits also provide a rewarding es-
cape from the long, hard road of
getting a PhD. Between classes,
technique • April 6, 2018• 13
research and working on a dis-
sertation hundreds of pages long,
he finds it helpful to have self-
contained, shorter projects “to be
able to prove to yourself that you
can actually finish something,”
Roberts said. He finds that many
people are tempted to spend all
their time on their intellectual
work, but a change of pace allows
him to return to his research with
fresh perspective.
Engaging in different tasks,
like the guitar build, challenge
him in different ways. “It’s not like
working on code. When you’re
building a guitar, there’s no undo.
Once you remove the wood, you
can’t put it back on,” Roberts said.
Writing also serves as an emo-
tional outlet, a productive way to
deal with life’s frustrations and
curveballs. In writing the songs
on “Daylight,” he was influenced
by Tame Impala, The Killers, Nir-
vana and Foo Fighters, but he will
“listen to pretty much anything
and everything.”
In the future, Roberts hopes
to frequently release more singles
and EPs, not a full-length album.
“The trend in the industry recent-
ly has been away from albums and
more towards singles, remixes,
short EPs. . . People don’t have
the attention span. The way we
listen to music has fundamentally
changed too,” Roberts explained.
By writing and recording his
own music, Roberts has found an Photo courtesy of Sarah Roberts
outlet to both express himself and Wil Roberts, AE PhD student, has written and recorded his own
make a statement society. EP “Daylight,” which he expects to release in the late summer.
14 • April 6, 2018• technique // ENTERTAINMENT

The Weeknd dilutes lyrical strength READY FROM PAGE 12

ous CGI set pieces, one of which

MUSIC
My Dear Melancholy,
The Weeknd
LABEL: XO
GENRE: R&B
TRACK PICKS: “Privilege”,
“Try Me”
OUR TAKE: «««««
VES GRANTCHAROV
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In March 2011, when The
Weeknd released his seminal de-
but mixtape “House of Balloons,”
the kernel of pop sensibility in
those tracks hinted to his current
pop stardom. It is considered by
most to be his most important
and best work.
However, there was — and still
is — a vocal minority that prefers
“Echoes of Silence,” the last of the
three mixtapes that The Weeknd
released in 2011. These tracks had
a more poignant and genuine en-
nui, and the mixtape did not have
a single song that would ever make
sense to be played on the radio.
Hours before he released his
new EP “My Dear Melancholy,”
The Weeknd announced the proj-
ect on his Instagram account and
mentioned that he was going back
to his roots. As a pleasant surprise,
it seems he aimed for “Echoes of
Silence” rather than “House of
Balloons.”
The unfortunate truth, how-
ever, is that it seems he has lost
touch with the part of himself
that created that tape originally.
After promoting an EP that does
not appeal to the mass market,
The Weeknd ultimately delivered
a messy, confused project that
falls in no man’s land.
It seems like Abel gave up on
finding what made his mixtape
series so magical and instead de-
cided to crank the reverb all the
way up in a lazy effort to recreate
the hazy feeling that he was once
the master of delivering.
“My Dear Melancholy” finds
Abel singing mostly about a break
up, presumably with his latest ex-
girlfriend and one of the top ten
most boring celebrities, Selena
Gomez. Somewhat shockingly, he
does so from a new perspective:
that of the one left hurt.
Singer-songwriter The Weekend performs at a show last year. The R&B artist
released his first extended play, which is titled ‘My Dear Melancholy,’ on March 30.
The Weeknd’s career up to this
point had been defined by a callous
persona, one that lacks sympathy
for those he hurts, so this shift had
the potential to bring about the
next step of artistic progression in
his career. Instead, this new direc-
tion resulted in some of the worst
lyrics fans have heard from him
to date.
While The Weeknd used to
make his listeners wince at his
reckless and damaging hedonism,
he now sings in platitudes that
would make the most avid soap
opera fans roll their eyes.
Old Weeknd, on cheating and
not taking a shower afterwards:
“I’mma let you taste her. I ain’t
washing my sins.”
New Weeknd, on being
dumped: “I don’t wanna wake up
if you ain’t next to me.”
It is unbelievable these two lyr-
ics came from the same person.
Even with its relative weak-
ness, “My Dear Melancholy” is
not completely terrible. No matter
how much he waters it down, The
Weeknd is still one of the world’s
greatest musical talents right now.
One track, “Privilege,” goes
against all the others with adept
lyrical and aesthetic constructions,
nearly erasing the bad taste left by
the rest of the tracks. While “Priv-
ilege” proves that Abel has not lost
himself completely, it does force
the question: how much time does
he really have left at the top?
Photo courtesy of XO
takes place within a classic horror
movie, are wonderfully reimag-
ined within the world of Spiel-
berg’s Oasis.
Spielberg is able to leverage
his characteristic long takes to
capture engaging and kinetic ac-
tion sequences. Early in the film,
Spielberg carries viewers through
a race between Watts’s Delorean
and several thousand other cars,
treating viewers to a carnal display
of destruction and adrenaline.
While scenes like that are en-
joyable, by the film’s end, the fun
has faded and the veneer of nos-
talgia is rather uncomfortable.
Though Cline and Spielberg slap
a flimsy moral about the impor-
tance of appreciating reality in a
virtual world on top of the film, at
its core “Ready Player One” plays
uncomfortably like the quintes-
sential male nerd fantasy.
Lacking in any self-awareness,
“Ready Player One” feels so out
of touch with reality because it
chronicles the assent of a previous
generation’s nerd. Where the term
“nerd” has rightfully rid itself of
its social stigma and is widely cele-
brated in pop culture today, Wade
Watts serves as a surrogate for the
archetypal nerd of the ‘80s and
‘90s: the male nerd who was ste-
reotypically bullied by jocks and
spurned by women for his interest
in pop culture.
So, while the pop culture ref-
erences constantly evoke the past,
Cline, Penn and Spielberg’s film
truly feels like a product of the
‘80s, offering viewers a largely un-
relatable, somewhat problematic
underdog story that would fit in
more with 1984’s “Revenge of the
Nerds” than any movie today.

椀渀搀椀攀
樀愀稀稀
愀琀洀漀猀瀀栀攀爀椀挀猀
挀氀愀猀猀椀挀猀
瀀甀渀欀 䴀唀匀䤀䌀
攀砀瀀攀爀椀洀攀渀琀愀氀 夀伀唀
栀椀
栀椀瀀-栀漀瀀
渀漀椀猀攀 䐀伀一ᤠ吀
愀瘀愀渀琀-最愀爀搀攀 䠀䔀䄀刀
戀氀甀攀猀 伀一 吀䠀䔀
爀攀最最愀攀
昀漀氀欀 刀䄀䐀䤀伀
攀氀攀挀琀爀漀渀椀挀
洀攀琀愀氀
椀渀琀攀爀攀猀琀攀搀
猀栀漀攀最愀稀攀 椀渀 挀漀氀氀攀最攀
爀漀挀欀
椀渀搀甀猀琀爀椀愀氀
爀愀搀椀漀㼀
眀漀爀氀搀 樀漀椀渀 圀刀䔀䬀
瀀甀戀氀椀挀 愀昀昀愀椀爀猀
猀瀀漀爀琀猀
㤀㄀⸀㄀䘀䴀
sign up for a dummy op shift by emailing operations.manager@wrek.org
// ENTERTAINMENT technique • April 6, 2018• 15

2018 Senior Portraits for the Blueprint Yearbook!

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2018

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
It’s time to celebrate all that you have achieved!

When:
Wednesday, April 4th - Friday, April 6
Monda April 9 – Friday, April 13
Monday,
10:30am – 5:00pm

Where:
Spring Room, 2208 Student Center Commons,
2nd Floor, Wenn Student Center

Schedule your appointment at www.ouryear.com,

entering school code 87169
or
by calling 1-800-OUR-YEAR™ (687-9327), during normal business
hours (8AM – 5PM, M-F).

Please do not miss this opportunity to be

photographed for the Blueprint Yearbook!
16 • April 6, 2018• technique // COMICS

LUNARBABOON PEARLS BEFORE SWINE BY STEPHEN PASTIS

LIO BY MARK TATULLI

CUL DE SAC BY RICHARD THOMPSON CHANNELATE BY RYAN HUDSON

SUDOKU PUZZLE
// COMICS technique • April 6, 2018• 17

TECHNOBABBLE BY MOHAR K ALRA

“BUBBLE TEA”

INFINITELY NO SOLUTIONS BY MILES HSU

“LIZARD CONSPIRACY”

SARAH’S SCRIBBLES BY SARAH ANDERSEN IN THE BLEACHERS BY STEVE MOORE

18 • April 6, 2018• technique // SPORTS

PETERSON FROM PAGE 1 STAFF FROM PAGE 19

Peterson did not have enough
speed to match his idol — he
was moved from wide receiver
to an in-line position in both
high school and college, but he
had grit and the knack for mak-
ing a tough catch in a tight spot.
When it came time to choose a
college, Peterson wanted the flag-
ship: Kansas State. He arrived as
a walk-on. Rules at the time dic-
tated that a player could only play
with the varsity team for three
years, so he played on the fresh-
man team his freshman year. The
next year, he broke his collarbone
diving for a pass in spring practice.
While the Wildcats’ offensive
style might have foreshadowed
modern times, their injury pro-
tocol did not. Peterson dealt with
broken bones and a separated
shoulder, all a result of hard hits.
Quarterback Steve Grogan, ex-
pected to take the lead in the run
and pass game when Kansas State
moved to a veer offense, suffered
nerve injuries only truly alleviated
by doctors when he was drafted by
the New England Patriots. Amid
the injuries, being buried on the
depth chart and pumping gas at
a local station full-time to pay for
college, Peterson was demoral-
ized entering his sophomore year
and was on the verge of quitting
the team.
“An assistant coach said, ‘Do
you want to play football some-
where else? I can get you a schol-
arship at a small school,’” Peter-
son recalls. “No one offered me
a scholarship out of high school.
One hundred fifty-six pounds, six
foot two? Nobody wanted me.”
When Peterson told the coach
he was not interested in transfer-
ring but did not plan on playing
football again, the coach told him
to stick around. Slowly, he worked
his way up the depth chart, and
with an explosive performance
in the team’s annual Purple and
White scrimmage, he established
Tech president Bud Peterson speaks during an annual town hall. Before Peterson was a university
president, he was a football player at Kansas State University under coach Vince Gibson.
himself as a real offensive threat,
not just another name on a long
depth chart.
The next day was the Sunday
that would define Peterson’s foot-
ball career. He was pumping gas
at a local station early that morn-
ing when head coach Vince Gib-
son stopped by. “How come you’re
not going to church?” Gibson
asked. “I need to work so I can
go to school,” Peterson replied.
“Come by the office at two o’clock
and we’ll fix that,” Gibson replied.
That afternoon, Bud Peterson,
who could not pique the interest
of a single football program in the
country just a few years before,
was officially on scholarship at
Kansas State.
Peterson played the inglorious
but important role of a weakside
tight end in the Wildcats’ pro
style offense. He spent some plays
blocking and others split out as a
wide receiver, attracting the atten-
tion of a defensive back against
whom Peterson could leverage his
size advantage. Those two wide-
receiver sets, considered almost
primitive in a day and age when
teams trot out four-wide sets, were
at the time “forward-looking.”
Today, his statistics remain
accessible on a page in Football-
Reference.com archives, forgotten
to nearly all, Peterson included.
Thirty catches over three seasons
for 359 yards. No touchdowns.
But Peterson has memories
aplenty, like his feeling of fatigued
exuberance when the Wildcats
dispatched rival Kansas in 1972
in a 20-19 nailbiter. And he main-
tains contact with old teammates
and coaches, some of whom spoke
glowingly to the Georgia Tech
Alumni Magazine of Peterson
Photo by Casey Gomez Student Publications
when he was selected as Tech’s
newest president in 2009.
“You’ve got a winner, I’ll tell
you that,” Gibson once said of
the man he offered a scholarship
nearly 40 years before. “He’s been
a winner at everything he’s done.”
“He was a smart football
player,” said Steve Grogan, once
Peterson’s quarterback. “He un-
derstood what his job was and
everyone else’s. You could rely on
him to do exactly what he was
supposed to do. And you couldn’t
say that for everyone on the team.”
Today, Peterson says he seldom
thinks about his days as a college
football player. That was many ca-
reers before, and he acknowledges
that the landscape of collegiate
athletics has changed drastically.
Yet Peterson is still very much the
man who once donned cleats and
pads on cold October afternoons.
textbook example of a role on a
recruiting staff that would not
have existed not so long ago. As it
becomes more important to reach
recruits via a strong digital foot-
print, it is understandable that he
was prioritized as a hire.
Tech apparently plans to bring
in one more hire as part of its
Football Recruiting Challenge.
But a look at other competitive
programs shows how long a way
the Jackets have to go.
The Jackets’ new hires bring
their football staff to 27 members.
That is an impressive figure until
it is brought into comparison with
others at the Power Five level.
Michigan employs a football staff
of 49 members, with titles includ-
ing “Director of Performance Nu-
trition” and “Offensive Analyst.”
The staff boasts such big names
as former Florida head coach Jim
McElwain, now a receivers coach.
Meanwhile, Clemson num-
bers 37 strong, including assis-
tants dedicated to research and
development for both offense and
defense. These powerhouse pro-
grams live in a drastically different
world than the Jackets, or at least
occupy a different portion of the
landscape. They expect conference
championships and College Foot-
ball Playoff berths. Consistent
performance bellow that standard
leads to getting coaches fired, ath-
letic directors facing pressure and
local radio shows inundated with
fans ready to air their grievances.
While Tech has now made
strides in helping get players to
Tech, they must still find more
staff to help those athletes while
they arrive, or somehow make
do with less. After all, the Jack-
ets may not be a consistent con-
ference contender, but as sea-
sons like 2014 showed, they are
capable of fighting for it when
all breaks right. If they can-
not win acquisition, they must
win development.

Applications for
2018-2019 Editorships
are now being accepted!
The Board of Student Publications and the Office of
Student Media are now accepting applications for
the following student publication editors:

• BLUEPRINT (yearbook)

• THE TOWER (Undergraduate

research journal)
Qualified candidates may secure applications at
http://www.studentmedia.gatech.edu

Completed/signed applications are due in the Office of

Student Media, Smithgall, Suite 137 (Flag Bldg.) by no
later than 5:00pm, Friday, April 13, 2018.

Questions and completed applications may be directed to Mac

Pitts, Director of Student Media at mac.pitts@vpss.gatech.edu.
// SPORTS
Football makes additions to Women’s tennis
recruiting staff dominant early
HARSHA SRIDHAR
SPORTS EDITOR
College football players do
not get paid for their work. Yet
not even the most naive onlooker
would argue that the sport is di-
vorced from pecuniary matters.
Advertisers spend millions on
prime TV spots, bowl game spon-
sorships and the right to be The
Official Product of the College
Football Playoff. That is not to
mention the money that schools
mint from television deals, jersey
sales and ticket revenues.
The players might play for free,
but even in a market where their
earning potential is artificially
depressed by NCAA regulations,
the talent hunt is fierce indeed.
Coaches invite top prospects to
their houses for weekends filled
with Jet Skis and barbecues, tour
them around world-class training
facilities and do everything in be-
tween to sell those athletes on the
idea of playing for their school.
That means that the best of the
best high school football players
are courted by dozens of schools,
all of which are dedicating signifi-
cant manpower to their pursuits.
Take, for example, Class of
2017 running back Najee Harris,
ranked No. 2 overall in the coun-
try and designated as a five-star
prospect by 247Sports.com, gen-
erally reserved only for elite ath-
letes. Harris received scholarship
offers from at least 18 schools.
Those schools in total assigned
10 recruiters and staff to Harris,
dedicated to following his perfor-
mance and keeping tabs on his
decision process. Harris ended up
at Alabama, which assigned both
top recruiter Tosh Lupoi and run-
ning backs coach Burton Burns to
the young standout.
In a world where recruiting is
as much a numbers game as it is
a competition between stadiums,
program traditions and academic
offerings, a bigger staff does not
hurt. Tech’s athletic department
acknowledged as much in Decem-
ber when it sent donors an email
asking for larger contributions so
they could build a larger recruit-
ing staff. “Maintaining and en-
hancing our competitive position
requires continued investment in
the staff, programs and facilities
needed to compete at the high-
est level,” Athletic Director Todd
Stansbury and Head Coach Paul
Johnson wrote in a joint letter.
Since then, the program has
raised nearly half a million dol-
lars, and last week those funds
resulted in additions to the staff:
associate directors for the player
Quarterback TaQuon Marshall scores against Wake Forest.
Marshall is one of the unheralded athletes Tech has developed.
personnel department in Thomas
Balkcom and Tevin Washington,
along with digital content coordi-
nator Ryan Wise.
Both Balkcom and Washing-
ton are names familiar to many
involved with Tech athletics.
Balkcom played for the Jackets’
1990 national championship team
as a defensive back (on a team for
which Stansbury was an academic
advisor) and has spent his time
since in coaching. Meanwhile,
Washington graduated from Tech
in 2012 as one of the most deco-
rated quarterbacks in school his-
tory. Now, he receives a promo-
tion from graduate assistant to a
full-time recruiting role.
Wise, who previously pro-
duced film at Liberty University,
will play a part in selling the Tech
brand to recruits through high-
quality videos. His position is a
see STAFF, page 18
Photo by Samuel Stewart Student Publications
Avenue
Review
North
ROHAN KANSARA
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Jackets women’s tennis
team has enjoyed great success so
far this season as they currently
rank No. 3 in the nation, behind
only Vanderbilt and North Caro-
lina. Their overall record currently
stands at 14-4, and they are 6-2 in
the ACC. As a whole, the team in
aggregate has a .602 win ratio in
singles and .700 ratio in doubles.
The roster consists of seven
players, so each member of the
team has played a significant role
in bringing home the wins, but
some standout players include
Kenya Jones, Nami Otsuka and
Paige Hourigan. Jones, ranked
No. 64 in the nation in singles,
has an overall singles record of
20-4 in matches played, includ-
ing a very impressive 8-0 record
in singles matches played against
ACC opponents.
Otsuka boasts a 19-7 record in
singles matches and 17-8 record in
doubles, and Hourigan has a 16-8
singles record and 19-6 doubles
record and is ranked No. 19 in the
nation in singles. Perhaps most
impressive, the doubles team fea-
turing Jones and Hourigan ranks
No. 2 nationally. The numbers
speak for themselves as to how
well the team has performed thus
far this season and why the team
as a whole deserves such a high na-
tional rank.
This level of accomplishment,
both on an individual and team
basis, has many fans wondering
about what they can expect from
the team going forward, especial-
ly how they might perform at the
NCAA national championship
tournament. Historically, Tech’s
northavereview.com
THE
technique • April 6, 2018• 19
women’s tennis team performs
very well and received many ac-
colades as a result.
These include consistent suc-
cess in the NCAA tournament,
four ACC titles and a national title
in 2007, among many more. Last
season, the women’s team finished
with a similar record to what the
Jackets are currently on track for
(.682 record in singles and .735
record in doubles), and placed sec-
ond in the ACC tournament (los-
ing to North Carolina, who the
Jackets have beat once this year
already) and qualified to compete
in the NCAA national champion-
ship tournament. This impressive
start to the season brings hope
that this team can replicate the
achievement of Tech’s most suc-
cessful past teams.
As the season starts to wrap up,
the women’s tennis team only has
a handful of matches left to com-
pete, but they are pivotal to the
team’s success. Matches against
top-ranked teams like Duke and
Wake Forest will truly test the
team before they head to the ACC
Tournament on April 25.
The Jackets are projected to do
very well at the tournament, but
the ACC is home to many power-
house women’s tennis teams, so it
is difficult to determine a winner
beforehand. After the ACC tour-
nament comes NCAA Regionals,
which are important in determin-
ing the team’s eligibility to com-
pete in the NCAA national cham-
pionship tournament, the biggest
contest of all. Although the ten-
nis season is almost over, the next
month of women’s tennis is sure to
be the most exciting yet. And the
Jackets are well-equipped to capi-
talize on the high-stakes matches
to come.
READ.
THINK.
SPEAK.
Sports
JOHN EDWARDS
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The ACC’s scheduling has frequently been
the subject of derision by Tech head coach
Paul Johnson — just last year, Johnson went
on the record claiming that the ACC “tries
to screw us every way they can” after the
ACC’s 2017 football schedule placed the
Jackets in three games where their oppo-
nents were coming off bye weeks. That fig-
ure was the most in the ACC before John-
son’s comments caused the conference to
adjust their scheduling. For Johnson’s flex-
bone-style offense, the extra week of prep-
aration is usually valuable for opponents to
prepare their defenses. But how much of an
impact has Tech’s frequent scheduling with
bye weeks wreaked havoc? And how much
greater of an impact has playing teams com-
ing off byes had on flexbone offenses?
An analysis of scoring records from Bowl
Series College Football Teams since 2011
reveals that having a bye week does have
a substantial impact on a team’s ability to
score points. In FBS versus FBS matchups,
teams averaged 34.4 points per game, but
against teams coming off bye weeks (ignor-
ing bowl games, the first game of the season
for teams, and games against non-FBS op-
ponents), teams averaged only 28.3 points
per game. In other words, a bye week for
a team is worth almost a touchdown in the
following game. Teams scheduled for more
games against opponents coming off bye
weeks stand to see a large decrease in of-
fensive potential because of playing against
a well-rested defense.
Is the effect more pronounced playing
against flexbone-style offenses? In addition
to Georgia Tech, since 2011, Navy, Army,
Air Force, Army, Georgia Southern, New
Mexico State and Tulane have each used
some form of the flexbone. While running
SPORTS EDITOR:
Harsha Sridhar
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR:
John Edwards
Tech football makes additions to its
recruiting staff with the funds it has
sports@nique.net
the flexbone, these teams averaged 31.7
points per game against FBS opponents
(again, excluding bowl games, first games
of the season, and non-FBS opponents) —
but against teams coming off bye weeks,
flexbone-style offenses averaged only 26.6
points per game. The overall effect is more
damaging for teams running the flexbone,
but relative to the offensive strength of the
flexbone, there is not a dramatic difference
between these teams and the general col-
lege football population.
Giving teams a disadvantage equivalent
roughly to a touchdown going into a game
is massive, and giving the same teams that
disadvantage repeatedly is quite unfair to
those teams. Going into the 2017 season,
according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitu-
40
34.4
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Regular Game, Regular Offense Playing Opponent Off Bye Regular Game, Flexbone Playing Opponent Off Bye
Week, Regular Offense
Growth Spurt technique
20
Friday,
raised in recent months.419 April 6, 2018
tion, Tech has had 12 ACC games where
they faced an opponent coming off a bye
week, the most in the ACC — no doubt a
headache for Paul Johnson.
Fortunately, changes are on the way —
the ACC announced that no team would
face another team coming off a bye week in
ACC play more than once without coming
off a bye week themselves.
Next season, Tech will only face Duke
and Virginia Tech when coming off bye
weeks in ACC play, and Tech will have a bye
week for itself before facing the Hokies.
Ask Paul Johnson about squeaky wheels,
and he will likely tell you that they are the
ones that get the grease. This wheel will
have to do a lot more squeaking before it is
addressed, though.
31.7
28.3
26.6
Offense Week, Flexbone Offense