September 20, 2019•Volume 105, Issue 8•nique.

net

technique
News
HELLY SHAH, JOSH BOWLING
CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NEWS
EDITOR
BREXIT BREAKDOWN
U.K. Prime Minister Boris
Johnson’s decision to prorogue
Parliament last Tuesday has been
deeply controversial as the U.K. is
just weeks from its Oct. 31 dead-
line to leave the European Union.
Those sitting on opposing
benches in Parliament maintain
that the shutdown is an attempt
to stifle debate and allow the
country to slide towards a no-deal
Brexit. This event comes amidst
Johnson losing his majority in
the House of Commons, when he
expelled 21 lawmakers from his
Conservative Party. They defied
him by supporting the passage of
NEWS EDITOR:
Josh Bowling
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR:
Mason Favro
news@nique.net
the Benn Act, which will block a
no-deal Brexit, leaving Johnson
with no room for maneuvering
in Parliament.
According to forecasts by
the Bank of England, the Trea-
sury and the Office for Budget
Responsibility, a no-deal Brexit
could push the U.K. into a re-
cession. In the days to come, the
Supreme Court will consider two
separate legal challenges over
whether Mr. Johnson acted law-
fully in advising the Queen to
prorogue Parliament.
If Johnson has failed to pro-
cure a divorce deal, or somehow
persuaded MPs to back a no-deal
exit by Oct. 19 in accordance with
the Benn Act, Johnson would be
forced to request a three-month
delay to Brexit to Jan. 31, 2020.
ISRAELI ELECTIONS
Snap elections held in Israel on
Sept. 17 yielded uncertain results
for the presiding government of
Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-
tanyahu. Netanyahu’s own Likud
Party, as well as the coalition of
other right-wing parties, failed
to receive the necessary 61 seats
in the Knesset, the Israeli parlia-
ment, to form a majority. But nei-
ther did former Israeli Army Chief
Two years later, Tech reacts
to Schultz killing
Students, faculty and GTPD deal with the
aftermath of Schultz's death 43
of Staff Benny Gantz, Netanya- Likud drop Mr. Netanyahu as
hu’s rival and leader of the Blue their leader.
and White Party and his center- Netanyahu first became Israel’s
left coalition. Outside these two ninth prime minister in 1996 and
coalitions is Yisrael Beiteinu, led left the position in 1999. He re-
by former Foreign Minister Avig- turned to the job in 2009 and has
dor Lieberman, and they have yet held the office since. Netanyahu is
to side with either faction. currently under investigation for
President Reuven Rivlin will bribery and fraud while in office.
decide within a four-week period
which leader will be best suited ALEXA LEARNS HINDI
to form a coalition government On Sept. 18, Amazon an-
in the Knesset, which presently nounced that its digital assistant
leaves the position of prime min- Alexa is now capable of taking
ister up in the air between Ne- and answering questions in Hin-
tanyahu, Gantz and Lieberman. di. The announcement comes af-
Traditionally, when choosing who ter two years of Alexa’s presence
will form the coalition, the presi- in India, with Vice President and
dent sides with the faction led by Head Scientist of Amazon AI Ro-
the party with the most seats, in hit Prasad commenting positively
this case Gantz’s Blue and White on Alexa’s popularity in India.
Party, who received 32, as op- Amazon successfully integrated
posed to Likud, which received Hindi into their website last year
31. President Rivlin is not neces- which has increased Indian traffic
sarily constrained by this rule, and to the site by more than six times.
he could choose Yisrael Beiteinu In 2018, Amazon held a 59%
to form a coalition despite them market share on smart speak-
only receiving nine seats. ers, which includes devices such
Mr. Gantz said in a speech fol- as Amazon Echo and Google
lowing the election results that he Home. Recent surveys indicate
would want to form a “national that emerging Internet-using
unity” government by working populations around the world
with all parties in the Knesset, prefer voice searching to tradi-
including those in Likud’s right- tional typing. This includes new
wing coalition, provided that Indian users.
technique
Friday,
2
September 20, 2019
Amazon also plans to add mul-
tilingual options for families us-
ing Alexa. India, in particular, is
home to a wide variety of regional
languages outside Hindi, which is
spoken by only 41% of Indians.
NEW MEXICO COLLEGE PLAN
New Mexico Governor Mi-
chelle Lujan Grisham (D) an-
nounced a proposal on Sept. 18
to make post-secondary educa-
tion at all public colleges and
universities for in-state students
free. The state would pay $25
to $35 million per year in costs,
which would be funded partially
by profits from oil production in
the Permian Basin region shared
with Texas. New Mexico suffers
from poverty and unemployment
rates, caused in part by the recent
Great Recession, and the plan laid
out by Governor Grisham aims to
combat these economic hardships.
“It means better enrollment.
It means better student success...
it means economic growth, im-
proved outcomes for New Mexico
workers and thinkers and par-
ents,” Grishasm said of the plan.
Experts say that energy pro-
duction revenues are volatile and
that covering tuition may mislead
students about their expenses.

E
ach week , this sec tion of HAMMER TIME
News will include coverage The House Speaker’s cer-
of different aspects of bills emonial gavel has been missing
and resolutions that have passed
for several months, and SGA is
planning to replace it. The Jack-
through Student Government. This
etPages entry for this bill lists
will include the Undergraduate a link to the gavel in question,
House of Representatives, Graduate which its manufacturer describes
Student Senate and the Executive as “[p]ure handmade craft, wood
Branch of both government bodies. material,” and a “perfect gift for
a lawyer, judge, chairman of the
JOSH BOWLING board, president of a local club,
NEWS EDITOR auctioneer or executive.”
One user commented their
concerns on Amazon’s customer
BILL SUMMARY reviews, saying, “I am worried
BILL AMOUNT GSS UHR that this product would not be
very useful for a judge—especial-
New Gavel for Speaker of the House $12.99 N/A 27-0-0 ly in the higher courts.
It is cheaply made and the
Food for SGA Retreat $1,409.99 N/A 28-0-1 block does not give as authorita-
Women’s Leadership Conference $3,490.00 TBA TBA tive of a pounding sound to be
taken seriously if one was try-
ing to get order in the court
or sentencing an innocent
person to prison.”
The efficacy of the new gavel
remains to be seen until it debuts
in the House in the future.
WLC MEETING SPACE
The Georgia Tech Women’s
Leadership Conference plans to
meet at the historic Academy of
Medicine building in Midtown on
Mar. 7, 2020, and have requested
funding from SGA to cover the
costs of renting the space.
Because WLC is a Tech stu-
dent organization, they qualify
for a discount for using the event
space. The funds requested will
also cover “marketing material
like a snapchat filter and stick-
ers, program printing through
the school and funds to cover a
speaker fee.” Food is not included
in the requested funds; however,
breakfast and lunch are planned
to be served.
According to the description
in the event’s JacketPages entry,
“[t]he conference has attracted
approximately 250 high school,
college, and professional women
in the Atlanta area in most recent
years. This provides an opportuni-
ty for women who have sought to
become leaders in their respective
communities to come together
and work on developing them-
selves and others.
The one-day conference typi-
cally offers up to fifteen work-
shops, three keynote speakers,
networking opportunities, and
contact with women from various
backgrounds … it continues to be
a day when Georgia Tech women
can come together and truly
connect while broadening their
own horizons.”

sliver // your thoughts

Hate speech is free speech
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Volume 105, Issue 5. The Sports description box. Why.

technique
The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
NEWS EDITOR
Josh Bowling
Google translated signs are the only thing between me and the OPINIONS EDITOR
abyss. Zoie Konneker EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Vivian Wang
I look forward to signing books at the GA Tech B&N this Sat., LIFE EDITOR
Sept. 21 (11-1). My novel tackles Racial Unity and is set in Geor- Will Finch MANAGING EDITOR
Jaimee Francis
gia in the late 60s. See contact info: tonyceballosauthor.com.
Thank you. ENTERTAINMENT
Founded in 1911, the Technique is the student newspaper of the EDITOR
May I suggest “The Path to the Shaft” Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an official publication of Josh Trebuchon
I am appalled to see all the left leaning innuendos in the articles. the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. The Technique
Forty two years ago, articles were best effort factual. Now they publishes on Fridays, weekly in the fall and spring and biweekly in SPORTS EDITOR
are “yellow” political. What a disgrace! EE’77 the summer. John Edwards
Carter Hart is my dad
my coworker HATES me lmao ADVERTISING: Information can be found online at nique.net/ PHOTO EDITOR
i quit my sh*tty job yesterday and it was great :) ads. The deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m. one Allie Ghisson
The Technique does not tolerate hate speech. Hateful comments week before publication. To place a reservation, for billing infor- DESIGN EDITOR
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french fries......... YES net. You may reach us at 404-894-2830, Monday through Friday
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
greco will eat your head ONLINE EDITOR
f--- that girl that stole lizzo’s postmates Copyright © 2019, Zoie Konneker, Editor-in-Chief, and the Baylee Friedman
have YOU seen kavanaugh’s genitals? Mr. Shapiro would like to Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. No part of this pa-
WEB DEVELOPER
speak to you per may be reproduced in any manner without written permission Jahziel
and that’s what you missed on glee from the Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of Student Publica-
tions. The ideas expressed herein are those of the individual au- Villasana-Espinoza
Sliver? I barely even know her!
Sliver box? More like liver box. Am I right ladies? thors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of HEAD COPY EDITOR
GEORGIA TECH IS ACTUALLY A SUPERVILLAN Student Publications, the students, staff or faculty of the Georgia Avni Shridhar
Institute of Technology or the University System of Georgia. First
SCHOOL copy free; for additional copies call 404-894-2830.
// NEWS
Has Tech changed since Schultz death?
A look into the action and inaction from the Institute over the past two years
POLLY OUELLETTE
STAFF WRITER
Two years ago, Tech changed
forever. On Sept. 16, 2017, Scout
Schultz was shot and killed by
Georgia Tech Police Department
(GTPD) Officer Tyler Beck in an
incident that captured national
attention, ignited campus criti-
cism and spurred discussions on
changes to mental health policies
on college campuses.
At the time of their death,
Schultz was a fourth-year CHBE
student. Schultz identified as non-
binary and intersex and was a
champion for LGBTQIA activism
in all forms. Schultz had excellent
grades and was president of the
Pride Alliance. But Schultz strug-
gled with their mental health; be-
fore their death, they wrote three
different suicide notes which
were left in the student’s West
Campus dorm.
The campus community has
attempted to adapt and heal
over the last two years — heal-
ing that has taken various forms
with varying degrees of success.
For example, GTPD armed offi-
cers with nonlethal weapons and
implemented more mental health
and crisis intervention training.
Through partnership with vocal
student leaders, Tech’s adminis-
tration promised to make changes
on campus; some promises have
been successfully implemented,
but others have lacked follow
through.
U.S. government considers ban on e-cigarettes
MASON FAVRO
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The Trump administration is
considering banning the sale of
flavored e-cigarettes in the United
States. The move comes after the
Atlanta-based Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC)
released a report on Sept. 6 warn-
ing citizens not to use the devices
after a series of related deaths.
The use of e-cigarettes has
reached near epidemic levels
among young adults, with al-
most 40% of high school and col-
lege students reporting that they
had used a vape product within
the past thirty days. Flavored e-
cigarettes make up a large por-
tion of this usage, and the pro-
posed ban is intended to curb the
popularity of e-cigarettes among
young adults.
The CDC report stated that
they had received reports of
more than 200 cases of hospi-
talizations due to lung disease
that were linked strongly to the
use of tetra-hydro-cannabinol
(THC) vaporizers, as well as
nicotine e-cigarettes. Among
the hospitalizations, the report
stated that there were at least two
confirmed deaths.
One of the early warnings that
the CDC included was that there
was likely a link between the hos-
pitalizations and a vitamin E oil
added to certain THC vaporizers.
The reported cases mainly refer-
Hovering in the periphery of
these conversations is the hope
that some sense of closure can be
gained through the eventual re-
lease of the Georgia Bureau of In-
vestigation (GBI) inquiry into the
details of Schultz’s death.
THE INVESTIGATION
Because Schultz died in an
officer-involved shooting, many
of the details surrounding their
death are still unknown to the
public. After the incident, the
GBI collected evidence over
the course of a few months and
turned the case over to the Fulton
Genny Kennedy and Naiki Kaffezakis speak at the screening for “Scout Set That Fire,”
an LMC Films Production revolving around the events and aftermath of Schultz death.
enced e-cigarettes and vaporizers
using nicotine and THC oils, al-
though there were some that used
a mixture of the two substances.
Following the lead of the ad-
ministration, the state of New
York has banned most flavored
e-cigarette varieties, which makes
it the second state to do so af-
ter Michigan, which issued a six
month ban that started on Sept.
4. Tobacco and menthol flavors
are the only varieties allowed to be
sold, and a spokesperson for the
state indicated an interest in ex-
amining whether menthol should
be targeted as well. The state is
also planning on increasing the
e-cigarette sales tax to twenty per-
cent; the state currently also ap-
plies a $4.35 excise tax to all packs
of cigarettes sold.
The state of California is also
taking on the issue of flavored
e-cigarettes. Governor Gavin
Newsom issued an executive or-
der creating a $20 million public
awareness campaign about the
risks inherent in the use of e-
cigarettes and has asked that the
state legislature send him a bill
that would ban the sale of flavored
e-cigarettes in the country’s single
largest economy.
San Francisco based e-cigarette
manufacturer Juul Labs has indi-
cated an openness to increased
regulation of the industry, citing
a need to crack down on “coun-
terfeit or knockoff” products. The
company had a market valuation
of nearly $40 billion earlier this
County District Attorney (DA)
office. The DA will make a deci-
sion on whether or not to pursue
charges against Beck and if the
case should be brought in front of
a grand jury.
When asked if there was an
update for when the DA’s investi-
gation would be complete, a rep-
resentative from the DA’s office
stated: “Not at this time.”
“Myself and many chiefs in the
country would like it to happen a
lot quicker — for Scout’s family,
for the officer, for the commu-
nity,” said GTPD Chief of Police
Robert Connolly.
Photo by Garrett Shoemaker Student Publications
year, although the announce-
ment of bans on flavored e-cig-
arettes, including its best seller,
mint, has dropped its valuation in
recent days.
The company was previously
reprimanded by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) for
dishonest and illegal advertis-
ing practices. Juul had previously
E-cigarette usage is already prohibited at Tech, along with every other college and university
in the state. The FDA labels them as tobacco products because they simulate similar effects.
technique • September 20, 2019• 3
“For it to be two years now
and we still haven’t seen a grand
jury case, that’s doing a disservice
to everyone. We would like the
grand jury a lot faster — to get
to the facts, to get to the details,
because you’re leaving a lot of lives
out there.”
After the events of Sept. 16,
2017, Beck was placed on admin-
istrative leave while Connolly re-
viewed the incident based on the
Georgia Department of Public
Safety’s use of force policy, which
states that “the central inquiry in
every use of force case is whether
the amount of force used by the
claimed that its devices were less
risky than traditional cigarettes,
a claim not verified by the FDA.
In Illinois, Juul is being sued by a
teenager suffering from e-cigarette
induced lung disease. The teen al-
leges that their marketing prac-
tices and flavors illegally targeted
high school students and that his
condition is a direct effect of that.
member was objectively reasonable
in light of the particular circum-
stances perceived by the member
[officer]” (Policy 10.01.4 B).
Based on evidence that was
available to him, Connolly deter-
mined that Beck had acted appro-
priately under the circumstances,
and therefore, Beck was permitted
to return to work. Beck has been
performing administrative duties
ever since, but does not patrol.
The Schultz family announced
in a press conference on Sept.
12, 2019 that they had filed a
wrongful death lawsuit against
the school, the Board of Regents
and Beck. They claim that Schultz
was experiencing a mental health
crisis and that the officers on the
scene were not properly trained to
handle such a situation.
“It never should have hap-
pened,” said L. Chris Stewart, an
attorney representing the Schultz
family. “Sadly, Scout was having a
mental breakdown — something
we all have sometimes.”
“No parent likes to lose a kid,”
said Bill Schultz, father of Scout.
“Tyler Beck killed my kid. That’s
the bottom line.”
Institute relations repre-
sentatives said they could not
speak about the suit, citing
pending litigation.
The Technique filed an Open
Records Act request on Aug. 27
for information on Beck’s employ-
ment status. At the time of pub-
lishing, Institute’s legal team had
not complied with the request.
See SCHULTZ, page 4
There have been additional
reports of some e-cigarette us-
ers reverting back to traditional
tobacco cigarettes. The Los An-
geles Times covered the case of
a twenty-one year old man who
tweeted that he “bought Juul to
quit smoking cigarettes,” and now
he is “... smoking cigarettes to quit
the Juul.”
Photo by Taylor Gray Student Publications
4 • September 20, 2019• technique
SCHULTZ FROM PAGE 3
THE ACTION TEAMS
While waiting for the results of
the investigation, the Tech com-
munity has had considerable time
to identify and implement chang-
es. The primary sources of these
changes were action teams formed
shortly after Schultz’s death.
“I believe that the concerns
raised by the student leaders, fac-
ulty and others can be placed into
four broad categories — student
mental health, including a focus
on both counseling and psychi-
atric services; campus culture;
LGBT+ community issues; and
campus safety,” stated an email
from President Emeritus G. P.
“Bud” Peterson that was sent to
the campus community on Sept.
23, 2017.
“Based upon the discussions
already held and those I will be
having in the next few days, I
will be appointing, within the
week, four Institute-wide “Action
Teams,” each focusing on one of
these four areas.”
An update from Peterson on
Oct. 2, 2017, stated that “the for-
mation and charge of the Campus
Safety Action Team has been de-
layed, however, pending the com-
pletion of the investigation by the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation.”
The action teams were later
reworked into three focus areas,
under different names: student
and community life, academ-
ics and health and well-being.
Notably, this reorganization of
the action teams removed an
LGBTQIA-focused group. To-
gether, the three teams provided
more than 180 recommenda-
tions, which were distilled into 55
action-oriented objectives.
Information about the status
of each objective can be found
at gatech.edu/path-forward-
together.
Despite the failure to form a
campus safety action team, there
has been progress. Among the
completed objectives is an ex-
panded LGBTQIA resource cen-
ter, which moved from a small of-
fice to a full suite in the Smithgall
Student Services building in Au-
gust of 2018.
“Part of Scout’s mental health
issues were largely part of their
oppression as an intersex, non-
binary, bisexual person,” said
Naiki Kaffezakis, an NRE Ph.D.
and close friend of Schultz. Kaf-
fezakis, a vocal student activist,
recognizes that significant im-
provements have been made, but
she insists that more work needs
to be done to ensure marginalized
groups on campus are lifted up.
The center aims to provide
a safe space for LGBTQIA stu-
dents and runs educational pro-
gramming to educate the campus
community about queer lives and
concerns. In addition, gender-
inclusive housing is now available
and single-occupancy restrooms
have been implemented in 63
buildings on campus.
The mental health action team
responded to calls for easier access
to mental health resources by cre-
ating the Center for Assessment,
Referral, and Education (CARE).
The CARE center opened ahead
of schedule in August 2019 and
is now the first point of contact
for students who require mental
health support.
“Students tell us they’re proud
of the rigor because you got into
a really tough school and you’re
getting out with a really amaz-
ing degree,” said Lynn Durham,
former chief of staff for President
Emeritus Peterson and current
vice president of institute rela-
tions. Durham headed the ac-
tion team initiative. “[The rigor]
comes along with a lot of pres-
sure. How can we get our faculty
to understand the pressure that
you all are under? What can we
do to just be more humane in
how that is?”
Efforts to adjust academic at-
titudes came in the form of an
expanded “freshman forgiveness”
that allows all undergraduate stu-
dents to retake up to two classes
in which they received a grade
of D or F.
While other teams made
strides to improve upon the ar-
eas they had identified, promises
for the eventual creation of the
campus safety action team never
came to fruition. Peterson sent an
update on Dec. 6, 2017, about the
progress the teams had made; ab-
sent was any mention of the cam-
pus safety action team, and all
mentions of this team were also
removed from the website.
Durham stated that the team
originally intended to focus on
general relations between police
and students, but not the events
surrounding Schultz’s death. Un-
der advisement from Tech attor-
neys, the administration decided
to cancel the action team alto-
gether. The student body received
no update.
“People were so hurt, and it
was such a traumatic event that
[an action team] couldn’t help but
go into that,” Durham said. “So
the lawyers said that really until
the legal issues are resolved on
this, we don’t feel you should have
the campus safety [action team].”
THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT
In the absence of administra-
tive action, the Student Govern-
ment Association (SGA) decided
to step up and create a Campus
Safety Advisory Board. The idea
was brought up by the adminis-
tration of Evan Gillon, former
SGA President. It was imple-
mented by Pooja Juvekar, cur-
rent SGA president, and Kathryn
Otte, vice president of campus
services, just a few weeks ago.
The first meeting of the Cam-
pus Safety Advisory Board took
place on Sept. 3; among those in
attendance were Connolly, Kaf-
fezakis, Vice President of Stu-
dent Life John Stein and various
student and staff representatives.
The advisory board aims to even-
tually become the formal con-
duit of communication between
students and other safety-related
departments on campus.
“It can allow us to have an
avenue to hold GTPD and ad-
ministration accountable in the
realm of not just what happened
with Scout in 2017, but also
moving forward,” said Juvekar.
“It’s a way for students to basi-
cally pulse check the progress of
Path Forward.”
The advisory board is still in its
infancy; the first task is learning
more about how GTPD is trained
to handle mental health issues
and identifying actionable items
in order to improve campus safety
in a variety of ways.
Shortly after Schultz’s death,
SGA and the Institute made an
agreement to create a Mental
Health Joint Allocation fund.
SGA and Tech would each con-
tribute $500,000 for long-term
mental health projects. This fund
has been used to fund after-hours
on-call counselor and student
conferences, among other things.
Genny Kennedy, president of
Pride Alliance, indicated that her
organization had submitted a pro-
posal for funding of a memorial
bench for Scout. Kennedy said
that administration had failed to
put up their half of the $10,000
and that Pride Alliance had to ask
SGA to fund the whole thing.
“The total cost for the me-
morial bench is $10,000,” stated
the proposal for the remaining
amount that was submitted to
SGA. “Of this amount, $5,000
has been secured. There has been
no effort to create a positive me-
morial. The only physical memo-
rial to remember Scout by is a
stain on the sidewalk.”
THE POLICE
GTPD has been quietly work-
ing over the last two years to im-
prove their ability to handle men-
tal health crises. Every officer has
had additional training on mental
health crises as well as training on
LGBTQIA issues.
At the time of Schultz’s death,
GTPD officers had received some
mental health training. One such
program is Conflict Intervention
Training (CIT), which according
to CIT International is intended to
help officers understand common
signs and symptoms of mental
illnesses, recognize a crisis situa-
tion, safely de-escalate individu-
als experiencing behavioral health
crises and utilize community re-
sources and diversion strategies to
// NEWS
provide assistance.
Beck, as well as several other
officers who responded to the
incident, did not have CIT cer-
tification, because it was not
required. Each officer now has
CIT training, Mental Health
First Aid training and Question,
Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide
prevention trainings.
Additionally, GTPD pur-
chased a simulator with 800 dif-
ferent scenarios that officers are
required to use at least once a
month. The immersive simulator
aims to put officers under realistic
levels of stress and evaluate their
ability to act appropriately in a
variety of situations, including
when an individual is undergoing
a mental health crisis.
Mental health crises become
more pronounced on campus
around finals season, when both
GTPD and Tech’s on-campus
mental health resources begin to
get a lot of calls from students
who are struggling. In the spring
2019 semester, GTPD partnered
with the Georgia Crisis and Ac-
tion Line and put a clinician in
the car with every officer that re-
sponded to a mental health call.
Connolly said GTPD received
great feedback and will continue
the finals week adjustments in
the future.
THE AFTERMATH
“Scout’s friends are still here.
Anniversaries are hard,” said Kaf-
fezakis. She knows that the suit
from Schultz’s family will once
again bring Tech into the spot-
light. “Once we have survived
that, once we have answers, once
we know what’s going to happen
to Tyler Beck ... I would like to
know that the person that killed
my best friend isn’t still working
in this community. It’s not going
to let the community heal.”
This week has been a tough
one for many students, as they
spent time remembering Schultz
and bracing for increased media
coverage. For so many whose lives
were impacted by them, it is im-
perative that what happened to
Scout Schultz is never forgotten.
Opinions
OPINIONS EDITOR: Vivian Wang technique

“
”
Reading is the key that opens
doors to many good things in life.

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg September 20, 2019

5
Friday,

OUR VIEWS | Consensus Opinion

Progress without service Restructuring my

On more involvement in Atlanta affairs
Outside of Tech’s professed large-scale
economic impact in the city, students and
the administration alike often forget that
life outside of Tech exists and can be just
as enriching as events and occurrences
on campus. Many students would like to
be able to explore the city in a meaning-
ful way, outside of the Tech ‘bubble’, but
lack the means to do so. The administra-
tion could encourage this by offering free
Marta passes during certain times of the
year, introducing an opt-in freshman ori-
entation program in which students gain
exposure to their surroundings or taking
part in local projects that have the pro-
pensity to inspire college passions and
careers in service.
Students also owe it to themselves to be
willing to step outside of Tech’s physical
boundaries and discover an aspect of life
at Tech that often goes unnoticed. Local
artists, playwrights, musicians and come-
dians abound in the city. More than that,
students may find passion or purpose in
finding academic or personal projects that
benefit the Atlanta community, in the spir-
it of one Ph.D. thesis that gave rise to the
Beltline. The near-limitless potential of the
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
Zoie Konneker EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Will Finch MANAGING EDITOR
Beatrice Domingo DESIGN EDITOR
John Edwards SPORTS EDITOR
Jaimee Francis LIFE EDITOR
Vivian Wang OPINIONS EDITOR
AVOIDABLE ERRORS BY WILL FINCH
collective student body, whether through
capstone projects or a city beautification
day project, has a duty to the city because
Atlanta is intertwined with life at Tech,
whether students know it or not.
Through increased engagement in the
city of Atlanta and its wonderfully diverse
community, students are more likely to
develop stronger ties to the city, incen-
tivizing students to either stay in the city
post-graduation or to give back to the In-
stitute and by extension, the greater Atlan-
ta community. It is truly a shame when a
student spends four or more years in a city
as vibrant and fascinating as Atlanta and
graduates without cultural or personal ap-
preciation for any of the facets that make
this place unique.
Maybe if instead of constantly think-
ing of Tech as a stepping-stone for Silicon
Valley or Wall Street, students explored
the local jazz scene or became involved in
long-term service projects benefiting lo-
cal communities, overall student morale
could be improved. Maybe, as some stu-
dents complain of isolation and a lack of
belonging, “home” was next-door the en-
tire time.
Baylee Friedman ONLINE EDITOR
Jahziel Villasana-Espinoza WEB DEVELOPER
Allie Ghisson PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Josh Trebuchon ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Instagram improved
my self-esteem
If you were to look at my In- photographs. Now, my feed looks
stagram feed a year ago, you more like me.
would have seen pictures from I knew I would never look like
people I attended high school a Kardashian, so why would I
with (whom I had not seen since flood my timeline with images of
graduation), ‘finsta’ posts of those something unattainable when I
same people complaining about could be getting inspiration from
trivial things — like how their people that actually look like me?
name was spelled wrong on their That is when I found the wonder-
Starbucks cup — an array of in- ful world of plus-size social me-
fluencers who are ridiculously dia. It seems so simple, but it had
rich for no reason and a whole lot never occurred to me to follow
of drag queens. people my size.
I knew there was something The first plus size influencer
wrong with my social media, but I followed was @pasyshia, a
I could not quite put my finger fashionista based in Minnesota.
on it yet. I was constantly delet- Seeing someone of similar pro-
ing my apps and taking “breaks” portions consistently post in in-
from my accounts on an almost credibly cute outfits, and seeing
monthly basis. I told myself that her have an immense following
I deleted the apps to be more pro- because of it, was a game changer
ductive towards my school work, for me.
but deep down I knew that I had I could not believe the vast
an incredibly toxic relationship admiration, appreciation and
with social media. support the plus size social com-
A scroll through my Instagram munity generated and I could
feed used to be not believe I had
a form of self- not been a part of
torture. I was it until now. This
forcing myself
to engage with “Scrolling through my complete overhaul
of my social me-
people’s posts Instagram feed used to dia platforms was
who I was ir- long overdue.
relevant to and be a form of self-torture.” Now, if I am
had no real abruptly stop-
connection or TAYLOR GRAY ping my scroll-
shared interest ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR ing and clicking
with. Everyone out of the app it
seemed to be is not because I
more social, saw something
more fit, more wealthy, more pop- that made me upset. Most of the
ular and overall more interesting time, it is because I am rushing
than me. to the website to cop the same
I was obsessed with follow- Torrid dress I just saw one of my
ing along with the busy lives of favorite plus size models wearing
social media influencers and my in a post.
own small town celebrities. I had Similarly, diversifying my
an acute fear that if I were to un- followings and creating a social
follow these people I would face community based on my interests
some sort of social repercussion has left me in a better mood and
for not being able to readily dis- my feeds more inspired.
cuss Kylie Jenner’s most recent If you look at my Instagram
post or tweet. feed now, you will see more
That fear vanished within my creative photography, plus-size
first semester of college, when beauties, literary memes and,
I realized there were bigger and most importantly, even more
better things to talk about. Thus drag queens.
began a mass unfollowing and So the next time you feel like
following spree for me. For years you need to take a social media
my Instagram had been tailored break, I encourage you to reeval-
towards images of what I thought uate who and what you are fol-
I wanted in life: tinier waist, lowing and consider breaking up
popularity and perfectly filtered with them instead.

Write to us: are responses to or commentaries on

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Got something to say? Then let
your voice be heard with the Tech-
nique. Sliver at Nique.net, tweet us
@the_nique or check us out on Face-
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want to hear your opinion and want
to make it known to all of campus.
We also welcome your letters in
response to Technique content as well
as topics relevant to campus. We will
print letters on a timely and space-
Closing and re-opening the paper sometimes works too. available basis.
Each week we look for letters that
content found within the pages of the
Technique. Along with these letters,
we are open to receiving letters that
focus on relevant issues that currently
affect Georgia Tech as a university, in-
cluding its campus and student body.
When submitting letters we ask
that you include your full name, year
(1st, 2nd, etc.) and major. We ask that
letters be thought provoking, well
written and in good taste. We reserve
the right to both reject or edit letters
for length and style.
For questions, comments or con-
cern, contact the Opinions Editor at
opinions@nique.net.
6 • September 20, 2019• technique
Should sex work be decriminalized in the U.S.?
Recent debate around sex work has shifted towards ways to avoid ex-
ploitation of sex workers and sex trafficking victims.
WILL MARCHANT
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sex work should be decriminalized. Sex work
is work, and like all workers, sex workers must
be guaranteed basic rights such as their safety.
According to a recent Vox article, 80% of street-
based sex workers in New York City had experi-
enced violence or threats of violence, and 27%
of respondents experienced violence from police
officers. Violence and police abuse persists at
even higher rates for trans and racial minority
sex workers. Decriminalizing sex work funda-
mentally will reshape the power dynamic police
hold over sex workers and turn the police into
a resource for sex workers to report sexual as-
sault and violence to opposed to the extrajudicial
force of terror they too often are. Additionally, a
UCLA study in Rhode Island found that sexual
assault and STD prevalence went down for the
population as a whole during the period in which
sex work was decriminalized there. For the sake
of protecting sex workers, a population that will
always exist, sex work must be decriminalized.
Worker power is increased when sex work is
decriminalized. Outside of the police-sex worker
power dynamic, the sex worker-customer dy-
namic also improves when sex work is brought
out of the realm of government persecution.
When sex workers can report those who are
violent, breach payment agreements or hold cus-
tomers to the price at which they want to work,
sex workers improve their bargaining position
immensely. The customers, primarily men, hold
inordinate power in the current legal framework
that was created and propagated, again, primar-
ily by men. Undoing the legal framework that
penalizes sex workers, mainly women, is a just
start to fixing these formalized and codified
power dynamics, with sex workers themselves
included in the process.
It must be acknowledged that many become
sex workers as it is the best paying option they
have. That option should not be taken away for
the sake of taboo. And when it is legally taken
away through criminalizing sex work, it further
forces the individual, now with a record, to have
no options but continue sex work, only now at
more risk. For those who were given no option
at all, sex trafficking has been shown to decrease
when sex work becomes decriminalized. An
Australian government study of a region after
it decriminalized sex work found that there was
“no evidence of recent trafficking of female sex
workers.” This is a case for individual freedom
that goes far beyond the elementary implications
of consenting adults doing what consenting
adults want to do. This is about the freedom to
support oneself, and the freedom to be safe while
doing so. This is about the freedom to transition
away from sex work. This is about the freedom
of all the individuals currently trapped by hu-
man traffickers and all those who will be without
decriminalization. But most of all, decriminal-
izing sex work is about the dignity and power of
sex workers and the government taking its fist
off the worker.
ZOIE KONNEKER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sex work is just work. The only reason we
do not think of it that way is because of varied
cultural interpretations of the value and purpose
of sexual interactions. Sex is taboo, a fact that
contributes to harsh misunderstandings of safe
sex, bodily autonomy and reproductive health
in the United States. This is especially true in
the south, including Georgia. But even in circles
comfortable discussing individuals’ sexual be-
havior, not many will volunteer whether or not
they have been paid to perform sexual acts or
paid for them. In the state of Georgia, both so-
licitation and prostitution (which is an umbrella
term for the sale of any sexual act including mas-
turbation) are illegal. According to statelaws.
findlaw.com, the penalties for these infractions,
depending on its nature and the actor’s crimi-
nal history, might include probation, fines, jail
or prison time, community service, possible
lifetime registration as sex offender and possible
participation in sex education classes.
But why? Solicitation of a minor is obviously
wrong, as age of consent laws apply to any sexual
act, but what is the problem with two consent-
ing adults paying for sex? According to open-
societyfoundations.org, criminalization and
aggressive policing have been shown to increase
sex workers’ vulnerability to violence, extortion
and health risks. Without power, there is no pro-
tection. Sex work is a tricky subject; most people
equate sex work to human trafficking, which
is just fundamentally incorrect. Human or sex
trafficking is sexual slavery, forced sexual acts
for the commercial gain of the trafficker. Traf-
ficking is exploitation, often leaving people with
emotional and physical scars, trapped in a cycle
without escape. Trafficking is something that we
especially have to pay attention to, as Atlanta is
one of the world’s largest hubs for sex trafficking
because of the Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
Human trafficking victims are less likely to
come forward if there is a possibility of being
charged with prostitution — sometimes vic-
tims of trafficking start off as sex workers and
are later forced into committing acts they do
not consent to. Sex work is a choice, and one of
the best ways to protect victims of trafficking is
to decriminalize and even regulate sex work in
the United States. With decriminalization and
government regulation, sex workers could be
protected from trafficking. Instead of lurking in
the street or using secret channels to find “johns”
which often endangers these workers, they could
openly advertise their services and carry records
of previous clients. Bringing sex work into the
light instead of keeping sex workers in the dark
allows the public — including healthcare pro-
fessionals and law enforcement — to be able to
protect people from being abused or taken ad-
vantage of in these sexual situations. Sex work
should no longer be ignored and condemned,
but brought out from the dark underbelly of the
“crime world” and brought into a life to make
sex safer for everyone.
// OPINIONS
VIVIAN WANG
OPINIONS EDITOR
Let me be frank: I do not condone sex work
or prostitution. I find it to be deeply damaging
to the fabric of a developed society and do not at-
tempt to glamorize it by framing it as an avenue
for female or sexual empowerment. The reality
of most sex work around the world is a world
of hidden figures, coercion and abject poverty
within a terrible cycle of physical, psychological
and structural abuse. It is not a line of work that
most people elect to go into, regardless of what
sex workers have said in testimony or in defense
of the industry.
However, sex work needs to be decriminal-
ized, and it needs to happen in a measured and
responsible way. It is about time for people to
abandon their perceived moral, and often eco-
nomically-privileged, high ground and begin
to tackle the real issues that are at play. There is
a prevailing belief that sex workers are deserv-
ing of punishment and disease because they
have elected to participate in a morally repre-
hensible industry. This is an especially grating
sentiment to hear, especially from people who
have no idea what it is like to feel like they have
ever-diminishing work options throughout one’s
adult life with nowhere else to turn. Sex workers
disproportionately feel the burden of sexually-
transmitted diseases, including the HIV epi-
demic, and are hit with a double blow of being
unable to negotiate safer sex practices due to the
criminality of their work as well as stigma and
discrimination when attempting to seek medical
treatment or more frequent testing.
Sex work is no different from the many myths
surrounding the idea of criminalizing a practice
in order to quell its presence. In no way has
making sex work illegal forced the rich to stop
paying for extravagant affairs with prostitutes or
discouraged people from going abroad to achieve
the same ends. If anything, criminalizing sex
work has pushed its workers into further obliv-
ion, creating opportunity for law enforcement
officers to further abuse and exploit sex workers
by promising to withhold arrest and detainment.
And yet, sex workers can only manage to evade
arrest so many times before they are jailed until
tried for a felony or repeated charges for misde-
meanors, leading to even deeper financial ruin.
In an even more ridiculous turn of events, sex
workers are even sometimes forced to register as
sex offenders in some U.S. states, which funda-
mentally takes away from the sexual assault and
harassment issues this country actually faces.
There is a reason why the world’s leading med-
ical journals, human rights organizations,and
the UN have uniformly called for the decrimi-
nalization of sex work. The social and economic
factors that drive people around the world into
sex work are complicated at best and evidence of
structural violence at worst. Decriminalization
of the New Zealand model is a starting point for
improved public health and better negotiation
for basic human rights.
// OPINIONS
Climate change: it is not your fault
AVNI SHRIDHAR
HEAD COPY EDITOR
Climate change discussion has
moved from being filler news sto-
ries to the forefront of many peo-
ple’s minds — and Twitter time-
lines. We all know the statistics:
according to the UN, over the
last 150 years, the global average
temperature has risen almost one
degree, and ocean levels have risen
around 20 cm. Climate change
has already impacted the envi-
ronment. We have started to see
major ice melting, coastal flood-
ing, increases in extreme weather
events, droughts and wildfires, the
destruction of marine ecosystems
and much more.
If climate change continues
hurtling down its current trajec-
tory, the effects are going to be
disastrous, deadly and soon. For
perspective, an analysis done by
C40 Cities found that 800 mil-
lion people, around 11% of the
world population, are vulnerable
to the effects of sea level rise alone.
Slowly, more and more climate
change deniers are opening up to
the truth: throughout the last few
centuries, humanity has drasti-
cally accelerated global warming
and climate change. However,
as the myths surrounding global
warming are dispelled, new ones
are cropping up. Mainly, it is the
idea that individuals are respon-
sible for climate change.
We see new accusations on
the internet on a weekly basis.
We hear “Don’t ship using Ama-
zon Prime!,” Stop eating meat!,”
“Don’t fly on big airplanes!” and
of course, “If you do any of these
things, it means you are a bad per-
son, and you want the Earth to
die.”While changing our lifestyle
drastically may help in reducing
emissions slightly, statistically,
individuals are essentially blame-
less for the large scale of climate
change that we are experiencing.
According to a report published
by the Carbon Disclosure Project
in conjunction with the Climate
Accountability Institute, there are
100 companies and governments
have been the source of more than
70% of the world’s greenhouse gas
emissions since 1988.
And climate change is happen-
ing as a result of these overblown
multinational companies and
the governmental and economic
structures that grant them all-
powerful status.
This problem was not created
by the things we do in our every-
day life, and it is not going to be
fixed by stopping them either. In
fact, if we waste time worrying
about how our little actions are
contributing to climate change,
we are distracting ourselves from
pushing for meaningful change.
So, if changing our lifestyle is
not the answer, what is?
First, we know how effective
education campaigns can be in
dominating narratives around
environmental issues. One inter-
esting example of this is the Keep
America Beautiful (KAB) cam-
paign. In the 1950s, America was
experiencing a surplus of produc-
tion, and therefore, a surplus of
trash generated by the packaging
waste of corporations.
In response to the public cry
for change, many of these mul-
tinational corporations, includ-
ing Coca-Cola and the Dixie
Cup Company banded together
to create KAB and spearhead
a campaign villainizing “litter-
bugs,” individuals who carelessly
toss out trash. These corporations
effectively shifted the onus of
trash pollution from themselves
to individual households. Years
later, we see KAB’s effects con-
tinue; there are punishments of
fines and jail time for individu-
als who litter, while there are still
barely any regulations on the
packaging industry.
We need to counter the cur-
rent education that climate
change is because we do not turn
off the water while we are sham-
pooing or because we forget to
recycle sometimes.
technique • September 20, 2019• 7
Although environmental
harms may not directly be our
fault, we do have a duty to our-
selves to advocate for real change.
We need to focus our efforts in
the right place: political activism.
One way is to vote for politicians
that prioritize solutions to climate
change. Even better, we ought to
only vote for politicians that refuse
to take money from lobbyists and
big companies.
Another way is to contact our
representatives or local govern-
ment. Sign petitions, call them,
write to them, tweet at them. Storytime for all! Shameful Stealing
Instead of pestering our friends The Georgia Tech Library A specialized bike was recently
about going vegan, pester our is piloting a new program to stolen from a Tech student
senator about the importance of serve the local Tech commu- who relies on the bike for easier
regulations on oil and gas. nity of kids — including chil- mobility around campus,
But the biggest thing we can dren of Georgia Tech students, after suffering an injury years
do is be aware and spread aware- faculty and staff for “Family earlier. Despite the fact that
ness — if as many people talked Storytime at the Library.” The the robbery occurred off
about the way our laws grant ex- youth program is a weekly campus, Georgia Tech police
tremely wealthy organizations event aimed at engaging more have led investigation efforts
too much power as they talked Tech children to read as well as regarding this issue. In a
about switching to metal straws to creating a more inclusive envi- display of student solidarity,
save the turtles, change is bound ronment. “Storytime” happens a GoFundMe was quickly
to happen. We can restructure Thursdays at 10 a.m. in Cro- established and met for a new
the dialogue surrounding global sland Tower. bike.
warming ourselves: our own ver-
sion of an education campaign.
It is probably true that obsess-
ing over the environmental impact
of each of our actions might con-
tribute positively to the problem,
but the fact of the matter is it will
not make a dent in the amount of
change that needs to happen.
Though it is not all bad; these
trends that pop up on our feeds
represent a growing consciousness
Global Climate Strike Edu-roaming
On Friday, Sept. 20, col- Students this week could be
about the environment. Of course,
lege students, union workers, seen roaming from place to
you should keep carpooling and
kids and senior citizens alike place, in search of acceptable
turning off lights when you leave
will be participating in a mass and usable internet connection
the room. However, we also have
“Global Climate Strike.” They as well as access to printing.
to ensure that we are aware of
will be protesting the stagna- Students seeking to print or
what the root of the problem is
tion and inadequacy of the use Eduroam in the Student
and know that using metal straws
response of the world’s gov- Center were unpleasantly
instead of plastic ones is just not
ernments and corporations re- surprised to find that the
enough.
garding the state of our planet. computer room did not
Ultimately, we have to stop
The strike was started last year have internet connection,
thinking individuals ought to
by young schoolchildren, and in an ironic twist of events.
carry the burden alone — hu-
is this year is expected to turn “MyPrintCenter” was also
manity as a collective needs to
out millions. experiencing difficulties.
bear the burden of climate change
together.
Life
Piloting the new mini-mester
RIKESH SUBEDI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When you think of a typical
class at Tech, chances are you vi-
sualize a large lecture hall with
somewhere between 30 and 300
of your peers. When you imagine
a standard semester, you envi-
sion four or five three-credit-hour
courses spread over 15 weeks.
When you describe a regular in-
structor, you picture a tenured
professor with research under
their belt and a posse of proud
TAs.
While most classes at Tech fit
these descriptions, the recently
started “mini-mester” program
adheres to none of these expecta-
tions. In comparison to conven-
tional methods of instruction, the
program provides a reimagined
style of learning by offering an av-
enue for niche material and practi-
cal skills.
The pilot mini-mester current-
ly includes eleven options, each
taught by different members of
the Tech community, including
professors, librarians and graduate
students.
These classes cover topics rang-
ing from personal finance to video
production to statistical analysis.
Each can be taken for one credit
hour, with classes meeting two
to three times per week for five
weeks, often utilizing a flipped-
classroom model.
The Technique spoke with sev-
eral faculty members involved
with the program to gain more in-
sight into the vision of the infant
program.
“[The mini-mester] is a way of
trying to round out a curriculum
by offering experiences that may
not be defined within a single
discipline or just isn’t quite con-
ducive to a regular class. I see it
as a way for students to gain ad-
Scouting meets engineering with Scouts@GT
ALEX BOYTER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Saturday, Sept. 14, Scouts@
GT hosted its annual Scouts Day.
The over 50 scouts in attendance
toured of Tech’s Invention Stu-
dio and attended a tailgate as well
as the football game at historic
Bobby Dodd Stadium. Most im-
portantly, the scouts worked to
complete their Engineering Merit
Badge.
Although engineering is typi-
cally not thought of in conjunc-
tion with scouting, Scouts@
GT is working to blend the two
domains together. The Engineer-
ing Merit Badge, designed to in-
troduce scouts to an overview of
engineering, requires mastery of a
wide array of topics in engineer-
ing, its history and advancements
and careers in engineering.
Scouts@GT even plans to co-
ordinate the Sustainability Merit
Badge as part of their Scout Day
for next fall. Donald Gee, a 2nd-
year CE Major and President of
Scouts@GT, shared how his in-
LIFE EDITOR:
Jaimee Francis
ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR:
Lane Elder
life@nique.net
ditional skills that are quite rel-
evant in the marketplace beyond
the degree,” said Jay Forrest a data
and statistical analysis manager
librarian, who is teaching a mini-
mester course on the widely-used
statistical software R.
“With 15 hours, I can not only
get you started with the software;
I can coach you with your re-
search, using not just the exam-
ples we provide, but also with data
that you’re interested in,” Forrest
continued.
STEM librarian Liz Hold-
sworth and instructional coordi-
nator and multimedia librarian
Alison Valk weighed in on their
mini-mester course that will focus
on on video editing and produc-
tion.
“Sometimes faculty make the
assumptions that students, be-
cause they’re coming to Tech, are
already tech savvy and know the
software applications that they
need to use in their classes,” Valk
said.
Photo Courtesy of Taylor Gray, Student Publications
This fall marks the start of the “mini-mester” at Tech. Classes
target niche skills such as video editing and prototyping.
volvement with the Scouts intro-
duced him to his current field of
study.
“My Eagle Scout project in-
volved creating a small wetland,”
said Gee. “My experiences in
Scouts sparked my interest in sus-
tainability and engineering.”
Local scoutmaster with Troop
370 Jeff Hunt further explained
this drive to integrate scouting
and engineering as resulting from
participant demand within the
student troop members.
“Historically the reputation of
scouting as being low tech may
be founded, but not anymore,”
said Hunt. “Scouting is inherently
boy led, and so it’s our job as adult
leaders to help make what they
want happen.”
With STEM-based merit
badges (including the engineering
merit badge), more STEM and
technology friendly activities and
outings. In fact, a recently start-
ed troop leadership position in-
volves educating the troop about
technology safety and helping to
incorporate a modern edge into
Urban Honey Bee Project
Learn more about the bees at Tech and the different ways
to impact their community! 410
“I think that’s often an incor-
rect assumption and they do need
the supplemental education that
can help them complete their
projects. It’s also something that’s
useful; it’s a life skill that’s useful
across many, many disciplines.”
By focusing on multi-disci-
plinary interests, the minimester
program aims to blend standard
education with extracurricular
learning. Though in its infancy,
the program is already showing
promise for defining a restruc-
tured, more individually-tailored
option for learning at Tech.
If you are looking to round out
your knowledge, learn a new skill
or simply need one more credit
hour to graduate, a mini-mester
could serve as your avenue to start
exploring new fields.
Registration for spring op-
tions will open during Phase One
alongside the other courses offered
at Tech. SGA as well as the library
are both open to suggestions for
new classes.
activities called the “Webmaster.”
Hunt even reported that his troop
held a camp out revolving around
drones and their technology.
Scouts@GT has also organized
other events and merit badge
classes for local scouts to further
reveal the way in which scouting
and engineering can be linked.
In fact, Tech has a Scout-
ing Alumni group of 1600 Eagle
Scouts across the student body,
along with thousands of both Boy
and Girl Scouting Alumni. For-
mer scouts in Tech’s faculty have
led the astronomy and chemistry
merit badges, among others.
“A lot of 18 to 25-year-olds
in the United States don’t stay
involved Scouts. People become
Eagle Scouts and then they leave
the program. I knew, for me, that
I wanted to stay involved,” said
Gee.
Through Scouts@GT, Gee —
as well as other members — have
been able to integrate their inter-
ests in scouting and engineering.
They have also been able to con-
tinue their involvement with ser-
How to get your
tuition’s worth
of free stuff
TAYLOR GRAY
ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY
EDITOR
Free food, free shirts, free
stickers, free swag, you name it.
With mounting student debt bal-
ances, you can at least try to get
your tuition’s worth of free things
before graduation.
Opportunities for free stuff
pop up almost daily on this cam-
pus: you just have to know where
to look for them. The Technique
is here to help guide you in locat-
ing these opportunities — free of
charge.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Following social media ac-
counts of various organizations
and clubs on campus is an easy
way to seek out free treasures. You
can scroll through your feed and
see event flyers which advertise for
free food.
In the same area, Facebook is
an essential tool for hunting down
events that are no cost to you
through its “event” pages. This is
also where you can find events off
campus, such a Shaq’s infamous
vice and high adventure activities.
The club aims to connect those
who want to live by the Scout
Oath and Law which emphasizes
tenants within the organization.
The ideals of wellness, leader-
ship and service that make up the
fundamental pillars of scouting
are strived for by many at Tech
Scouts@GT hosted its annual event where local scouts learned
more about STEM by earning the Engineering Merit Badge.
technique
8
Friday,
September 20, 2019
Papa John’s Block Party that oc-
curred earlier in the semester. The
next greatest event might just be a
scroll away.
EMAILS
Yes, all those unread Daily
Digest and miscellaneous emails
that litter your inbox could be
worth looking into. They often
advertise fun events and (more
importantly) free food. Even just
a quick read through could help
catch an opportunity you may be
interested in.
To minimize search time, you
can even filter through your inbox
for some of the key words that
spark your interest. To stay orga-
nized with all of the emails prom-
ising give-aways, you can even
create a folder to host them all.
LEAVING YOUR DORM
Sometimes the best things
come to you unexpectedly. More
often than not, you can find a
plethora of clubs and companies
set up in high traffic areas of cam-
pus for the explicit purpose of giv-
ing away free things.
The next time you are trying
to avoid eye contact with some-
one trying to talk to you on Skiles
walkway, the Technique recom-
mends that you stop and see what
is going on. You might just getting
something out of it.
GT OPPORTUNISTS
If you are really in the know,
the prime resource for learning
about free opportunities is the
GroupMe chat. Entitled “GT Op-
portunists,” the groupchat has
over a thousand members who
are passionate about sharing their
knowledge of free and discounted
deals with their peers.
The deals are not just limited
to opportunities at Tech, but also
extend into the city and nation-
wide discounts. Members even
use the chat to share tickets on
events and festivals happening
around the city.
— as is the endeavor to blend en-
gineering with other disciplines.
With no prior experience needed
to join, Scouts@GT offers one av-
enue to work towards the achieve-
ment of these ideals and to blend
different disciplines together
through teaching the next genera-
tion of Tech students.
Photo Courtesy of Scouts@GT
// LIFE
Inside the humble home at 479 10th St.
REBECCA ENTREKIN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Although no one lives in the
home on 479 10th St., it is still
full of life. The Broadband Insti-
tute Residential Laboratory lo-
cated there, or the “Aware Home,”
looks like something out of an
early 2000s sci-fi movie.
In fact, the Home opened in
2000, just a year after the release
of the Disney Channel’s Smart
House, a film which features a
computerized house that takes a
life of its own.
But to a generation accustomed
to communicating with Alexa or
Siri, the projects being tested at
the Aware Home may not seem so
far-fetched.
Most projects being tested at
the Aware Home aim to help aging
adults and people with disabilities
to live more independently. These
projects focus on Activities of
Daily Living (ADL), as disability
is often defined by the ability of a
person to complete these daily ac-
tivities of eating, dressing, cook-
ing and more.
Advancements in technology
that assist with these ADLs could
therefore change disability status
within the population.
One of the current projects at
Aware, termed “Ambient Alert-
ing,” focuses on warning residents
that appliances or faucets have
been left on.
Various groups proposed dif-
ferent mechanisms of alert: one
used colored lights behind acrylic
tabs with engraved images to sig-
nify which appliance was left on,
while another used a picture frame
with images of the appliances that
would light up red if an appliance
was in use and there was no mo-
tion detected near the appliance
for an extended period.
Brian Jones, the director of the
Aware Home, shared his thoughts
regarding the importance of the
ambient alerting project to the
community.
technique • September 20, 2019• 9
“It’s simple, and people relate Despite the high-end technol-
to it. It’s my own issue, and other ogy embraced the Broadband In-
people likely have that problem. stitute Residential Laboratory, the
What we’re doing is adding more Institute still strives to maintain
context to it, trying to present it elements of home. Jones laughed
in a way that is more aesthetically about the importance of main-
acceptable” Jones said. taining these personal touches
While ambient alerting seems among all of the sophisticated
feasible in the near future, some technologies.
of the projects at Aware seem less “At one point we had live plants
so, especially the robotics-orient- here,” Jones said. “We aren’t able
ed ones. These futuristic projects to keep them alive. I can’t ask
involved designing a robot to de- Google to do that for me.”
liver medication to residents or to The researchers in the Aware
retrieve items that were pointed at Home that add their personal
with a laser. touches to the lab represent a va-
Although the robots are cur- riety of different disciplines. Some
rently expensive, some researchers are roboticists and programmers,
have proposed shared robots that while others are psychologists and
travel door-to-door and can be re- behavioral scientists. Students of
quested similar to an Uber. Some any background are welcome to
of these robots could even replace add their own insight and ideas to
service dogs, which would be es- the Aware Home.
pecially beneficial for those who
have trouble remembering to feed
a service dog regularly.
The Institute for People and
Technology (IPaT) Living Labs
Seminar also works closely with
the Aware Home. Students are
encouraged to participate in the
Convergence Innovation Compe-
tition (CIC), a team competition
which helps students create inno-
vative and viable projects.
Andre Hijaouy, a recent CS
graduat, worked with the winning
team from last spring’s CIC. He
shared how his team worked to
resolve the difficulties faced by the
elderly in performing ADLs.
The project, called CareCon-
nect, was intended to be used by
caregivers in nursing homes to
enter information about an elder-
ly’s daily activities and emotional
state.
“Our project was called
CareConnect, and the goal was to
increase the visibility that family
members have about their loved
ones in nursing homes,” Hijaouy
shared. “[This] would help fami-
lies track the overall happiness of Photos by Taylor Gray, Student Publications
their loved ones.” Pictures above give an inside look into the “Aware Home” located on campus. Research conducted
there focuses on providing assistance with daily activities that could affect disability status.
10 • September 20, 2019• technique
Students craft videos for use by United Nations
LANE ELDER
ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR
This past spring, the Turner
Foundation granted $40,000 to
Georgia Tech’s Serve-Learn-Sus-
tain program (SLS) in conjunc-
tion with the RCE Greater Atlan-
ta youth sustainability network.
The network will be using the
grant funding to create online
training modules for the United
Nations (UN) on globally-rec-
ognized sustainable development
goals.
“We are very appreciative of
the opportunity, since the RCE
isn’t a non-profit,” said Isabella
Stubbs, 4th-year ENVE and in-
tern with Serve-Learn-Sustain.
“We’re still developing, so we
are very thankful to even get to
apply for the grant and get to put
the money towards such valuable
projects like the Unitar education
program.”
The RCE, or Regional Center
of Wxpertise, is a UN affiliated
program that aims to implement
sustainability practices into every-
day life through educating young
adults. The program stems from
many Atlanta-based universities,
including affiliation at Tech.
Although it used to mainly
operate through an email newslet-
ter of resources and local opportu-
nities, the Turner Grant has intro-
duced a chance for RCE members
to extend their impact.
With the new source of fund-
ing, 14 RCE members have been
selected to craft online sustain-
ability modules that explain the
UN’s Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) through local At-
lanta cases as well as through re-
search abroad.
The project will create seven
90 minute lessons on topics rang-
ing from infrastructure to climate
to social goals like zero poverty
and hunger. The fellows interview
community partners, corporate
partners and international initia-
tives to gather information rele-
vant to the SDGs. The fellows then
add examples of how the RCE and
local campuses engage with each
SDG.
The research is finally sent to
the United Nations affiliated ser-
vice Unitar. Once the informa-
tion is received by Unitar, it will
Recent funding towards
Greater Atlanta network
be programmed into an online
course complete with graphics,
videos and even a certificate of
completion for viewers.
Cara McClain, a 4th-year
ALIS, explained the significance
of these videos that she helped to
create in terms of outreach.
“Rights that people are grant-
ed vary in many ways across the
globe and I believe that sustain-
ability education (whether that
is through the SDGs or through
another platform) is a step closer
to ensuring that all people are
granted human rights across the
world,” McClain said.
Although conducting this re-
search will impact many of the
Tech’s Serve Learn Sustain program and the RCE
will be used to create online training modules to
youth in Atlanta, Stubbs shared
other ways in which Tech stu-
dents can help achieve the SDGs.
“SDG3 Saturdays” serve as one
such way to get involved.
“SDG3 is about good health
and wellbeing,” Stubbs said. “So
basically just hanging out at Pied-
mont Park. You can jog if you
want, or work out if you want,
and then we’ll go to the Green
Market.
“We’re just trying to put SDG3
into practice and have some more
fun together.”
The network does a lot more
than just social activities with
like-minded friends. An email
update newsletter circulates to
Photo Courtesy of SLS
// LIFE
RCE Greater Atlanta members
and highlights many opportuni-
ties from guest speakers, volun-
teering events, and local tours.
Another program matches college
age members with a sustainability
expert working in a similar indus-
try to their major.
“Since we’re in Atlanta, and
we have these different commu-
nity groups, we want to have more
of a grassroots movement,” said
Stubbs.
“It’s not just academia; it’s also
industry, non-profits, government
offices like The Office of Resil-
ience and The Office of Agricul-
ture. There’s a lot happening in
Atlanta.”
Stubbs encourages all students
interested to join the network, no
matter what their experience with
sustainability.
When she first started working
with the SLS program in 2018,
Stubbs was still processing how to
even define buzzwords like “sus-
tainability.”
“Sustainability — an un-
achievable goal,” she offered with
a laugh. “There’s lots of official
definitions. But think about daily
life … I do believe the SDGs can
be applied to daily life, when you
look at things like quality educa-
tion. Help tutor someone – that’s
contributing to that.”
“These sustainable goals are re-
ally hard to achieve. ‘No poverty’.
‘No hunger.’ How will we achieve
that globally?” Stubbs asked. “We
just have to think small, within
ourselves. Even small initiatives
on Tech’s campus help contribute
to that.”
// LIFE
JONATHAN PENNIE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Apis mellifera, or the western honey bee, has
made itself to the forefront of the public conscious-
ness. People, including fellow Jackets, are now more
than ever concerned about the wellbeing of bees —
and rightfully so.
The Technique got an inside look into the Urban
Honey Bee Project to learn more about Tech’s inter-
action with the figures so closely related to its mas-
cot. Created in 2013, the project is the brainchild of
Dr. Jennifer Leavey.
“The main reason is that we wanted to provide a
platform for interdisciplinary learning for students,”
Leavey said. “You can study bees from a lot of dif-
ferent perspectives: you could be a physicist and be
interested in flight or optics, if you are a chemical
engineer interested in viscous fluids you could study
honey, or if you’re a biologist interested in epigenetic
changes you could study bees. We wanted a model
system that students and instructors from all differ-
ent subjects could use to collaborate and learn to-
gether.”
In adherence to its interdisciplinary approach,
The Urban Honey Bee Project has not only produced
years of student and faculty lead research but also
works in the metro Atlanta area with local gardens
and schools to encourage learning about local pol-
linators. In fact, the project has fostered a connection
with many people within the local community and
has helped start beehives all around metro Atlanta
including at Piedmont Park.
“As soon as people off-campus found out GT had
bees, I was immediately contacted by people at lo-
cal farms and community gardens,” Dr. Leavey said,
“They wanted to come to see our bees, help them
with their bees, or just talk about bees.”
With the Tech community, The Urban Honey
Bee Project even offers an Intro to Beekeeping Class.
technique • September 20, 2019• 11
The one hour class covers topics like reasons to keep
bees, what goes on inside the hive] and beekeeping
safety. Once a person has taken the course, they can
become a volunteer and assists in Hive Inspections,
where participants from the projects go inside a hive
and asses it’s overall health.
Many people participate from students to elderly
members of the community interested in lending a
hand.
“I decided to take the class on a whim last year,
and I’m so glad I did,” third-year CS Philip Huynh
said. “Since then, I’ve had many awesome chances to
bee-keep with the project. It’s such an amazing expe-
rience that more students should take advantage of.”
The Urban Honey Bee Project also regularly par-
ticipates in state and national initiatives like The
Great Georgia Pollinator Census (GGPC) and the
Miteathon. This year the Urban Honey Bee Project
received over 20 students eager to participate in the
Census, helping GGPC get a better measure of the
metro area. The project also helps to inspect hives
for Miteathon’s data collection on the parasites that
plague honey bees.
Even though the Urban Honey Bee Project has
partnered with large organizations, Leavey still
urged for smaller-scale student involvement, sharing
practical steps that can positively impacting the bee
community.
“The first thing people can do to help support
bees and other pollinators is to feed them. This can
be done by planting pollinator-friendly plants or
trees. Second is by providing water sources for bees
and other pollinators to use. Finally, and an essential
one, by avoiding pesticides that can potentially harm
bees and other insects.”
For students looking to learn even more about the
bee community, the Urban Honey Bee Project will
be offering another Intro to Beekeeping class on Oct.
15th. The project will also bee selling honey at the
monthly Community Market.

Entertainment
Music Midtown returns,
but at what cost to fans?
ZOIE KONNEKER
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Despite the disappointing line-
up this year, thousands rushed to
Piedmont Park on Sept. 14 and
15 to experience the annual Music
Midtown festival. The 2019 crowd
as a whole seemed much younger,
drawn to artists such as Billy Eil-
ish and Jaden Smith. Pictured are
some of the best acts in the linup
this year, including Lizzo, Billie
Eilish and MØ.
Lizzo really was “100% that
bitch.” Her performance garnered
arguably the largest crowd for a
non-headliner and she reveled in
the attention during her set. Lizzo
was an act at Midtown in 2017
and expressed great pride in her
progress as an artist.
MØ gave an impressive per-
formance and surprised fans by
walking through the crowd. Bil-
lie Eilish, though, was a letdown.
Her microphone was extremely
quiet and made it difficult to hear
her act, even from up close.
Fans report it was nice to see
her make a return to the city fol-
lowing her performance last year,
but left without the brilliant per-
formance they expected to see.
Despite the auditory troubles, the
visuals of her show were a very
nice touch.
Quinn XCII was incredible
but had a small crowd. It would
be nice, for next year, to have
some more artists at the middle
technique
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Josh Trebuchon
Friday,
12
entertainment@nique.net September 20, 2019
level like Quinn XCII to transi-
tion between lesser-known and
more popular artists. BANKS,
like Quinn XCII, was stunning,
with her choreography being the
highlight of her hour-long set.
Travis Scott drew a huge crowd
that was incomparable to that
gathered by any other artist — in-
cluding Cardi B. The fans his set
was tailored to proved to be simi-
lar to the overall demographics of
the attendees of the festival as a
whole: young, white high-school-
ers who vape heavily.
Finally, Panic! at the Disco
could be heard nearly all the way
down Piedmont Avenue. Despite
the unnecessarily high volume,
their performance was unbeliev-
ably good.
Photos courtesy of Allie Ghisson
// ENTERTAINMENT technique • September 20, 2019• 13

Post Malone’s ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ delivers

MUSIC
Hollywood’s Bleeding
Post Malone
LABEL: Republic Records
GENRE: Rap
TRACK PICKS: “Take What
You Want” and “Allergic”
OUR TAKE: «««««

MAYA FLORES
STAFF WRITER

Few artists attain the consistent

success Post Malone has been able
to sustain since his debut in 2015.
He is on the radio, he is in block-
busters like “Spiderman,” and he
blares through the speakers at ev-
ery frat party in the U.S. Despite
all this exposure, Malone’s songs
rarely feel overplayed.
His newest musical effort,
“Hollywood’s Bleeding” is no
exception to this success. The al-
bum, which came out on Sept. 6,
debuted at number one on Bill-
board’s charts, and so far has five
songs that peaked in the top 5.
“Hollywood” is Malone’s third
studio album. Though the track-
list is a lengthy 17 songs long, the Photo courtesy of Republic Records
songs are short, and the full listen Rapper Post Malone exploded onto the scene in 2015, and he has only built on his early success. Malone’s blend of genres and
time comes in at just under an his catchy delivery have made his albums a fixture on the charts, and his latest effort, ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ is no exception.
hour. The album flows well dur-
ing a listen through. It continues Post Malone brings on expected joins Malone and brings an ethe- “Internet’” and Father John Misty of the tracks are melancholic and
his signature style of blending collaborators, but then mixes it real touch to “Staring at the Sun.” co-wrote “Myself.” are about fake friends, a lonely
genres and shows off his artistic up with a surprising but incred- In a dual collaboration, Future That being said, Post Malone city or girls who never appreciated
and vocal range. Songs like “Saint- ible feature by Ozzy Osbourne and Halsey come in on “Die for does just fine on his own. Most him enough, gave him enough at-
Tropez” and “Enemies” blend rap on “Take What You Want.” The Me,” and give song-saving perfor- of the songs are solo endeavors, tention or do not love him enough
and emotional singer/songwriter song is one of the most memorable mances in a classically brooding which highlights his artistic range anymore. Still, while his lyrics and
vibes; others like “Allergic” and Post Malone has come out with to Post Malone song. When up-and- and his ability to go from croon- ideas might not always be the most
“A Thousand Bad Times” are date; its mix of Osbourne’s classic coming artist DaBaby gets his ing to rapping in the same track. creative, his delivery always saves
certainly pop “bops;” later in the rock, Travis Scott’s modern rap turn on “Enemies,” he does not Few artists can pull this off, and the day. “Hollywood’s Bleed-
tracklist he turns into an alterna- and Malone’s melancholic vocals waste a second of it and delivers a this continues to be a hallmark of ing” is just another Post Malone
tive rock frontman in “Myself.” is perfectly balanced. great verse. It is not just the vocal Malone’s success. album. While it is definitely not
Like any traditional rap al- That is not to say Malone’s contributions that spice this al- When giving the album a lis- anything new or revolutionary, it
bum, the tracks of “Hollywood” other guests are not notable. In bum up, there are some surprising ten, do not expect anything the- is catchy, it is listenable and it is a
feature a myriad of other artists. another unexpected feature, SZA writing credits: Kanye co-wrote matically new from Malone. Most generally solid album.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

Showcase, Present, and Inspire

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH @ GT

gttower.org
14 • September 20, 2019• technique
‘Hustlers’ offers striking visuals, conflicting story
FILM
Hustlers
GENRE: Drama
STARRING: Constance Wu,
Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles,
Mette Towley
DIRECTOR: Lorene Scafaria
RATING: R
OUR TAKE: «««««
ADDIE DASCHER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“Hustlers” is a survey of the
mind of a criminal who the viewer
does not see as the bad guy. It is an
in-depth look at the construction
and destruction of female friend-
ships. It is a one-of-a-kind story
that has quite possibly the best
cast of the year.
It is also a movie about strip-
pers. Before 2008, strip dancing
was a highly profitable business.
Men as rich as those on Wall
Street would come to clubs and
spend tens of thousands of dollars
in a single night. This is around
the time when Ramona — played
by Jennifer Lopez (“Maid in Man-
hattan,” “The Cell”) — and Des-
tiny — played by Constance Wu
(“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Fresh Off
the Boat”) — meet.
They become instant friends
with the expertly talented, mama-
bear type Ramona taking new-
comer Destiny under her wing as
her protegé. Things go well for a
time — Destiny and Ramona are
making money and becoming
close with the women alongside
them, not because they happen
to work together, but because of
the work they do together. But
then the recession hits in 2008,
and things immediately start to
change. The new dancers will give
blowjobs for an extra couple hun-
dred bucks, everyone in the indus-
try is either Russian or a model (or
both) and the era of prosperity
and friendship is over for women
like Destiny and Ramona. This
leads to the formation of a new
enterprise, one where the women
have gained the upper hand over
their male customers.
With Ramona’s people skills
and Destiny’s business sense, the
two women decide to embark on a
“robin hood” scheme to steal back
the money Wall Street plundered
from the working class.
The plan involves staking out
high class restaurants for men
who look rich. This does not sim-
ply mean men who have expen-
sive-looking suits, because anyone
can splurge on a suit. No, these
men have the watches, the shoes,
the means to drink and even the
wedding rings.
The next step is the tricky
one, but in this case, “tricky” is a
loose term that also encompasses
the phrase “highly illegal.” The
ex-strippers approach the newly-
found target, flirt, order drinks
and, as soon as the rest of the
“sisters” in Ramona and Destiny’s
tightly-knit crew would arrive,
slip a calculated combination of
ketamine and MDMA into the
target’s drink.
The rest of the plan is relatively
simple — convince the now inca-
pacitated men to come to the club
and max out their credit cards
with no regrets.
Writer and director Lorene
Scafaria (“Nick and Norah’s In-
finite Playlist,” “The Meddler”)
does an incredible job of adapt-
ing the 2014 New York magazine
article the film is based on into
the film the viewer sees today.
The true story comes across in
the hour and fifty minute movie
in a terrifyingly accurate man-
ner — almost word-for-word in
some instances.
Although Scafaria’s screenplay
is stuffed with countless cannot-
make-this-up details straight
from the source, the closeness of
Ramona and Destiny’s relation-
ship appears to be pretty heavily
exaggerated. The bond between
these women, however inaccurate,
does add some needed emotional
depth to the horrifyingly amoral
attitudes some of the women
hold toward the felonies they
are committing.
The lighting and cinematogra-
phy of the film is stunning. The
vibrant purples and neons pop;
the ostentatious furs and clanging
jewelry set the scene for how much
money these women are dealing
with; but it is not all glamorous.
Scafaria made sure to include the
streaky hair dye, the cigarette
smoking, the gaudy piercings
and tattoos. She also managed to
separate the film from others with
similar settings and — namely,
strip clubs and strippers — with
Constance Wu (left) and Jennifer Lopez (right) star in ‘Hustlers’
as former strippers who drug wealthy men and steal from them.
the beautiful classical score. Some
of the most thrilling sequences
in the whole movie are made so
impactful because of the unique-
ness of having classical music play
alongside them.
Yes, the score also has contri-
butions from Usher and Cardi B
— both on the soundtrack and
the screen — but the movie is not
dominated by one genre of music,
similar to the film’s overall come-
dy-drama-tragedy spread.
Even though Lili Reinhart and
Keke Palmer’s comedy capabili-
ties are showcased spectacularly,
Scafaria builds tension like a Tar-
antino movie, and Lopez’s perfor-
mance has been generating Oscar-
buzz, there are some flaws with
the film. Namely, the biggest issue
is the organization. With Adam
McKay as an executive producer,
one might expect some of the fun
edits that made the Big Short so
great — especially considering
that the topics of the two films are
somewhat similar — but unfortu-
nately these wishes go unfulfilled.
More diverse cuts and edit-
ing techniques would help allevi-
Photo courtesy of STX Entertainment
// ENTERTAINMENT
ate the occaisional repetitiveness
of the stripping and Wall Street
montages, because they do take
up a good portion of the middle
of the film.
Fun, sultry and empowering,
this movie is an exhilerating thrill
ride. Still, “Hustlers” manages to
keep a layer of melancholy be-
neath its surface so that the viewer
does not forget the wrongfulness
of what these women are doing.
At the same time, though, the
viewer cannot help but want them
to win in some instances because
their situations in life are too de-
pressing to think about otherwise.
Plus, a lot of the men they ma-
nipulate are, in fact, somewhat
deserving; these are the people
who got away with the 2008 re-
cession scot-free. Almost univer-
sally, they have wives and children
yet go to strip clubs. They do not
even respect or appreciate the very
wealth they for which they are
targeted. But, then again, that is
not all of the victims. Some are
sorrowful divorcees who are so
pathetic, the women almost feel
bad for stringing them along for
new MacBooks.
The constant push and pull be-
tween who the viewer is rooting
for in the movie make the whole
experience that much more entic-
ing — the viewer feels what the
women feel: the intoxicating free-
dom and joy of the heist, in addi-
tion to the consistent voice in the
back of one’s head, almost sham-
ing the viewer for enjoying it. The
tension-filled, girl-power-infused,
nail-biter defies any and all expec-
tations through the complexity of
the characters and the story. The
economics are relevant, the fash-
ion is terrifying and the two hours
the viewers spends in the theater
will leave them thinking for weeks
on end.
// ENTERTAINMENT
Lumineers continue to impress with new ‘III’
MUSIC
III
Lumineers
LABEL: Dualtone
GENRE: Folk-pop
TRACK PICKS: “Gloria”
OUR TAKE: «««««
JOURNEY SHERMAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Lumineers do more than
defend their title as storytelling
heavyweights in their third full-
length album “III.” The album is
told from the point of view of a
multi-generational family whose
lives ultimately intertwine. The
Lumineers rely on the strong
characterization of fictional peo-
ple to take listeners on a journey
through three different lifetimes.
The band also created a short film
to accompany each song while also
splitting the album into three dif-
ferent chapters, one for each fam-
ily member. The album and short
film cover the addiction, mental
illness and crime that plague the
fictional Sparks family.
The first chapter begins with
Gloria, the matriarch of the
Sparks family. “Donna” is the first
song featured on the album and
delicately balances with a sound
that begins as lullaby-like and
slowly grows into a more aggres-
sive piano-heavy song. The vocals
are unrefined and gritty, which
adds to the rawness of the song.
The lyrics describe Gloria Sparks,
the daughter of Donna with lines
like “You love to judge strangers’
karma / We drove from New Jer-
sey / The trucks always made you
worry.” The characterization is so
vivid that it allows listeners to get
Come to the 24th annual Study Abroad Fair to meet
program advisors, directors, and former study abroad students.
Lumineers frontman Wesley Schultz plays guitar during a performance. The folk-pop trio
recently released ‘III,’ which follows the story of several generations of a troubled family.
a sense of who each character is in
a matter of just a few lines. The
lyrics in “Donna” wonderfully set
the stage for the songs that follow.
The next song off the album,
“Life in the City,” continues to
follow the life of Gloria Sparks
and her adventures in New York
City. She uses the city as a get-
Study Abroad Fair
TM
away and a place to escape being
a mother to her son and a bored
housewife. Musically, the track is
full of build-up and breaks in mu-
sic as if to show time passing. The
upbeat sound is juxtaposed with
the melancholic lyrics like, “And
if the subways flood and bridges
break / Will you just lay down
October 1, 2019
10am - 2pm
Student Center Ballroom
oie.gatech.edu/study-abroad
technique • September 20, 2019• 15
Photo courtesy of Dualtone
and dig your grave? / Or will you
rail against your dying day?” The
lyrics describe Gloria’s demons as
something that she cannot run
away from no matter how far she
gets away from home.
“Gloria,” named after the pro-
tagonist battling alcoholism, has
a carefree sound yet describes the
detrimental impact her addic-
tion has had on her loved ones.
The first two lines of the song,
“Gloria, I smell it on your breath
/ Gloria, booze and peppermint”
emphasize her desperate attempts
to mask her drunkenness.
The track has a grassroots and
earthy vibe while also keeping up
with the storytelling nature of the
album as a whole. The repetition
of “Gloria” at the beginning of
questions directed at the protago-
nist shows the frequency of her
destructive behavior and how of-
ten it gets in the way of her being
a mother.
During the second part of the
tracklist, the album jumps to the
third generation and covers the
destructive grandson of Gloria,
Junior with the song “It Wasn’t
Easy to Be Happy for You.” The
song title doubles as the chorus
and tells the story of Jimmy be-
ing left by his girlfriend for an-
other man. His tale proves that
his grandmother’s addiction and
mental illness was passed down to
other generations as well.
A standout track from third
and final part of the album is
“My Cell” which is told by the
now-adult son of Gloria, Jimmy.
The song is raw and simple. The
vocals are strained, whispered
and almost sound like the vocal-
ist is holding back tears. The lyr-
ics “My cell/ My pretty little cell”
are echoed over and over again,
creating the feeling that the song
was recorded in an empty house.
Jimmy reflects on his life, how he
wound up all alone and the cur-
rent state of his relationship with
his son and ex-wife.
The Lumineers do not disap-
point with “III” and find a way
to captivate listeners through an-
ecdotal lyrics and an authentic
alternative-folk sound.
16 • September 20, 2019• technique // COMICS

SMBC BY ZACH WEINERSMITH PEARLS BEFORE SWINE BY STEPHEN PASTIS

LIO BY MARK TATULLI

LUNARBABOON BY CHRISTOPHER GRADY

// COMICS technique • September 20, 2019• 17

XKCD BY RANDALL MUNROE IN THE BLEACHERS BY STEVE MOORE

SUDOKU PUZZLE
18 • September 20, 2019• technique
Club sports’ best moments of last season
EMILY DYKSTRA
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Although the club sports or-
ganizations at Tech lack cover-
age in comparison to what takes
place regarding Tech’s Division
I athletics programs, the groups
have racked up quite the list of
accomplishments in the past
year. Unlike intramural sports,
club sports compete against
other colleges in competitions.
Whether a student is interested
in archery, squash or lacrosse,
Tech’s sport clubs have a mul-
titude of options from which to
choose. Here are some highlights
from the past year for some of
Tech’s most popular club sports.
ICE HOCKEY
The Ice Hockey club team re-
cently acquired access to a new
rink in Marietta, a mere 20 min-
utes from campus, which should
afford them the opportunity to
build their home crowd. Mat-
thew Jones, the current presi-
dent of the club, reminisced on
last year’s win against the Uni-
versity of Georgia in front of
9,000 fans during the Savannah
Hockey Classic in Jan., saying
”The celebration afterwards was
awesome, and a lot of bad kara-
oke was sung that night.” The
win was all the more improbable
given that the team was miss-
ing several players due to inju-
ry, internships and graduation,
and made all the more sweet by
Tech’s storied rivalry against the
Georgia Bulldogs. This season,
Blame for Citadel loss falls to Collins, coaches
JOHN EDWARDS
SPORTS EDITOR
Tech football had performed
just above expectations entering
their third game of the season. No
sane analyst would have picked
Tech to beat Clemson, but the
Jackets managed to squeak out
a victory against a USF team on
roughly equal footing. Entering
last Saturday, an even record was
an above-average outcome for a
Jackets team predicted by many
to be the worst team in the ACC
Coastal. Then the roof fell in, and
Tech lost to its first non-FBS op-
ponent in over three decades.
There is no sugarcoating the
fact that, as bad as Tech was fore-
cast to be, they should have won.
Tech was favored by 26 points in
Vegas. Tech players has access to
far more resources and experi-
enced personnel than any Citadel
player might. Tech was playing at
home in front of a friendly crowd.
I repeat: Tech should have won.
Tech losing to Clemson was
business as usual. Tech losing
// SPORTS
the Ice Hockey team hopes to
make it through regionals and
onto nationals while expanding
their fan base at Tech.
MEN’S RUGBY
The Men’s Rugby club at
Tech joined a new division last
year, the Georgia Rugby Union
(GRU), which pit them against
Valdosta State as the “team to
beat,” says president Trent Da-
vidson. Davidson watched from
the sidelines during the game
due to injury, but still saw the
team “grow exponentially as
new players took leadership
roles” with “a true awe inspiring
desire to win.” The match ended
in a 33-12 upset for Tech, lend-
ing momentum to what ended
up in an undefeated season.
On the back of such successes,
rugby has continued to expand
— Davidson remembers that
he was one of 15 team members Photo courtesy GT Hockey
his freshman year, but the roster Tech Hockey takes the ice against the Clemson Tigers in an ACC tilt. One of the Jackets’
is now a whopping 49 players. biggest wins on the rink came against UGA last January in front of 9,000 fans in Savannah.
The team has opted to join the
Southeastern Collegiate Rugby hopes “to place even higher in arrived as the defending cham- per Bracket Champion back in
Conference this season, a Divi- the SIRC and continue onto the pions, and could potentially 2014. The team won the South-
sion I conference, in order to DII Nationals” this year. Both make it a three-peat this year. As ern Sectional tournament in
take their competition to the rugby teams — men’s and wom- this year’s president, Jake Grant Auburn in 2017 before going on
next level. en’s — kicked off their seasons wants to see “a well run team, to place eighth nationally in Or-
at the beginning of the semes- with happy and included swim- lando. Club president Caroline
WOMEN’S RUGBY ter and matches will continue mers.” Grant believes that en- Wakefield says that the team
The Women’s Rugby club through Nov. joyment through athletics “goes aspires to place in the top ten
returned to the playoffs in the hand in hand with growth and nationally, but first must “get a
South Independent Rugby Con- SWIM relationships”. bid to nationals by doing well
ference for the first time in four The Swim club at Tech in the Southern tournament in
years this past season, placing capped off last season with a win TENNIS February.” Her most memorable
third out of eight teams at the at the College Club Swimming Tennis club carries accolades moment from the past year was
competition in New Orleans. National Championship, which such as Nationals Qualifier in at the Bulldog Classic in Athens,
The team’s president Carolyn took place at Ohio State Uni- the years between 2013 and where the team picked up a win
Majane says that the group versity back in April. The team 2015, as well as the title of Cop- in Tech’s rivalry against UGA.
to The Citadel was not. Clearly,
something went wrong on Satur-
day, and we were left scrambling.
Postgame, Geoff Collins took
the blame for Tech’s woes with the
whistle — the Jackets gave up 80
yards on eight penalties after com-
bining just four penalties in their
first two games against Clemson
and USF. “That’s on me and we’ll
get that fixed, because it was really
clean football the first two weeks
of the season, and then today, for
whatever reason, there were some
costly penalties that affected the
outcome of the game.” And in-
deed, there were a number of fac-
tors at play in the game — the
penalties, Tech’s decimated offen-
sive line, a late-game mistake by
the referees — that helped doom
Tech to the upset loss.
But there was more at play than
a few bad breaks and hot tempers
for the Jackets, and that loss was
more than the “bump in the road”
that Collins called it postgame. Photo by Tom Hightower Student Publications
Tech’s offense has still struggled Despite being overwhelmingly favored against FCS The Citadel, Tech lost in overtime to the
to find its footing, and the defense Bulldogs, 27-24. Tech football is now 1-2 on the season, their only win coming against USF.
looked thoroughly unprepared to
play against The Citadel’s option ery detail, like we should, and it ing the option, but the Jackets look bad. And I’ve got to imagine,
— despite the fact that Tech, prior showed up today,” said Curry. seemed flummoxed with defend- I’m going to look bad. And that’s
to Collins’ tenure, ran the option This might be a familiar refrain ing the perimeter. It is a damn- fine. I can take it. I understand
for more than a decade. for Collins, who, as Temple head ing indictment of Tech’s coaching what this program is going to look
Linebacker David Curry called coach last year, lost to Villanova, staff that The Citadel — playing like and what this program is go-
The Citadel the better team post- an FCS team like The Citadel, in the last portion of the game with ing be.” This is a rebuilding year
game, but also indicated that he the Owls’ season opener despite their backup QB — put up 350 for the program, and everyone
did not feel as though Collins and having all off-season to prepare. yards against a defense that has involved, especially Collins, un-
the coaching staff paid as much With a bye-week following The practiced against their specific of- derstands that. But for all of Col-
attention to preparing as they Citadel game, there was no reason fensive scheme for much of their lins’ focus on the bigger picture,
should have in preparing for The for Collins to have been slack- entire college careers. he cannot lose sight of the details.
Citadel. “The coach is very fo- ing on the details. But that was Collins also talked about the The smallest of leaks will sink
cused on everything that he does. actually not the case — Tech’s bigger picture postgame. “When the biggest of ships — and Collins
I don’t think that this week there defensive play-calling forced the you just look at the loss today, it’s took on a lot of water Saturday.
was good attention [paid] to ev- Bulldogs to the perimeter dur- going to hurt. And it’s going to Grab a bucket and start bailing.
// SPORTS technique • September 20, 2019• 19

Explaining Collins’ “Above the Line” philosophy

at multiple positions. In special promised a starting position the chart release, nine of the 28 de- its share of worries. The massive
GRAHAM LEWIS cases, such as players who have following week. And Collins’s ex- fensive players to play were fresh- importance put on excellence in
CONTRIBUTING WRITER unique abilities to play particular planation for the change in team men. practice seems dangerously close
positions, additional points are policy is at the top of the chart. The unconventional way of de- to completely discounting in-
The Jackets’ depth chart looks given in an effort to avoid dis- This season, ATL lists have termining who plays brings about game performance, and emphasiz-
different from that of the average counting a specialized talent. been fairly unbiased in who starts both opportunities and points of ing positional agnosticism could
team this season, with Collins The typical “Above the Line” and who does not, with freshmen concern. Discerning those above mean players do not perform as
opting to go for a strategy which chart has Tech players ordered acting as starters across the board the line makes deciding who trav- well at their natural positions.
he calls “Above the Line.” Instead numerically instead of by their — unusual for a college football els with the team simpler, with Due to the uniqueness of Col-
of a team separated into a first and ranking on the depth chart. Play- team, even with how many start- Tech having a set 72 spots to give lins’ current system, only the fu-
second team, each player is cat- ers who started the previous week ers graduated or transferred last out to players. That being said, ture will tell what impact this
egorized as either above or below are highlighted in bold, but not season. In fact, in Tech’s first the system does present itself with system will leave on Tech football.
“the line.” And players who are
designated “above” this figurative
line are given the opportunity to
take the field.
The philosophy comes from
Collins’ time as an assistant head
coach at Western Carolina, where
in a game, a safety was injured in
the game and had to be replaced.
While the safety was one of the
best players on the team, his re-
placement was not able to perform
up to par. Collins noticed that
there were multiple players who
could have been subbed in and
been a better fit but simply were
not trained and prepared to play
at that position.
The informality of the system
stands in stark contrast to the
usual depth chart seen on nearly
every team in college football.
Each week, players who are above
the line are eligible to play for that
week. Players who are designated
as below the line are told why they
have received such a rating, and
what they can improve upon in
order to see time on the playing Photo by Taylor Gray Student Publications
field. Additional points are award- Geoff Collins’ Above The Line philosophy, or “ATL” for short, comes from Collins’ time coaching at Western Carolina.
ed to players who show versatility The philosophy rewards players who practice hard and perform at their best, without limiting players positionally.
Sports
SPORTS EDITOR: Best of Club Sports technique
John Edwards
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR:
Emily Dykstra
Tech's club sports tell us their
favorite moments from the
20
Friday,
past season418 September 20, 2019
sports@nique.net

impact players for gt football

David Curry finally stepped into the spotlight last sea-

son after missing the previous season with an injury,
starting all thirteen games as a red-shirt junior. Not
content to simply just be another guy in the locker
room, Curry has stepped up — in addition to lead-
ing the team in total tackles, Curry was named as a
captain for Tech’s first game against Clemson. After
Tech’s brutal loss to Citadel, Curry fielded questions
from reporters postgame, maturely handling Tech’s
worst loss in decades. That’s leadership on and off
the field.

Jordan Mason was a revelation last season

when he led Tech RBs in rushing yards and
finished third in touchdowns. This season,
he is filling much of the same role as Tech’s
go-to back and is serving admirably — of
Tech’s seven touchdowns this year, Mason
has more than half of them. Mason’s 5.6
yards per carry, while a step down from
last year’s lofty 6.1 average, ranks No. 47
in the country. Mason represents the
medicine for Tech’s scoring ills.

For a Tech team where big plays have seemed

hard to come by, there has been no great-
er spark than Tobias Oliver. Tech’s
human-swiss army knife has been all
over the field — the QB is second on
the team in passing yards and rushing
yards, all while serving as Tech’s primary
kick-returner. While Tech fans only had a
brief preview of Oliver’s dynamic play last
year, he’s front and center on a Tech offense
where he’s asked to do anything and every-
thing.