July 20, 2018•Volume 104, Issue 3•nique.
net
technique
News 2
RUSSELL’S GONE, WHAT’S NEXT? p16
SPORTS
Top L: Photo by Kirsten Reynolds Student Publications; Top R: Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech Solar Racing; Above: Photo by Kirsten Reynolds Student Publications
Documentary examines life and career of Robin Williams
JOSH TREBUCHON
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Robin Williams made his ca-
reer out of stylistically upbeat,
high-energy comedy. He often
discussed dark topics in his rou-
tines, but he always did so with a
trademark cynical detachment.
Those who looked at Wil-
liams’s comedy closely could iden-
tify a man with troubles lurking
beneath the surface, but most of
the world lapped up his material
without a second thought.
LIFE
. .
Dorm-style cooking
Opinions 4
When Williams committed
suicide in 2014 at age 63, then, it
was not really fair to call it a sur-
prise. A shock without a doubt,
but not a surprise.
It should not have been diffi-
cult to see that Williams had been
struggling with depression and
addiction, yet many were content
to believe that Williams was hav-
ing as much fun as his audiences.
HBO’s new documentary
“Robin Williams: Come Inside
My Mind” explores the lengths to
which Williams went to make his
fans laugh, and the sacrifices he
p7 GT Solar Racing
Life 7
ENTERTAINMENT
made to bring joy to others.
The film uses a combination of
videos of Williams on and off the
stage and interviews with those
close to the comic to paint a vivid
image of Williams’s public and
private lives and personalities.
The film first examines the ori-
gins of Williams’s unique comic
style, with relatives and childhood
friends discussing how Williams
found an escape from the loneli-
ness of being the only child of
professional parents in the kind of
character comedy for which he
See ROBIN, page 10
NEWS
p3
Entertainment 9 Sports 16
OPINIONS
Major pains
in the minor
leagues
CASEY MILES
MANAGING EDITOR
Baseball. America’s pastime. Maybe
not as much in terms of popularity
anymore but it is still officially Ameri-
can in one thing: antitrust immunity.
Since its inception, baseball has been
immune to antitrust laws because base-
ball is a game, not commerce. It is so
pure as a sport, that it is immune to the
same laws that govern the other major
sport leagues. From Supreme Court
rulings dating back to 1922 to as recent
as 1972 baseball has kept its sanctity as
just a simple game.
The origins of this immunity stems
from reserve clauses that were in place
at the inception of Major League Base-
ball (MLB). Reserve clauses essentially
allow teams to “own” players even af-
ter their contracts end. Meaning that
the team can renew a player’s contract
without any approval from the player
or trade them with no warning. While
those clauses no longer exist and play-
ers generally enjoy a high quality of life
in the major leagues there is a steady
number of players who still suffer from
the iron grip MLB can wield when it
sees fit.
These are the minor leaguers of
baseball, a group of players that out-
number players in the major leagues
a few times over. There are 30 major
league baseball teams and a staggering
256 minor league baseball teams. From
young, developing players to older fall-
ing stars looking for one more shot at
the majors, the minor leagues are full
of players chomping at the bit to reach
the major leagues. This is mostly for
See BALL, page 5
Photo Courtesy of HBO
A photograph of Robin Williams from the HBO documentary
‘Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind,’ which examines his life.
2 • July 20, 2018• technique // NEWS

technique
The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Samira Bandaru
MANAGING EDITOR:
Casey Miles
NEWS EDITOR:
Will Finch
OPINIONS EDITOR:
Jon Long
LIFE EDITOR:
Rosemary Pitrone
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Josh Trebuchon
SPORTS EDITOR:
Emily Dykstra
DESIGN EDITOR:
Lauren Douglas
PHOTO EDITOR:
Kirsten Reynolds
ONLINE EDITOR:
Zoie Konneker
WEB DEVELOPER:
Tristen Allen
HEAD COPY EDITOR:
Elizabeth Sit
Founded in 1911, the Technique is the
student newspaper of the Georgia In-
stitute of Technology, and is an official
publication of the Georgia Tech Board
of Student Publications. The Technique
publishes on Fridays weekly in the fall
and spring and biweekly in the summer.
ADVERTISING: Information can be
found online at nique.net/ads. The dead-
line for reserving ad space is Friday at
5 p.m. one week before publication. To
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Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
COVERAGE REQUESTS : Requests for
coverage and tips should be submitted to
the Editor-in-Chief and/or the relevant
section editor.
Copyright © 2018, Samira Bandaru,
Editor-in-Chief, and the Georgia Tech
Board of Student Publications. No part
of this paper may be reproduced in any
manner without written permission from
the Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of
Student Publications. The ideas expressed
herein are those of the individual authors
and do not necessarily represent the views
of the Board of Student Publications, the
students, staff or faculty of the Georgia
Institute of Technology or the University
System of Georgia. First copy free — for
additional copies call (404) 894-2830
WILL FINCH
NEWS EDITOR
THAILAND RESCUE & DRAMA
Over the course of two weeks,
numerous international efforts
were made in rescuing each of
the members of a junior soccer
team trapped in a cave in north-
ern Thailand.
On June 23, 12 members
of the team, aged 11 to 17, and
their 25 year old assistant coach
entered the cave after finishing
soccer practice, but heavy rains
flooded the cave and trapped
the team over two miles away
from the cave mouth. Rescue
efforts included a total of over
ten throusand people, consisting
WILL FINCH
NEWS EDITOR
WALKING BY DINOSAURS
Students walking through
Clough Commons may be sur-
prised to see a plastic dinosaur
occupying the space at the bot-
tom of the wooden stairs. The
“Recylcosaurus,” by Turkish art-
ist Baris Karayazagan, is made
up of ten thousand recycled
plastic bottles as a part of an art
therapy project.
Through the combined ef-
forts of the Art Reach Founda-
tion and more than 325 children
enrolled in a Clarkston Commu-
nity Center summer camp, the
Recylcosaurus was created over
the course of two weeks.
of divers, rescue workers, police
officers and helicopters, soldiers
and representatives from numer-
ous government agencies.
One notable effort came from
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and
SpaceX, though not without
some controversy. Musk ordered
his engineers to design a minia-
ture submarine to assist in the
rescue effort and he documented
the process via Twitter. Critics
claimed that the move was just a
PR stunt, especially since by the
time Musk personally delivered
the device, Thai authorities de-
clined to use the submarine for
being impractical. Musk’s brash
replies to criticism have only in-
tensified negative feedback.
ORDERING SUPREME
In light of Supreme Court
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s
plans of resignation earlier this
month, President Trump was
given the opportunity to appoint
a second Judge to the nation’s
highest court circuit.
His choice, Judge Brett M.
Kavanaugh, has a long history of
legal opinions and is well known
Unfortunately, only students
on campus this summer will see
the new dinosaur as it is on dis-
play through Monday, July 23.
WHEN DO WE VOTE?
Gwinnett commission voted
to formally adopt a new transit
development plan that could
possibly extend heavy rail well
into the county. Details of the
plan serve as a guide for future
expansion of Gwinnett’s transit
development, specifically sug-
gesting a 4.5-mile heavy rail
extension from the Doraville
MARTA station into the county
and the area near I-85 and Jim-
my Carter Boulevard.
While the roughly $5.4 bil-
lion project was approved on
Tuesday, July 17, officials need to
decide when they will give voters
the opportunity to vote on the
transit expansion and a 30-year
penny sales tax to fund it. Of the
major factors at play, MARTA’s
involvement presents an added
layer of complexity. For example,
because the new regional transit
agency created by state legisla-
tion does not form until Jan. 1 of
next year, MARTA would be the
administrator of funds collected
for his role in the most intense
partisan battles of the last two
decades — one of which involves
his part in the Clinton impeach-
ment. The nomination puts a
conservative majority on the
bench within reach for Repub-
licans and has naturally stirred
much furor among the Demo-
cratic party.
Reasons for pushback focus
mainly on Trump’s current state
of being investigated for possible
collusion with Russia during the
2016 election. Most critics be-
lieve that the president should
not pick a Supreme Court justice
unless and until Mueller clears
him.
Nevertheless, Kavanaugh’s
path to confirmation is sure to
be difficult and not without some
friction.
SUBJECTIVELY SELF-MADE
Forbes Magazine recently
featured Kylie Jenner on their
cover because she is reportedly
on track to be the world’s young-
est self-made billionaire. The
current record holder is Face-
book CEO Mark Zuckerberg,
through any sales tax approved
by voters.
Whether the referendum is
this November or is not until
next year, the answer is unclear
despite the looming August
deadline.
ATLANTA LOVES ITS SOCCER
In their match on July 15,
Atlanta United broke its own
MLS single-game attendance
mark for the fifth time in a row.
An announced 72,243 tickets
were sold and distributed in their
Sunday game against Seattle at
Mercedes-Benz Stadium. De-
spite the high turnout of fans,
Atlanta United and the Seattle
Sounders tied at the end of the
match with one goal each.
The game was comparable to
the attendance at the World Cup
final between France and Croa-
tia just hours earlier, which had
a reported attendance of 78,011.
While only just over a year
old, the franchise has proved to
be consistently popular in the
city, with its additional record
setting average attendance of
more than 48,000 in its home
league matches during its inau-
gural season.
who became a millionaire at the
age of 23. But with a current net
worth of roughly $900 million,
the 20-year-old socialite’s wealth
comes mainly from her posi-
tion as the founder and owner
of a cosmetic company that has
made over $630 million since its
launch two years ago. The busi-
ness only has seven full-time em-
ployees, manufacturing, packag-
ing, and sales are outsourced to
private companies and Jenner’s
social media takes care of most of
her marketing.
The coverage of Jenner’s net
worth has spurred several reac-
tions. Some have questioned the
use of the word “self-made” when
defining Kylie’s wealth, especial-
ly with reference to her position
in the Kardashian family. Oth-
ers have commented on how im-
pressive and inspiring the feat is
regardless of background, citing
that popularity alone is incapable
of sustaining such an immense
profit.
In any case, it left many 20
year-olds at Tech reflecting on
their decisions and asking where
their billion dollars are.
WILL FINCH
NEWS EDITOR
BIRTHDAY BLUES
In the morning of July 7, an of-
ficer was dispatched to a residence
hall to address an intoxicated
male Tech student. The officer ar-
rived to a crowd surrounding him,
asleep on a bench and held upright
only by his friends.
They said that he had spent
the evening drinking an exces-
sive amount of alcohol at the Beta
Theta Pi fraternity to celebrate his
birthday. The student then spent
the rest of his special day in Grady
Hospital, was cited for possession
of alcohol under 21 and was issued
a student conduct code violation.

sliver
nique.net
hello yes I’m a badass bitch who got a who got a 91 on her CS
test thank you to my CS friends for teaching my by osmosis all
weekend
I still don’t know what it means to be edgy, does it have some-
thing to do with racism?
do u ever feel love
They still haven’t changed the blurb at the top of the sliver box
why the face?
can the real jon long plz stand up
i rly hope that the news editor doesnt just make these up the night
before
revils
UP HI DOWN LO 2 SLO
comics are just mainstream memes they’re not edgy enough
Pete Davidson is just friggen hilarious
The only thing that can take down Chick Fil A is the Papa Johns
and Wendy’s merger.
test
Why is our school so painful that people wear red matlab shirts
in public
Is economics just for learning how to play monopoly
DaRtH jUnE iS cOmInG fOr YoU cOmMaNdEr
people only listen to jazz for the same reason people study abroad:
to pretend to feel cultured
Why doesn’t the technique ever show my slivvers?
Thanos is still right
SKYSCRAPER WAS SOoOOOOOO GOOD!!!
This is the last time i’m doing a sliver for you will
// NEWS
GT Solar Racing attends cross-country challenge
JONATHAN JEFFREY
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Hope for blue skies and sun-
ny weather: the 2018 American
Solar Challenge is underway,
and the Georgia Tech Solar
Racing (GTSR) team hopes to
put forth their best effort.
The American Solar Chal-
lenge occurs every two years,
and this year follows a path over
1700 miles long from Omaha,
Nebraska, to Bend, Oregon, fol-
lowing stretches of the Oregon
Trail through four different states.
Lasting from July 13 to 22, the
trek is split into five stages, each
hundreds of miles long — yet in
the first two stages of the 2018
competition, GTSR’s car has only
been able to complete 63.8 miles,
due to debilitating electrical prob-
lems that surprised the team, who
had cruised through the Formula
Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) qualifiers.
“Due to some never-before-seen
electrical issues that did not occur
during our 314 miles of driving
at FSGP, we have trailered to the
next location on the ASC route to
Graduate SGA discusses plans for the new year
WILL FINCH
NEWS EDITOR
When campaigning last
spring, Shelby and Cox’s cam-
paign platforms specifically fo-
cused on advocating for the needs
and values of graduate students,
as well as improving the typical
student’s experience on campus.
“As graduate students of Geor-
gia Tech, we have a vested inter-
est in seeing our university suc-
ceed,” Cox wrote on his candidate
ticket, “but we need to make sure
that the university provides re-
sources for our success as well.”
Shelby also emphasized the
importance of working with or-
ganizations on and off campus
in order to improve the gradu-
Both graduate and undergraduate divisions of the Student Government Association are located
in the Student Center, where students are encouraged to go attend to engage with their reps.
continue the journey,” the GTSR
reported on Facebook on July 14,
the day after the first leg began.
“We will be working on debugging
these problems today and hope to
make more progress tomorrow.”
Here, to “trailer” means ex-
actly what it sounds like: loading
the car up, driving it to the check-
point and racing against the clock
to figure out what went wrong.
Although the team has
had a rocky start, their chal-
lenges represent the complex-
ity of the mission to drive a
solar car across the country.
Developing a competitive
solar-powered car requires a
confluence of hard work and
talents across mechanical, elec-
trical, and operational engineer-
ing. After learning lessons from
the design of their first self-built
model, the 2015 SJ-1 Endeavor,
the team has strived to pro-
duce a sleeker, faster design.
Their work has culminated
in SR-2 Odyssey, which at a top
speed of 80 mph and a weight of
250 kilograms, is both 35 mph
faster and nearly 70 kilograms
lighter than its predecessor.
ate experience, further citing her
connections within the School
of History and Sociology and
the Office of Graduate Stud-
ies, and her active participation
on the Grad Life and Mental
Health Joint Action Committees.
As for their goal to improve
graduate living for underrep-
resented groups, organizations
and programs, their leadership
has already spearheaded ac-
tion this summer with a recent
joint resolution “reaffirming
commitment to inclusion.”
At the Graduate Student
Senate summer session on July
11, time was allocated to re-
view the previous language that
the Office of Diversity had in
a first step urging organiza-
tions to commit to inclusion.
“SR-2 Odyssey is GTSR’s first
completely new car in almost 6
years, and represents all of our
lessons learned, design experi-
ence, and nearly 20,000 hours of
student’s work,” the GTSR writes
on its GoFundMe page, where it is
raising funds to help support the
summer journey. “She takes ad-
vantage of the latest and greatest
improvements in the green energy
field to achieve unprecedented
performance for our program.”
The car, and its solo driver, are
not the only factors in the equa-
tion of a successful team — the
cross-country journey of the Od-
yssey bears more semblance to a
Homer epic, with a fleet of sup-
port students and vehicles ad-
dressing challenges along the way.
“Moving 18 students, a so-
lar car, 3 support vehicles and
a mobile shop on a 5,300-mile
round trip journey is an exhila-
rating prospect,” the team wrote
on their Facebook page in June.
Each of those components also
costs money, which quickly runs
thin despite the multiple sponsor-
ships from industry whose logos
line the curves of the Odyssey
“The impetus behind it is
that a few years back in the
Strategic Plan, Tech had made
a commitment to make a real
effort to have a diverse and in-
clusive experience on campus,”
Shelby explains, “and not all of
the organizations on campus
have echoed that commitment.”
The plan Shelby refers to was
released in August 2010 as an ini-
tial design for the future of the
university 25 years later. Some
of the plan’s objectives included
preparing students for global
leadership, inspiring creative and
entrepreneurial thinking, and
preserving educational quality
while increasing accessibility. So
as the university’s administration
pursues new ways to improve the
school, Shelby and Cox are plan-
Photo by Kirsten Reynolds Student Publications
— hence the GoFundMe cam-
paign. The ongoing campaign
covers operational costs dur-
ing competition and has already
raised $2,755 of its $5,000 goal.
“All funds raised will go to-
wards food, fees, spare parts,
and fuel for our trip this sum-
mer. (Yes, unfortunately our
support vehicles do still run on
gasoline),” the team writes online.
Photo courtesy of the Georgia Tech Solar Racing Team
Above are members of GTSR at the Formula Sun Grand Prix
after they passed initial testing for their new car in its first race.
ning to coordinate with those
efforts — specifically when col-
lectivizing the student body and
improving well-being on campus.
“It can be really stressful to
be a grad student,” Shelby re-
marks, and there is a growing
amount of literature that agrees
with her. Numerous studies sug-
gest that the graduate condi-
tion is one of anxiety, depres-
sion and isolation, but Shelby
says she wants to change that.
“One of the reasons I ran for
SGA is because I don’t think that
[graduate life] has to be that way,”
Shelby said. “Across the board, we
want to work to make sure that we
can make Tech a national exemplar
by trying to break the mold a bit.”
And plans are already in place
for the start of the new year. Tradi-
tionally, the fall semester kicks off
with the Graduate Student Picnic
where members of the commu-
nity can mingle with one another.
However, this year will be the start
of a new tradition where a Gradu-
ate Convocation will occur along-
side the picnic in a new “Gradu-
ate Student Welcome.” Similar to
New Student Convocation, the
Graduate convocation will take
place at McCamish Pavilion and
feature speakers from both the
student body and administration.
“One of the things that An-
drew and I committed to is
making sure that graduates feel
welcome on campus and that
graduate school doesn’t feel like
a job,” Shelby explained. “We’re
here for a long time and we want it
to feel like a positive community.”
In addition to increasing the
quality of the community, Shelby
expressed a desire to connect grad-
uate students more to the rest of
campus. “One problem, I think,
is how graduate school itself is
structured,” she said, going on to
describe how everything revolves
around work, whether it is at a
desk or in a lab. “The structure isn’t
there to reward [students] for hav-
ing a community, being involved
and serving [their] community.”
technique • July 20, 2018• 3
“We will make sure to spe-
cifically focus on the lessons
learned, as we most certainly
have learned a lot of lessons
these past few weeks,” the team
adds. “We hope to come back far
more successful the next year.”
But, for now, the GTSR
team has its eyes ahead on the
race: the miles, the road and the
wreck that keeps on rambling.
As such, Shelby and Cox have
placed an emphasis on increas-
ing the exposure for graduate
students, exploring the best ways
to increase involvement and par-
ticipation from a community that
makes up almost half of the stu-
dent population on campus. And
based on Shelby’s comments, they
are of the mindset of creating the
opportunities for an inclusive
campus, then letting graduate stu-
dents fill the space that they create.
Shelby also stressed an in-
tent for more policy advocacy
from Graduate SGA. Even be-
fore their inauguration, her run-
ning mate had coordinated with
Tech’s Government Relations of-
fice to promote the removal of a
stipulation in last year’s tax bill
that would have taxed graduate
tuition waivers. The Tax Cuts
and Jobs Bill of 2017 that he and
other members of the graduate
community opposed specifically
would have repealed tax deduc-
tions on qualified tuition by con-
sidering those waivers to techni-
cally be income. But, Tech and
the rest of the nationwide oppo-
sition from the student commu-
nity was enough to convince the
U.S. Senate to scrap the provision.
Furthermore, In order to coor-
dinate more easily with leadership
at higher levels of government,
the two created the new position
of Vice President for Govern-
ment Affairs, which PhD stu-
dent Emeka Obikwelu has filled.
“If measures like [the tax bill]
were to continue to happen, we
want Tech graduate students to
be more aware of what policy
impacts there are at the state or
national level,” Shelby said when
describing the role of the new role.
Graduate school is not easy.
Though according to students
like Renee Shelby, just because
academics are not easy, it does not
mean that they should be harder
than they need to be, and hope-
fully in the near future, Tech
can become the type of environ-
ment Shelby and Cox promote.
Opinions
OUR VIEWS | Consensus Opinion
Is Bird the word?
Taking a look at Atlanta’s newest transportation fad
Every morning, people all over Atlanta
walk outside to find electric scooters litter-
ing the urban landscape. Once night falls,
the scooters, called Birds for the company
that distributes them, vanish just as quick-
ly as they appeared. These Birds are part of
a new transportation concept that allows
users to ‘check out’ a scooter they find out
in the world and pay by the minute until
they reach their destination. Once there,
they simply abandon the scooter and con-
tinue on their way. Certified users are
paid to collect the Birds at night to charge
them, placing them in popular areas the
next morning.
This seems like a great idea: fewer cars
on the road, more enjoyable commutes
and a reasonable solution to the too-far-
to-walk-but-too-short-to-drive dilemma.
But from what we have seen over the past
month, and what we will see for the fore-
seeable future, is that these Birds may not
have been ready to leave the nest.
The scooters are meant to be ridden in
bicycle lanes, and for good reason. Cyclists
and Bird users take up a similar amounts
of space and move at comparable speeds. If
a route lacks bike lanes, users are left with
a Sophie’s Choice of sorts: disrupt pedes-
trian traffic on sidewalks or try their luck
on the open road. Both of these options are
far less than ideal.
Birds move far too fast to reasonably
ride alongside the average pedestrian on a
sidewalk, and their silence prevents walk-
ers from hearing a rapidly-approaching
scooter. On the road, it is difficult to stay
on course without eventually leading a pa-
rade of honking cars. Neither method is
effective, yet Birds still find their way into
streets and sidewalks.
The issues are not limited to when the
vehicles are in motion, either. Shoving
discarded scooters out of the sidewalk
has become a hallmark of on-foot com-
mutes. People utilizing wheelchairs often
find themselves barred from a sidewalk
altogether. In a sense, their omnipresence
is a double-edged sword. While this isn’t
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
Samira Bandaru EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Casey Miles MANAGING EDITOR
Will Finch NEWS EDITOR
Rosemary Pitrone LIFE EDITOR
Emily Dykstra SPORTS EDITOR
Tristen Allen WEB DEVELOPER
Kirstin Reynolds PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
OPINIONS EDITOR: Jon Long technique
“
”
You, yourself, as much as anybody
in the entire universe, deserve your
love and affection. -The Buddha
4
Friday,
July 20, 2018
exactly a pressing matter at the moment,
the start of classes in the fall could bring a
huge problem with it. What happens when
students living in Tech Square, Centen-
nial and Home Park all want an easy ride
to their noon class at Clough? If Bird is ex-
pected to maintain its current popularity My Adidas Data Security 1001
into the school year, that is an issue that The Yellow Jackets official- The College of Computing
must be addressed before Atlanta’s entire ly ended their contract with mistakenly sent a spreadsheet
Russell Athletics this month, full of sensitive student in-
flock ends up on Tech Green. placing the fate of the school’s formation to several students
In many ways, Bird could prove to be new athletic uniforms into the on Tuesday. Included in the
a positive force to campus and the city as hands of sports powerhouse spreadsheet were the names,
adidas. Tech’s athletic depart- birthdays, addresses and GPAs
a whole. The company pays Atlanta $1 a ment plans to reveal brand of the CoC’s nearly 8000
day per scooter in order to help with in- new football uniforms later in students, among other data.
the summer, finally cementing While administrators have
frastructure and several measures have the role of adidas into the Yel- worked to mitigate the spread
been put in place to reduce safety issues. low Jacket mythos forever (or of this information, the leak
Usage data is closely monitored, with Bird at least until we strike a deal was a clear violation of FERPA
with Nike). guidelines.
claiming to reduce the number of scoot-
ers if they dip below a 3:1 ride-to-scooter
ratio. These policies make up Bird’s ‘Save
Our Sidewalks’ pledge, a policy enacted to
mitigate the negative effects of the scoot-
ers on cities.
“From car ride-sharing to bike-sharing
to autonomous and electric vehicles of all Into the Fold Toys Were Us
The School of Civil and New Jersey-based toy chain
kinds, an explosion of innovation stands Environmental Engineering’s Toys ‘R’ Us closed all of their
to transform the cities in which we like, Glaucio Paulino will be teach- stores in late June after com-
improve the environment and help us get ing his much-lauded Origami petition from online retailers
Engineering class this fall. The drove them into bankruptcy.
from point A to point B,” CEO Ryan Rz- course, open to students of any As we look back sadly on child-
epecki states. “We have all seen the results major, taught concepts of civil hood afternoons spent brows-
engineering using origami. ing the store’s massive shelves,
of out-of-control deployment in China — The course began last Fall, and we have to come to terms with
huge piles of abandoned and broken bicy- its positive reaction led Pau- the fact that Tokyo Valentino
cles overrunning sidewalks, turning parks lino to teach the course again is now Tech’s nearest toy re-
next fall with a fresh crop of tailer. Godspeed, Geoffrey the
into junkyards and creating a new form of students from all disciplines. Giraffe. Godspeed.
pollution.”
Their recognition of these issues is a
good step, but more concrete action can be FERPA SCHMERPA BY SAMIRA BANDARU
taken to reduce problems. Until Bird can
solve the issues of increased traffic — both
vehicular and on foot — they will contin-
ue to draw the ire of city officials and tra-
ditional commuters. And if riders do not
stop leaving their scooters in areas that ob-
struct pedestrian traffic, the negatives may
ultimately outweigh the positives.
Bird is still a new company; these issues
could very easily dictate whether the idea
takes flight or ultimately proves to be a
bad egg.
Jon Long OPINIONS EDITOR
Josh Trebuchon ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Lauren Douglas DESIGN EDITOR
Zoie Konneker ONLINE EDITOR
Elizabeth Sit HEAD COPY EDITOR
Life
Insights from a civil engineer’s career
MIA PENDERGAST
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
What is the price the engineer-
ing profession has paid for break-
throughs in modern technology?
“Engineers have lost their
edge,” said Bob Williams, PE,
LEED AP. As technology en-
croaches into all aspects of life, the
realm of engineering suffers from
systematic and rigid practices that
leave little room for creativity.
What Williams describes as
the greatest challenge to emerg-
ing engineers is exhibiting to their
employers that they can do more
than punch in numbers into a
computer program or draw lines
in CAD. Connecting with the
workplace environment rather
than connecting to electronics
is Williams’ best advice to offer
students because he believes the
usage of cellphones at the work-
place sabotages the development
of young engineers.
Delivering more than the bare
minimum at a nine-to-five job
by exemplifying engagement and
commitment is a lesson he learned
during his early stages in his ca-
reer and still practices to this day.
Currently, Williams is the Vice
President of the Community De-
velopment Department at Pond
& Company, a progressive, full-
service architecture, engineering,
planning and construction firm
that serves government, corpo-
rate and private sector clients
throughout the U.S. and globally.
Achievements for Pond’s excep-
tional performance include being
KERA
ALLEN
BOBBY GUILD
STAFF WRITER
When thinking about the fu-
ture of technology, it is nearly
impossible to avoid thoughts of
the next complex microprocessor,
artificial intelligence or self-driv-
ing car. However, to Kera Allen,
a Ph.D. student in the School of
History and Sociology, it is not
the object of technology that is
important, but rather its past and
future effects on society.
In particular, Allen’s research
focuses on how the inequalities
present for minorities in the world
of STEM are researched and ana-
lyzed.
Allen came to Tech as under-
graduate and received a degree in
Science, Technology, and Cul-
LIFE EDITOR:
Rosemary Pitrone
life@nique.net
the South East Design Firm of
the Year according to Engineering
News Record (ENR), and Engi-
neering Employer of the Year ac-
cording to the Georgia Society of
Professional Engineers (GSPE), as
well as placing third in Atlanta’s
Top 25 Engineering Firms accord-
ing to Atlanta Business Chronicle
(ABC).
By looking at the progression
of Williams’ career, students can
get a better understanding of what
their own future might hold.
Williams began his college ca-
reer in 1984 as a Civil Engineer-
ing major with a concentration
in Construction Management at
New Jersey Institute of Technol-
ogy. Unfortunately, Williams in-
terrupted his undergraduate de-
gree to enlist in the military for
financial purposes. However, this
dedication to his education pref-
aces his long journey of working
tirelessly, which in turn resulted
in his success.
After completing his degree,
Williams debuted his career at a
small full-service engineering firm
where he was the only civil engi-
neer besides the vice president at
the company. Due to the firm’s
limited staff, a substantial amount
of responsibility fell on Williams’
shoulders to which accelerated his
development as an engineer.
Although he had very little
guidance, Williams was tasked
with more advanced duties, such
as running hydrology reports,
writing specifications and advis-
ing the client. The rigorous sink or
swim mentality was indeed stress-
ful at times, yet he gained a firm
ture, now known as LMC. After
graduating, she went to work in
the software industry as a techni-
cal writer and support analyst.
Her early experiences in the
industry highlighted the need to
better cast light on the inequali-
ties present regarding underrepre-
sented members of the computing
and technology workforce. As a
result of her experiences, she re-
turned to Tech to earn a Master’s
Degree and is currently working
on her Ph.D.
“Men make up more than 70
percent of undergraduate students
in the College of Engineering and
almost 80 percent of students
in the College of Computing at
Georgia Tech,” said Allen rea-
garding her decision to continue
her education. “I wanted to be
able to articulate why and how
these differences make an impact
on women pursuing degrees in
computing and engineering.”
During her studies, Allen has
pursued — with the goal of ana-
lyzing and sharing — the untold
stories of those who those have
experienced barriers to success
within the computing world.
“I am interested in the stories
and experiences of those working
with computer technology that
are not typically represented in
that area, such as women of color.
In addition to telling the stories
of the more ‘hidden’ figures, I am
also interested in revealing the in-
visible or unwritten barriers, rules
and structures that create the in-
Inequalities in STEM
Ph.D. candidate Kera Allen reveals the unseen barriers
faced by underrepresented groups in STEM through her
research in the School of History and Sociology47
grasp on the ins and outs of how
the industry operates.
Around this time in the early
90s, there was a minor economic
downturn in which jobs were few
and far between; however, with
Williams’ considerable experience
obtained from his last position, it
was not hard for him to find work.
Williams was hired as a municipal
Pictured above is the architecture and engineering firm
Pond & Company’s headquarters in Peachtree Corners, Ga.
equalities in and around compu-
tational technology,” she said.
Currently, many of the initia-
tives in place to combat the exist-
ing barriers are more focused on
changing the data outcomes rath-
er than addressing the underlying
issues. As Allen shared, progress
is fantastic, but it is not a holistic
solution.
“There are diversity initiatives
and corporate interests for more
diverse workplaces; these are often
focused on increasing numbers
rather than changing the envi-
ronment to make the technology
sector more equitable,” she said.
“Numbers are important, but pro-
grams should not overlook work-
ing conditions and the quality of
the workplace.”
The numbers show without a
doubt that there are issues facing
women in STEM fields; however,
this is where the data and the
analysis stop.
“I started to notice that much
of the existing literature address-
ing issues of women in STEM did
not specifically discuss women of
color. For example, a recent survey
of more than 200 women in infor-
mation technology (IT) and com-
puting fields, focusing on women
with at least 10 years of experience
with most of the women in Sili-
con Valley, found that 84 percent
of women had been told they were
too aggressive. However, there was
no mention of the racial makeup
of the respondents,” Allen said
regarding the current state of re-
engineer at a company that held
contracts with local municipali-
ties. Up until this point, his scope
of civil engineering as a whole was
limited to design and technical
consulting; however, this job al-
lowed him to explore the public
planning side of city infrastruc-
ture projects. As a municipal en-
See POND, page 8
Photo courtesy of Pond & Company
search in her field. It did not take
Allen long to notice that in order
for a holistic picture of the issues
facing minorities in STEM fields
to be created, a greater depth and
diversity of data would be neces-
sary. She saw that if change is to
take place, more research examin-
ing the underlying issues would
need to be conducted.
“Without knowing the racial
makeup of the survey respon-
dents, it can be difficult to discern
if the results are the experiences
of white women or women of all
races and ethnicities in the field,”
she said.
“I hope to describe the factors
that contribute to a welcoming
and affirming environment for
groups with different intersecting
identities in order to create a more
complex, rich analysis of how dif-
ferent groups experience discrimi-
nation,” Allen explained.
Through this research and ad-
vocacy, Allen aspires to facilitate
meaningful change both within
policy as well as within the so-
cietal norms which impact the
disparities present in the field of
computer technology.
“I hope to effectively challenge
a hierarchy that produces inequal-
ities in computing and informa-
tion technology fields, as well as
suggest ways for reshaping these
fields to better support equality,”
Allen shared.
Just as technology is continu-
ally evolving, so too are the issues
See ALLEN, page 8
technique
7
Friday,
July 20, 2018
Cooking while
on campus
ROSEMARY PITRONE
LIFE EDITOR
From dining plans to on-cam-
pus restaurants, Tech students
have plenty of options for quick
and convenient meals. However,
there may be times when you
want a little more creative control
over what you eat.
College is a great time for stu-
dents who want to eat well and
stay on a budget to gain some
cooking experience. Don’t be in-
timidated by your dorm or apart-
ment kitchen — these tips can be
followed by those who have never
even touched a stove.
START SIMPLE
While you can’t be Antoni
from Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” you
can take a page from his book and
show some appreciation for avoca-
do-based dishes.
Recipes like guacamole are de-
licious and require minimal skill
— after slicing the avocado, all
you need is a bowl and an instru-
ment for smashing. Simple dishes
like this allow you to experiment
in the kitchen without risking fire
or flavor mishaps. Try smooth
guac or chunky guac; introduce
onions or cilantro; or incorporate
your favorite spices, like cumin
or cayenne pepper. Another tip:
squeeze fresh lime to preserve the
green color.
BUY A COOKBOOK
For those who want to try
slightly more complicated recipes,
there is a cookbook for every taste.
You may already have a favorite, or
the celebrity chef you love might
have one available on Amazon.
A cookbook is a great way to
learn a few special meals that will
impress your friends and family.
“Barefoot Contessa at Home” is a
good option for beginners.
If you prefer something more
eccentric, “The Unofficial Harry
Potter Cookbook” serves up sev-
eral crowd-pleasing meals.
If you do not feel like investing
in a cookbook, you can also ask
a parent or grandparent to copy
some of their favorite recipes. Col-
lect them to keep in a binder for
easy access.
LEARN WITH FRIENDS
Invite some friends over to
cook dinner together or host a
potluck in your building.
Cooking with others is a great
way to learn new recipes and cu-
linary techniques — and to get
honest feedback about your own
cooking. What is better than
friends and food?
8 • July 20, 2018• technique
ALLEN FROM PAGE 7
of inequality facing minorities in
STEM fields. Through her efforts,
however, Allen is dutifully work-
ing to change this. Her mission
is to share ways in which progress
can be made so that the benefits of
an advanced and diverse comput-
ing workforce may be experienced
by many more.
Initiatives that encourage more
women — specifically more wom-
en of color — to enter computing
and STEM fields are important to
Ph.D. student in the School of History and Sociology, Kera Allen is conducting research
that she hopes will illuminate the barriers faced by minorities in computing fields.
the progression of STEM fields.
These initiatives are also essential
to the work of creating more in-
clusive school and work environ-
ments in the future.
Allen’s research will be impera-
tive to understanding how these
environments need to change in
order to eliminate the barriers for
and biases against underrepresent-
ed groups in STEM.
By taking an intersectional ap-
proach and examining how the
systems that work against women
of color affect them in a comput-
ing environment, Allen’s research
will expand the literature about
these issues. Because the experi-
ences of all women are not the
same, it is important to improve
the quality of the data collected
about women in IT, computing
and other fields to better under-
stand how to improve the quality
of the workplace.
Allen hopes her research will
identify these issues in order to
enable policy changes, bringing
more awareness to the systematic
inequalities within the field.
Photo courtesy of Kera Allen
POND FROM PAGE 7
gineer, Williams operated behind
the scenes, providing services such
as subdivision and land develop-
ment plan reviews, zoning and
land use planning, preparation
of design plans and contract bid-
ding documents for public works
projects as well as construction
administration and inspection.
In 2004, Williams was de-
ployed to the Joint Task Force
at Guantanamo Bay where he
worked as a future operations
and task force engineer. For 14
months, his duties for the military
unit were to conduct civil-military
operations such as planning and
constructing new detention facili-
ties. Working from a remote loca-
tion made him appreciate the cost
and time it takes to acquire mate-
rials. Even to complete the most
basic of tasks, he was required to
meticulously plot to produce the
most efficient outcome with the
least amount of consequences.
Although not everyone will face
the same obstacles, difficult cir-
cumstances and unforeseen issues
will put every engineer to the test
throughout his or her career.
After completing his service,
Williams proceeded to pick up
where he left off in his career. In
2009, he became the only vice
president at Travis Pruitt & Asso-
ciates, a full-service civil engineer-
ing, land surveying, landscape
architecture and environmental
engineering firm. While leading a
team of engineers in their endeav-
ours to completing projects, Wil-
liams dabbled in the business side
// LIFE
of the industry. For six years, he
expanded his expertise in seeking
out work for his group by putting
together proposals, pursuing con-
tracts and building relationships
with clients.
The proficiency Williams
gained in selling segued into his
current line of work. Since 2014,
Williams has been Vice President
of Community Development at
Pond & Company. As the face of
the department, Williams is front
and center when it comes to build-
ing relationships with clients, pur-
suing and executing contracts,
providing technical oversight,
making sure the department
meets its financial goals, staffing
the department, coordinating
with the other program officers
and making sure the program is
growing and effective.
On a more day-to-day scale,
Williams’ activities may include
providing technical guidance to
a team member about an ongo-
ing project, meeting with clients
to discuss contracts, interviewing
new talent, attending conferenc-
es to promote the company and
much more.
Utilizing his many years of ex-
perience, Vice President Williams
sculpts the group to excel in both
performance and dedication. Al-
though the road has been strenu-
ous and challenging, Williams
has reached a satisfying point in
his career with a company that
he describes “sets an exceptional
standard to integrity.”
For more information about
Pond & Company, visit www.
pondco.com.
// OPINIONS
Buzz's new apparel
brings uncertainty
TRISTEN ALLEN
WEB DEVELOPER
On June 29, 2018, the At-
lanta Journal-Constitution re-
ported that Buzz will no longer
be wearing his signature Converse
high-top sneakers due to the new
apparel contract with Adidas. In-
stead, the mascot will be wearing
an as-of-yet unrevealed pair of
Adidas footwear beginning with
the Yellow Jackets’ first home
game against Alcorn State.
While the change should not
be unexpected — Converse is a
subsidiary of Nike — it may come
as a surprise to many fans since
the sneakers are an iconic part of
Buzz’s uniform. Even something
as seemingly inconsequential as a
choice of footwear can have strong
implications for the future of Adi-
das’s management of the Tech
brand.
Buzz has worn black Converse
high-tops since the mascot’s offi-
cial recognition in 1980. The shoe
has been woven into the brand
of Buzz ever since, becoming as
much a part of the tradition as the
mascot’s antics themselves.
Each iteration of the costume
has included the sneakers, while
several official icons featuring
Buzz display him in the signature
high-top shoes.
The cheerleaders who perform
as Buzz have traditionally revealed
themselves during graduation cer-
emonies by donning the mascot’s
shoes while they walk across the
stage.
To renounce this key part of
the tradition without a hint of cer-
emony seems almost disrespectful
given the strong association the
shoe has with the mascot. There
has been no public announcement
regarding the change from Adidas
or from the Georgia Tech Athletic
“... the Tech community
deserves some form
of assurance that this
change will attempt to
preserve the tradition it
is uprooting. ”
TRISTEN ALLEN
WEB DEVELOPER
Association, nor any confirmation
on the new style of shoe Buzz will
be wearing come fall.
Will Buzz be wearing a shoe
in a similar style to the Converse
high-top sneaker, or will he be
wearing a more contemporary
Adidas brand?
See SHOE, page 6
SHOE FROM PAGE 1
the love of the game and the com-
petition, but there is something to
be said of the dichotomy between
a major league player and a minor
league player.
The main difference stems
from the type of contract the
player signs with a team. While
seemingly simple, the type of con-
tract, major or minor, leads to way
different results. First, there’s the
“ Why don’t the minor
league baseball players rise
up? Why don’t they go on
strike like their major league
counterparts?”
CASEY MILES
MANAGING EDITOR
money. There is no doubt that ma-
jor league baseball players should
be paid more than their minor
league counterparts, but the dif-
ference in pay is larger than the
difference in talent.
According to Statista, the
average major league salary is
$4,520,000 per year, while the
average minor league salary is
$12,000 a year. This $12,000 is
pay spread across up to 5 months
of season play and 2 months of ex-
tended spring training.
The federal poverty line for
2017 for a single person was
$12,060. On average, minor
league baseball players are being
paid a wage below the poverty
level. While they do only play,
and therefore work, for a portion
of the year they are still expected
to perform at the highest level for
a large for months of the year.
It’s difficult if not impossible to
achieve and maintain the level of
fitness and nutrition required to
be a professional athlete on a pov-
erty level salary.
Why don’t the minor league
baseball players rise up? Why
don’t they go on strike like their
major league counterparts have as
recently as the mid 90’s? To put
it simply, they don’t have nearly
enough control.
While major leaguers enjoy
things such as free agency and
freedom from reserve clauses, the
same cannot be said for those toil-
ing away in the minor leagues.
This doesn’t stem from the fact
that the majors have faced litiga-
tion and lost, it stems from the
player’s union. The MLB Players
Association (MLBPA) has enjoyed
success in raising pay and quality
of life for major leaguers over the
past few decades. Minor league
baseball players, on the other
hand, enjoy none of these free-
doms, including a player’s associa-
tion or union.
technique • July 20, 2018• 5
To put it simply, they have no
one to come to the bargaining
table to vouch for them.
The MLBPA has often been
touted as the most successful
American sports union, if not
general American union. Even
after the case of Flood v. Kuhn
was lost in the 70’s and the reserve
clause continued to persevere, the
players were able to negotiate a
clause allowing a player with ten
years of experience and five with
one team could veto any trade.
Soon after, limited free agency
would be granted and we would
arrive in the world of the MLB we
know today.
I know paying minor leaguers
the same amount as their major
league counterparts is not feasible.
It is not good business to pay them
that much when only around 10%
of minor leaguers will ever see the
major leagues.
But to expect them to develop
and prosper in the minor leagues
living at a poverty level wage is
insane.
Moving forward, the owners
and the players that take part in
professional baseball need to sit
down and decide how to move
forward.
Whether it is streamlining the
minors and decreasing the num-
ber of teams in each farm system
or raising the average salary to a
level that could provide a player
with the means to live and pro-
vide for themselves to perform at
the highest level, something needs
to be done.
Otherwise, minor league play-
ers will continue scraping by with
the meagre offerings of their com-
munity ball club.
6 • July 20, 2018• technique
The life of a middle child
I recently came across an ar-
ticle from The Cut called “The
Extinction of the Middle Child.”
The piece examined how the in-
creasing trend of two-child fami-
lies is bringing about the demise
of middle-born children. It also
raised awareness for the middle
children who will be tragically
overlooked this August 12 on
Middle Child Day.
I am the middle sister of three
girls. I have experience being both
the pesky little sibling who copies
everything her older sister does,
and being the bossy older sibling
who offers her younger sister un-
solicited advice.
When I sent that The Cut piece
to my siblings, they told me it was
not even worth a skim. Admit-
tedly, the article is lengthy, but
it made me reflect on the impor-
tance of birth order in defining
one’s own identity.
Just like astrological signs and
personality types, the character-
istics associated with each birth
order may be taken with a grain
of salt. A 2015 German study
found that birth order does not
significantly influence five major
personality traits — conscien-
tiousness, extraversion, agreeable-
ness, imagination and emotional
stability. However, there is some
research that suggests birth order
does affect one’s life outcomes.
Jeffrey Kluger, author of The Sib-
ling Effect, points out existing re-
search that first-born children are
more likely to become CEOs and
last-born children are more likely
to become comedians.
While the outcomes for mid-
dle children may be statistically
murkier, I have learned from
my own experience as a middle
child — and as a daughter of two
middle children — that being in
the middle isn’t bad at all; in fact,
there are times when adopting the
“I have learned from my own
experience as a middle child
— and the daughter of two
middle children — that being
in the middle isn’t bad at all.”
ROSEMARY PITRONE
LIFE EDITOR
mindset of a middle child may be The last characteristic middle
beneficial to everyone. children love to tout is our height-
Middle children love to claim ened empathy. I like to think of
that we are great mediators. It myself as an empathetic person,
makes sense that someone physi- but I feel that I owe most of the
cally in the middle of a family hi- credit to my siblings for forcing
erarchy would also develop a keen me to be more compassionate and
understanding of those around understanding.
them. Growing up, my older sis- My older sister gave me a leg
ter and younger sister often found up in school when I was young-
themselves at odds with each oth- er, because she had already gone
er, and as the middle sibling I was through everything I was going
sometimes able to help them see through. She demonstrated the
from one other’s perspective. importance of a compassionate
Another popular notion held voice in a person’s life.
by middle children is that we are My younger sister also gives
passed over for attention — the surprisingly sage advice. She
oldest sibling is the highest achiev- taught me that even someone who
er, and the youngest sibling is the has never been in your situation
baby of the family. Does that force before is able to understand ex-
the children in the middle to fend actly how you are feeling.
for whatever attention is left? Through this reflection, I dis-
Some experts have posited that covered that what makes being a
this causes middle children to ei- middle child so great isn’t that we
ther act out — consider Stephanie are great mediators, creative forces
Tanner from Full House — or to or empathetic souls. It is that we
find creative or bizarre arenas to were born in the middle, and have
excel in. The Cut draws attention been shaped by both sides of the
to Joey Chestnut, a middle child spectrum. Being in the middle
so starved for attention that he makes you more open to new
went on to win the Nathan’s Hot ideas, and more understanding of
Dog Eating Contest 11 times. different viewpoints.
I look at Chestnut as a testa- So I hope that when Middle
ment to the creativity of middle Child Day rolls around on August
children. When the roles of your 12, you take the time to recognize
older and younger siblings are a middle child you know, and to
more clearly defined, you may remember the importance of cre-
find yourself with more freedom ativity and empathy in your own
and space to try new things. life.
// OPINIONS
SHOE FROM PAGE 5
Should we wait with bated
ing an effort to integrate that his-
tory into the current lettering.
The rebranding effort’s careful
breath to see if Buzz will stroll attention to the history of Tech’s
onto the field sporting the newest brand makes me hopeful that they
Yeezy? will afford the same attention to
If nothing else, the Tech com- the new style of shoe Buzz will be
munity deserves some form of as- wearing.
surance that this change will at- It is possible that the new shoes
tempt to preserve the tradition it Buzz will be sporting will evoke
is uprooting. the style and feel of the old Con-
Such an iconic piece of the verse sneakers much in the same
Georgia Tech brand does not way our new athletic mark calls
deserve to be left in limbo for so upon the block lettering used in
long. our past.
So far, the changes Adidas and It remains to see exactly what
the Athletic As- Adidas will do
sociation have until the first
announced put football match
an emphasis on “. . . the shoes they of the season.
preserving the choose should instead If the choice
tradition of the proves unpopu-
Georgia Tech seek to preserve the lar with fans, it
brand while dedication to tradition...” will be a very
modernizing poor impres-
and standardiz- TRISTEN ALLEN sion for Adidas
ing its use. to leave so early
At least pub- WEB DEVELOPER into their part-
licly, the part- nership.
nership has The shoes
made commitments to preserve they choose should instead seek
the traditions of the Institute in to preserve the dedication to tra-
its rebranding process. dition they have already demon-
Even something as simple as strated.
the use of block lettering in the Tech fans have already endured
new Tech athletic marks shows a poor brand deal for several years
that the branding team has done with Russell Athletics. I do not
their research into the history of imagine they will be so quick to
the school’s branding and is mak- endure another.
Write to us: responses to or commentaries on content
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letters@nique.net Along with these letters, we are open to
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Each week we look for letters that are ions@nique.net.

Entertainment
“How It Ends” leaves viewers disappointed
FILM
How It Ends
GENRE: Action
STARRING: Theo James
DIRECTOR: David Rosenthal
RELEASE DATE: July 13
OUR TAKE: «««««
EMMANUEL HALDOPOULOS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Netflix’s rapid advance into
the motion picture industry has
been nothing short of impressive.
“Ozark,” “Orange is the New
Black,” and “Narcos” all impress
almost beyond objection. But not
all of Netlfix’s original produc-
tions can be lauded.
Both the title and apocalyptic
plot of “How It Ends” are perfect
descriptions for the rubble that is
this movie. Unlike actual rubble,
however, “How It Ends” never has
a firm beginning.
All literature, from “Don
Quixote” to “the Titanic” features
the general progression from a
hook, followed by rising action,
the climax, falling action and fi-
nally a resolution. How It Begins
would be a more fitting title – the
movie never really reaches climax.
When reviewing a movie, one
tends to include a timestamp next
to his notes. Looking back, the
first scene that gets even remotely
close to a climax does not occur
until ninety minutes into the film.
Eighty percent of the movie oc-
curs before the climax.
Even then, it is one that the
viewer has been expecting since
the very beginning. There are no
‘Who is America?’ fails as comedy and commentary
TELEVISION
Who is America?
NETWORK: Showtime
WHEN: July 15
STARRING: Sacha Baron
Cohen
OUR TAKE: «««««
JOSH TREBUCHON
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Sacha Baron Cohen has made
a career out of shameless and
confrontational comedy which
is often downright difficult to
watch. His modus operandi is
to use over-the-top characters to
confront politicians with extreme
versions of either themselves or of
their political opponents.
Cohen often uses deception
and psychological manipulation
to coerce his targets into saying
embarassing things.
His methods are controversial
to say the very least, but the out-
come of these methods has largely
been hilarious and illuminating in
the past.
On July 15 Cohen embarked
his first foray into political com-
edy in the Trump era with the re-
Theo James stars in Netflix’s newest original action movie ‘How It Ends’ as a lawyer looking
to reunite with his pregnant fiance in the midst of a mysterious apocalyptic catastrophe.
surprises in the film, so the view-
ing experience is entirely without
suspense.
Netflix knew the plot con-
tained little to keep watchers in-
terested, so they injected numer-
ous jump scares, chase scenes and
shootouts to distract from the
shallow nature of the film.
Production quality is high, as
it should be, especially consider-
ing the company plans to spend
$8 billion in 2018 in an attempt
to make its library half original.
What is unclear is Netflix’s motive
for making “How It Ends.”
No amount of romance or con-
flict is enough to erase the feeling
lease of the first episode of his new
show, “Who Is America?”
The series follows his clas-
sic formula of getting political
figures to agree with outrageous
statements by putting them in dif-
ficult situations. The show claims
to be an honest and original look
at some of America’s deepest po-
litical demons. Cohen certainly
does create some genuinely dark
moments, but he fails to examine
or comment on these moments in
a novel or productive way.
Cohen pays lip service to the
idea of keeping the show balanced
by taking aim at both liberal and
conservative targets, but Cohen’s
agenda in creating the show is ob-
viously left-leaning.
The episode mocks progres-
sives when Cohen takes on the
persona of an eccentric artist who
works by smearing feces on card-
board and tricks a gallery owner
into praising his art as revolution-
ary and even “genius.”
While this skit does a good
job of highlighting the absurdity
of the way in which the art world
blindly accepts anything unique
regardless of quality, it does not
really portray this as problematic.
It simply makes the progressive
art world seem silly, not dark.
See AMERICA, page 10
that the film was conceived for lit-
erally no reason other than to add
half of a percent of ‘originality’ to
Netflix’s library.
Or perhaps it was meant to
generate money – Cadillac cer-
tainly spent a fair amount of mon-
ey advertising in this film. No
Cadillac, however new, however
upgraded, should be able to make
it across the United States while
riddled with bullet holes and a
leaking radiator, all on just three
tanks of fuel.
The numerous fuel stops
throughout “How It Ends” are an-
other testament to the peculiarity
of the film’s writing. Most daily
Sacha Baron Cohen in character as an eccentric British portrait artist who first began
painging using fecal matter and other vulgar materials while serving a prison sentence.
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Josh Trebuchon
entertainment@nique.net
Photo courtesy of Netflix
necessities are not shown in mov-
ies unless they help develop the
plot in one way or another.
Characters must use the bath-
room, but the viewers rarely see it
happening. Cars need gas. “The
Book of Eli”, the dystopian su-
perior to “How It Ends” in every
aspect, did not feature either, but
it still tells a fluid, complete story
with definitive progression.
It is as if the writers of “How
It Ends” recognized the emptiness
of the plot and attempted to com-
plete it with fillers that do nothing
but waste the viewer’s time. Either
that or Cadillac wanted to show
that their cars are more efficient
technique
Friday,
9
July 20, 2018
than one would expect.
Unfortunately, that is all “How
It Ends” is good for–killing time.
This film is so shallow that specific
characters, place names and plot
details are not memorable enough
to warrant a mention. All that the
viewer will take away from this
movie is that “The Book of Eli” is
more of a masterpiece than he re-
calls, and that he should probably
go buy a Cadillac immediately.
Netflix is trying to make its
original material the selling point
for those considering buying the
service. Ideally, they want those
who don’t purchase the service to
feel left out of something popular
and exciting.
In the case of ‘How It Ends,’
Netflix’s approach to achieving
this seems to be to create an ap-
pealing trailer which makes pro-
spective customers want to see the
film. The trailer actually does its
job here; on its own, it’s an excel-
lent if brief bit of filmmaking.
The trouble is that the trailer is
the best part about the film. The
movie does nothing to live up to
the promises made by its trailer,
leaving its viewer disappointed.
This would not be as much of a
catastrophe if “How It Ends” were
a traditional movie. Films do well
at the box office while disappoint-
ing viewers all the time. In this
case, however, Netflix needs the
film to generate excitement to give
would-be customers a good reason
to pay for Netflix.
In the eyes of the executives
at Netflix, this film is more of an
advertisement than a consumer
product. Their biggest problem
with “How It Ends,” then, is that
it is even worse as an advertise-
ment than it is as a movie.
Photo courtesy of Showtime
10 • July 20, 2018• technique
ROBIN FROM PAGE 1
would later become famous.
This episode is an excellent
demonstration of one of the key
points the film tries to make. Even
when Williams was working only
for himself, he used comedy as an
escape from his problems.
Marina Zenovich does a mag-
nificent job of putting together
different clips and interviews in a
way that conveys the narrative she
is looking to develop without hav-
ing to rely on a narrator to guide
the viewer along.
In fact, the closest thing the
film has to a narrator is the voice
of Robin Williams himself, old re-
cordings of which Zenovich uses
to make her points. This use of
Williams’s own voice makes the
film feel significantly more honest
and lends the production a feeling
of authenticity.
Zenovich makes brilliant use
of everything at her disposal to
advance her narrative, and she
manages to give structure to a film
which in the hands of another di-
rector might have ended up cha-
otic and disoreinting.
After exploring Williams’s
origins and rise to fame, the film
moves from a period of the com-
ic’s life marked by optimism to
one defined by struggle.
Williams becomes addicted to
cocaine and it takes the overdose
death of his contemporary John
Belushi to pull him out of a spiral
of vice. Williams also begins to
struggle in his personal relation-
ships despite his newfound suc-
cess in his career.
The film tactfully implies that
this darker turn in Williams’s life
was reflected in his approach to
his comedy. While the film makes
it clear that Williams continued
to use comedy as an escape from
reality, Zenovich shows that the
work began to take a more signifi-
cant personal toll on Williams.
The film argues that Williams’s
high-energy style and excessive
stage confidence were both tools
he used to escape the fallability
and weakness he perceived in his
real life. During this period of his
life, however, his work and life on
The HBO documentary “Robin Williams: Come Inside My
Mind” examines the career and personal life of Robin Williams.
the road drained him and left him
exhausted, rather than relieving
him of his issues.
The film explicitly compares
Williams’s performances in this
period to those of a gladiator,
and in a clever choice by Zenov-
ich, clips of Williams perform-
ing exhausting sets are paired
with Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work.”
Zenovich implies that while Wil-
liams continued to enjoy per-
forming, he began to stumble
under the burden of entertaining
audiences.
This is essentially the central
goal of the documentary: to cel-
ebrate Williams for the sacrifices
he made for his fans.
Williams was never fully un-
derstood by the broad public; he
was always just a “fun” comedian
to most of his fans, and few com-
prehended the complexity of his
personality. Still, he sufferred qui-
etly, moving from packed show
to packed show, performing bril-
liantly for the benefit of the rest of
the world.
// ENTERTAINMENT
far some individuals are willing
AMERICA FROM PAGE 9 to go to pin the blame for gun
In contrast, Cohen portrays violence on causes other than the
conservatives as callous and firearms involved. This segment is
downright evil in a skit in which by far the darkest part of the first
he tricks pro-gun activists into ad- episode and is rather diffcult to
vocating the arming of toddlers to get through.
prevent school shootings. The biggest problem with
If Cohen wants to create a “Who Is America?” is that, for
show which advocates a progres- reasons which are hard to pin
sive agenda and criticizes conser- down, most of Cohen’s comedy
vatives, that’s his prerogative. To simply falls flat. The first episode
claim that his show is about ex- of the show is, frankly, not funny.
amining America’s problems in a Perhaps it is the seriousness
productive manner and then use of the issues covered, or perhaps
it to sow division, however, is sim- Cohen’s characters and delivery
ply disingenuous. are just a bit off, but viewers won’t
The most memorable part of have much to laugh at in this epi-
the first episode of the show is sode. If the series is not going to
the segment in which Cohen goes solve any political problems, it
undercover as an Israeli gun advo- had ought at least to be funny.
cate to embarass pro-gun politi- Ultimately, “Who Is Ameri-
cians and activists. ca?” may bring some of America’s
Cohen coerces his targets into political and social demons to
defending the idea of arming light, but it will not do much to
toddlers to prevent future school exorcise them, and it certainly
shootings, highlighting just how won’t create very much laughter.
Photo courtesy of HBO
Zenovich paints this narra-
tive brilliantly and she deserves
the highest praise for her work on
this film. Still, the best part of the
movie is not what it helps view-
ers understand, but rather what it
makes them feel.
The film is deeply nostalgic,
from the clips of Williams’s per-
formances to the intimate looks
at his private life given by home
videos and photographs, and
the documentary comes along
at a time when the viewer may
just be forgetting that he misses
Robin Williams. This movie re-
minds the viewer that he owes
it to Williams to remember.
FILM
Robin Williams: Come
Inside My Mind
GENRE: Documentary
DIRECTOR: Marina Zenovich
RELEASE DATE: July 13 Photo courtesy of Showtime
Pro-gun activist Phillip Van Cleave participated in a skit
OUR TAKE: ««««« mocking efforts to expand the presence of guns in schools.
// ENTERTAINMENT
‘Lamp Lit Prose’ too complicated for its own good
MUSIC
Lamp Lit Prose
Dirty Projectors
LABEL: Domino Records
GENRE: Rock
TRACK PICKS: “Zombie
Conqueror,” “What Is the
Time” and “You’re the One”
OUR TAKE: «««««
JOSH TREBUCHON
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
On July 13 the experimental
rock band Dirty Projectors re-
leased their eighth studio album
titled “Lamp Lit Prose.”
The band, which centers on vo-
calist and songwriter Dave Long-
streth, recently went through
something of a crisis, with Long-
streth becoming dissatisfied with
his work and allowing the group
to fall apart.
Longstreth intends “Lamp
Lit Prose” to be a renewal of the
group and a return to the style of
songwriting that he started the
project with.
The new album is instrumen-
tally more traditional than the
group’s other recent work, with the
backbone of each track consisting
of real instruments and electronic
effects intervening largely only to
supplement instrumentation and
provide emphasis.
The album’s greatest strength
is probably the diversity of the
tracks’ textures. Each song feels
and sounds completely unique
and fresh, and this keeps the lis-
tener engaged and interested in
what Longstreth has to say.
Structurally, however, the lis-
tening experience suffers.
It’s not that Longstreth got lazy
technique • July 20, 2018• 11
with the structures of his songs. “What Is the Time” is prob- “You’re the One” comes in at While “Lamp Lit Prose” con-
Each song is disjointed and jar- ably the most commercially vi- a distant third in quality among tains some sophistocated song-
ring in its own unique way, with able song on the album, and is if tracks on the album. It is a slow writing and a unique approach
constantly changing tempos and anything softer on the ears than monologue and while it is not to musical structure, it ultimately
frequent tone shifts. Longstreth “Zombie Conqueror.” It is cer- quite as memorable as “Zombie falls victim to its own ambition.
is clearly a talented and creative tainly the only song on the album Conqueror” or “You’re the One,” To make a quality and original al-
composer capable of writing com- which could be called relaxing, it is easy and enjoyable to listen to, bum, one must first focus on mak-
plex and unique pieces. and it comes as a relief. even if only in the background. ing a listenable album.
The trouble is, the listener
must remain extremely attentive
to notice the subtle differences in
the way the songs are structured.
Superficially, the structure of the
songs feels repetitive. Sure, each
song is disjointed in a unique way,
but the first thing the listener no-
tices is that all of the songs are
disjointed, and this becomes frus-
trating and boring.
Few of the songs on this album
grab the listener’s attention con-
vincingly. Most don’t offer much
unique or interesting, and to de-
rive enjoyment from these tracks
the listener must go out of his way
to analyze them closely.
There are some decent songs
on “Lamp Lit Prose.” “Zombie
Conqueror” isn’t exactly a flowing
song, but its cyclical riffs are less
jarring than the structure of most
of the tracks on the album. Addi-
tionally, while there are tone shifts
and tempo changes throughout
the song, Longstreth does not
overdo it on this one.
The song manages to be dis-
tinctive and unique without los-
ing its pleasantness. “Zombie
Conqueror” is probably the only
truly fun track to listen to on the
album. The energetic guitar stabs
and Longstreth’s shouts of “zom-
bie conqueror” make the song
rousing and agreeable.
“What Is the Time” is also
a very good song. Its moderate
tempo paired with a relaxed vo-
cal approach demonstrate the in- Photo courtesy of Domino Records
fluence of modern pop music on Dave Longstreth, the primary member of the band Dirty Projectors, poses for a promotional photo.
Longstreth’s style. The experimental rock group recently released their newest studio album, ‘Lamp Lit Prose.’
12 • July 20, 2018• technique // COMICS

SMBC BY ZACH WEINERSMITH XKCD BY RANDALL MUNROE

SARAH’S SCRIBBLES BY SARAH ANDERSEN

IN THE BLEACHERS BY STEVE MOORE

MR. LOVENSTEIN BY J.L. WESTOVER

// COMICS technique • July 20, 2018• 13

LUNARBABOON BY CHRISTOPHER GRADY PEARLS BEFORE SWINE BY STEPHEN PASTIS

CUL DE SAC BY RICHARD THOMPSON

LIO BY MARK TATULLI

CHANNELATE BY RYAN HUDSON

SUDOKU PUZZLE
14 • July 20, 2018• technique
Incoming volleyball class replaces four graduates
EMILY DYKSTRA
SPORTS EDITOR
After graduating four seniors
that contributed significant statis-
tics and playing time on the court,
the Jackets are pulling in yet an-
other phenomenal freshman class.
The seniors were Ashley Askin
(outside hitter), Gabby Benda
(setter), Gabriela Stavnetchei
(outside hitter) and Sydney Wil-
son (middle blocker). Each of the
women were key players in differ-
ent positions and led by setting an
example of what a Tech volleyball
player should strive to be.
Rising fourth-years Lauren
Frerking (middle blocker) and
Coral Kazaroff (libero) are alone
in age, but the team has enough
experience and leadership under
its belt to build on the momentum
created from last year’s tumultu-
ous season, which saw wins and
losses at near random intervals.
Kazaroff transferred from the
University of Virginia before last
season, but has been able to train
and help the other liberos, Sam
Knapp and Emily Becker, prepare
for the competition that she will
also hope to personally face this
year.
Head coach Michelle Collier,
who began coaching the Jackets
in March 2014, along with help
from the assistant coaches was
able to recruit an incoming class
which was nationally recognized
by PrepVolleyball.com with
highest honorable mention. For
each senior that departed, two
talented freshmen come to add
value in their absence. The eight
women consist of Mariana Bram-
// SPORTS
billa (outside hitter), Gabi Dolan
(outside hitter), Lexi Dorn (set-
ter), Mikaila Dowd (outside hit-
ter), Kayla Kaiser (outside hitter/
middle blocker), Matti McKis-
sock (setter), Breland Morrissette
(middle blocker), and Maddie
Tippett (libero/defensive special-
ist).Those that play the position
of outside hitter, including the
eleven returning women, will be
asked to step into the shoes of
the two seniors that graduated.
Similarly, there are spaces to fill
for both the position of setter that
Benda left behind, as well as Wil-
son’s middle blocking position,
the latter of which will be easy to
fill with either Frerking or junior
Kodie Comby.
Brambilla hails from Brazil,
just as Collier and Stavnetchei do,
bringing vast international com-
petitive experience that will make
the transition to collegiate athlet-
ics not as much of a challenge. Photo by Danny Karnik / GTAA
Dolan is from just down the street Gabriela Stavnechei strikes high during a match against the University of Florida. She is one of
in Marietta, where she attended four impactful seniors that graduated this past year and will leave a gap for the freshmen to fill.
The Westminster School and as-
sisted her team to a state champi- ing Kentucky’s 2017 Ms. Volley- dle blocker who brings significant of collegiate athletics. Each player
onship during her four years at the ball by the Kentucky Volleyball talent to the table, highlighted by brings her own unique set of tal-
varsity level. Dorn is unique as a Coaches Association, as well as her membership of the AAU Na- ents, but it will be up to the coach-
transfer from Purdue University. several state championships and tional Championship 17s squad in es to position the team to provide
She has collegiate experience, as Region Player of the Year. From 2017. Maddie Tippett served as a the best scenarios.
well as international experience her stats alone, it appears that varsity player at Saint Pius High Collier released the schedule
as a competitor for Croatia during Kaiser will be a heavy contribu- School for all four years, while for the upcoming season on July
her junior year of high school. tion to the Jackets, especially with capping off her high school years 10. The season opens with the an-
Dowd came to Tech as an early the outside hitter position being by serving as a captain. nual Gold and White scrimmage,
enrollee in January, so she had the short two experienced players at From the awards and accom- but the first official match will
chance to form relationships with this point in time. plishments that are easy to study take place at the Hyatt Regency
the women that will be by her side McKissock played at The First as statistics, it is clear that the in- Invitational in late August. Nu-
for the next few years. She honed Academy in Orlando, finishing coming freshmen class deserves merous matches will take place
the opportunity to work out with up her time there as a captain and the recognition that they have re- on the Jackets territory, giving the
her fellow teammates and train at receiving the most outstanding ceived thus far. It will be intrigu- team a home court advantage that
a higher level. Kaiser has quite a player award during her senior ing to see which women step up will serve them well and hopefully
few awards to her name, includ- year. Morrissette is another mid- to the plate during their first year result in a record-setting season.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL
Showcase, Present, and Inspire
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH @ GT
// SPORTS
Tech athletes conquer in the professional arena
JOHN EDWARDS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
In the wake of the media circus
of coverage surrounding LeBron
James’ free agency, it was easy
to miss the quietly superb NBA
offseason that former Tech play-
ers have enjoyed. From the draft
to the free agency, it was a good
month to be a Yellow Jacket in the
NBA. Here’s a rundown of what’s
been happening with former Tech
players competing in the NBA.
JOSH OKOGIE, PG
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
After appearing from seem-
ingly nowhere, Okogie exploded
onto the ACC scene in 2016 with
a brilliant freshman All-ACC per-
formance.
After missing time early in his
sophomore season, Okogie kept
improving, posting 18.2 PPG/6.3
RPG last year before declaring for
the NBA draft after his sopho-
more year of collegiate competi-
tion.
Okogie followed in the foot-
steps of fellow former Jacket,
Marcus Georges-Hunt, and was
selected to join the Minnesota
Timberwolves with the no. 20
overall pick in the first round of
the 2018 NBA Draft. Okogie has
wasted no time turning heads,
filling up stats sheets in the NBA
summer league to the tune of 11.0
PPG/5.3 RPG/2.3 APG.
DERRICK FAVORS, F/C
UTAH JAZZ
Favors was a highly touted pros-
pect when he committed to Tech
in 2009 — he was a consensus
top-5 prospect who spent his high
school senior season dominating
Photo by Katherine Shambaugh his league with stats amount-
Okogie takes a shot during an ACC rivalry game. He will be up ing to 28.1 PPG/13.3 RPG/5.0
against even bigger foes while playing for the Timberwolves. BPG. While Favors never really
found his peak groove for scoring
while at Tech, his potential was
too great for the New Jersey Nets
(now the Brooklyn Nets) to pass
up. The Jackets waved farewell as
Favors was taken no. 3 overall in
the 2010 NBA Draft.
After a lackluster rookie sea-
son, Favors was traded to the Jazz
and spent the next four seasons
transforming himself into a cor-
nerstone of their offense. Since
2015, Favors stands at no. 34 in
the NBA in WS/48 among play-
ers with at least 150 games in that
time, a standing which is on par
with big-market stars like Dray-
mond Green, Blake Griffin, and
Paul George.
Favors was also instrumen-
tal to the Jazz’s playoff run this
season — after a mediocre start
to the season in the highly com-
petitive Western Conference, the
Jazz went 31-10 in the second half
and pushed through to the second
round of the playoffs before fall-
ing in five games to the Houston
Rockets. Favors posted 12.3 PPG
and 7.2 RPG in the 2017-2018
offseason — good enough for a
solid 18.8 PER, according to Bas-
ketball Reference.
Recognizing Favor’s role in
their success, the Jazz inked the
former Yellow Jacket to a two-
year, $36 million deal on July
2nd, according to Yahoo Sports’
Shams Charania.
Favors has the most games un-
der his belt of any player currently
on the Jazz’s roster as he looks to
continue his dominance in the
Salt Lake City for a while longer.
THADDEUS YOUNG, PF
INDIANA PACERS
Young was a standout for Tech
in his lone season with the Jackets
— as a freshman on the Jackets’
tournament team, Young posted
14.4 PPG and 4.9 RPG while
technique • July 20, 2018• 15
shooting a superb 42% from be-
yond the arc. Young’s stellar per-
formance and his prospect pedi-
gree helped make him the no. 12
pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in
the 2007 draft.
Young became one of the cor-
nerstones of the early 2010s 76ers
teams, posting 13.7 PPG and 5.5
RPG in seven seasons with Phila-
delphia.
After jumping from team to
team between the 2014 through
2016 seasons, Young finally
landed with the Indiana Pacers,
a young and growing team which
provided veteran leadership and
scoring.
Young, as well as his experi-
enced teammates, led the Pacers
to their second and third straight
NBA playoffs berths.
Despite never filling up the
stat sheet like Favors or having as
much hype as Okogie, Young has
had a remarkably elite career —
among players with 800 or more
career games, only Young, Magic
Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jor-
dan, and LeBron James have aver-
aged at least 13.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG,
1.4 SPG, shot 49% on field goals
and 30% from three.
While not quite as flashy as
any of the all-time-greats on that
list, Young has been a consistently
solid player no matter where he
has played.
Rather than test the waters of
free agency, Young opted into an-
other season with the Pacers as per
his contract and stands to make
$13.7 million next season, accord-
ing to Adrian Wojnarowski. Giv-
en that the Pacers have run into
LeBron James in the first round
each of their last two times in the
playoffs, the Pacers might finally
have a chance to make a deep run
into the playoffs. If they can, it
should be in no small part thanks
to Young.
Sports
Trio leads upcoming season
HARSHA SRIDHAR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Tech football’s 5-6 2017 cam-
paign marked a big step back from
the previous year, where the Jack-
ets went 8-4 in the regular season,
beat the University of Georgia in
Athens and capped the season off
with a TaxSlayer Bowl win over
the University of Kentucky on
New Year’s Eve. On paper, the
defense makes for an easy cul-
prit. The defensive players allowed
more points per game — 26.5, an
almost perfectly average No. 64
of 130 teams nationally — than
ever before in the Ted Roof era,
an ignominy the program quickly
acknowledged by parting ways
with Roof at the end of the season
and installing Appalachian State’s
Nate Woody as the new defensive
coordinator.
However, lost amidst the com-
plaints about Roof’s defensive
calls is the fact that Tech’s offense
has largely failed to hold up its
end of the bargain in recent years.
From 2009 to 2014, the Jackets
offense consistently topped 30
points per game. Over that span,
the Jackets ended the season in the
Top 15 twice and appeared in two
Orange Bowls, winning one and
also garnering a conference cham-
pionship. From 2015 onwards,
Tech has not topped 30 points per
game even once. Perhaps as a re-
sult, their only time spent in the
AP Top 25 has been a few weeks
at the beginning of the 2015 cam-
paign.
Woody will likely be granted
some patience as the team’s new
defensive coordinator, as he re-
cruits new players for his unit and
deals with the growing pains of a
scheme transition, but offense is
Head Coach Paul Johnson’s call-
ing card. While Johnson is no
stranger to criticism from Tech
fans in particular due to his use
of the triple-option, that rhetoric
may reach fever pitch if the offense
does not show signs of a return to
Will the Adidas release bring continued mediocrity?
JOHN EDWARDS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“We’re free.” Tech fans have
longed to taste those sweet words
on their lips, drink in the breath
of independence, and jump head
first into a swimming pool of
clothing bearing the brand of any
company other than “Russell Ath-
letic”. On July 1st, 2018, at long
last — liberation.
But on what should have been
a day of celebration, it was instead
a day of — meh. Indifference.
Dare I say, “boring”? As Tech
Athletics made the long-awaited
switch from Russell to Adidas,
the transition was made with little
fanfare, and if anything, with a
little irritation, as it was also dis-
closed that Buzz would be forced
SPORTS EDITOR:
Emily Dykstra
sports@nique.net
its peak form in 2018.
The Technique examines the
power players that will need to
step up their game this season.
TAQUON MARSHALL
This is no surprise; even though
Tech’s offense is not a traditional
pass-first attack, it still depends
upon the decision-making, and
passing abilities, of its primary
quarterback.
Last year, Marshall beat the
now-retired Matthew Jordan in
the competition for the right to
succeed Justin Thomas, which
was something of a surprise after
Jordan seemed to have an edge
the previous year. Jordan had in
fact won a ranked game against
Virginia Tech while relieving an
injured Thomas. However, hours
after being named the starter,
Marshall quickly validated John-
son’s decision by rushing for 249
yards and 5 touchdowns in a
heartbreaking 42-41 loss to Ten-
nessee.
Yet it became fair over the
course of the season to wonder
whether Marshall’s transcendent
performance was more a result
of his ability or of the Volun-
teers’ porous defense, which was
gashed by other runners down the
stretch. Marshall was bottled up
by Miami (19 carries for 18 yards),
Clemson (15 rushes for 23 yards),
Virginia Tech (22 rushers for 64
yards) and even Jacksonville
State (13 rushes for 25 yards), and
while his 17 rushing touchdowns
were only five off Justin Thomas’
22 career scores on the ground, he
lacked consistency.
This time, Marshall returns as
a senior with a firm hold on the
starting job.
If he can make progress
through the air (his 37.1 percent
completion rate was the lowest in
modern school history, courtesy of
AJC.com, including seven straight
games under 50 percent to end the
season), it will make the offense
less predictable and thus all the
more dangerous.
to switch out his iconic Converses
for a new pair of kicks. The Adidas
rollout, which should have been a
day of celebration, turned out to
be nothing more than the medi-
ocrity to which Tech had become
accustomed.
Let’s focus on social media,
since this is one of the best medi-
ums that teams can use to convey
excitement. On @GTAthletics,
the Twitter account for Tech Ath-
letics, the moment was commem-
orated with a 30 second video
featuring glimpses of uninspir-
ing merchandise. We saw some
kicks, but they were just generic
Adidas sneakers available to the
public. We saw some shorts, but
they were simple Adidas shorts.
We saw some shirts, but they were
generic slogans like “Three Stripe
A standout freshman class
Incoming volleyball class makes
headlines after eight fresh faces are
announced.414
BRAD STEWART prow-ess, making his first touch-
To improve, Marshall will down reception just last year as a
need some help from his receivers. junior. However, that stat is un-
58.1 percent of his completions usual. Stewart can be expected
(and 58.8 percent of his passing to build upon that momentum in
yards) last season came thanks to his senior season. He will be tar-
Ricky Jeune, who is now in train- geted plenty as he is followed by
ing camp with the Los Angeles two players that, when combined,
Rams. only have a singular reception
In 2016, Stewart was a good (Jalen Camp, Stephen Dolphus).
second option among the receiv-
ers, finishing with 382 receiv- CLINTON LYNCH
ing yards on 19 receptions. Last After two consecutive and
year he tallied a mere 99 yards highly productive freshman and
on four catches. There are valid sophomore campaigns from a
complaints to be made about the statistics standpoint, Lynch was
quarterback play of Marshall, but inexplicably given a small part in
it leads to a chicken-or-egg ques- the 2017 Tech offense.
tion: was Marshall’s poor passing Yes, injuries were partly to
the result of inadequate support? blame - the explosive A-back
Successful Tech receivers in missed a pair of games - but de-
recent years have largely shared spite leading the team in yards
the same physical mold. Calvin from scrimmage the previous year
Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, at an incredible 11.2 yards per
Darren Waller, DeAndre Smelter, carry, Lynch only got 28 totes in
Ricky Jeune - all are tall, thick- 2017.
ly built and strong at the catch His three receptions for 43
point. Stewart lacks their physical yards were likewise a drop-off
Clinton Lynch, a fourth-year A-back, holds off a defensive player during a game against the
UNC Tarheels last season. Lynch can expect to see more field time this year than ever before.
Life”. It barely qualified as a hype ed about Georgia Tech and Adi-
video — and that was it. das, Tech did absurdly little to get
Aside from a couple of retweets fans excited on social media. I will
from Adidas, there was no grand give them the benefit of the doubt
reveal of some new Tech designs and say that maybe there was
for football uniforms or basketball a clause in the Russell contract
jerseys, which are key to recruit- that prevented this, but Adidas
ing. The closest we got to seeing gear is, as of the middle of July,
new threads was the Jackets’ base- still not available. If it was pos-
ball player Kyle McCann taking a sible, why not have the new goods
selfie in his new batting practice go on sale on July 1? Tech did as
jersey. I refuse to believe that Tech much as they could to make the
would enter into a new contract expiration of the Russell contract
for uniforms without at least hav- into an event and then did almost
ing concept art of designs for uni- nothing.
forms. Why not show them off? At the very least, this would
As a Tech fan, I am ready to have helped lessen the sting from
throw away my Russell gear. I the earlier news — according to
want new Adidas apparel. But I the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
have no idea what it looks like. I Tech’s mascot Buzz will be aban-
have nothing to get excited about. doning his Chuck Taylor high-top
And on a day when everyone talk- sneakers in favor of custom Adi-
technique
16
Friday,
July 20, 2018
from the previous year’s 16 for
490, good for the team lead.
Lynch shares the A-back role
with Qua Searcy, but as the team
looks to fill the void in the receiv-
ing game left behind by Jeune, he
should see many more opportuni-
ties. If his production looks more
like it did in 2016, perhaps Tech’s
record will as well.
Looking at the statistical drop-
offs for key offensive contributors
in 2017, it is tempting to be pes-
simistic about the team’s ability to
recover in 2017. But such a senti-
ment would overlook the fact that
Marshall is a highly productive
rusher with a year of experience
under his belt, Stewart will have
the chance to be a key chain-mov-
er for the Jackets again, and Lynch
is a highly explosive player when
given touches commensurate to
his talent.
The day when these potenti-
alities have the chance to become
reality inches closer with Johnson
at the helm.
Photo by Mitchell Williams
das sneakers this fall. Most fans
unilaterally view the Adidas deal
as an improvement over the aged
Russell contract — but announc-
ing this as the first tangible change
because of the swap, the ruin of a
tradition, immediately leaves fans
with a bad first impression. A big
day on social media would have
helped lessen the blow of that
news. Instead, by keeping Tech
fans hanging, that wound festers.
After the hype and build-up to
the end of the Russell era by fans
and through Tech social media,
the anticlimax of July 1 was quite
the letdown. It is easy to outper-
form the expectations of the Rus-
sell name, which Tech fans have
had to live with for far too long,
but at the same time don’t Tech
fans deserve better?