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January 15, 2016Volume 101, Issue 17nique.

net

LIFE

technique
News 2

SPORTS

Peek behind the scenes p10 Basketball recap


Opinions 6

Life 10

Entertainment 14

p23
Sports 24

HOVERBOARD MORATORIUM ON CAMPUS p4


NEWS

Top L: Photo courtesy of Tyler Meuter Student Publications; Top R: Photo by John Nakano Student Publications; Above: Photos courtesy of Eugene Zemlyanskiy and Soar Boards; Design by Brenda Lin Student Publications

OPINIONS

Reexamining and addressing open racism in the South


NICK JOHNSON

MANAGING EDITOR
Whenever theres an accident
on the I-10/610 Split, the people
of New Orleans East take a more
scenic route to get to Mid-City.
Get onto Hayne Blvd.; turn onto
Leon C. Simon Drive; look out to
the right at Lake Pontchartrain, as
one does. Merge onto Robert E.
Lee Blvd.; head down to Canal St.
Since theres always an accident
at the Split, Ive been down Lee
many times on my way to school.
One day in school, I learned that
he was General of the Confederate

States of America, founded to uphold slavery. I never stopped feeling weird about the scenic route.
The City Council of New Orleans recently voted to remove several statues and other monuments
around the city that promoted the
Confederacy. One of these is the
northward-facing statue of General Lee that resides in Lee Circle,
the once and future Tivoli Circle.
The plan is to move these monoliths to a museum or to commission a new park to place them in.
It was a 6-1 vote for, and there
had been increasing activism to
have them removed, so it seemed

like something NOLA as a whole


wanted. Well, let me be the first to
tell you that some white people are
pissed off about this. Their heroes,
their heritage, their pieces of cast
metal will no longer headline the
tours around the city. Instead, that
honor might go to things all New
Orleanians and tourists love, like
Cafe du Mondes beignets, the unofficial state dessert, Sno-balls, the
only form of snow we ever get, or
Monkey Hill, the highest point in
the city (slightly above sea level).
The proposition was decried by
some (of my Facebook friends) as
See STATUES, page 7

Photo courtesy of Bart Everson

The Jefferson Davis Memorial, above, and others in New


Orleans are being removed after a December City Council vote.

2 January 15, 2016 technique

// NEWS

technique
The Souths Liveliest College Newspaper

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Brenda Lin
MANAGING EDITOR:
Nick Johnson
NEWS EDITOR:
Maura Currie
OPINIONS EDITOR:
Vidya Iyer
LIFE EDITOR:
Trishna Chandarana
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Kara Pendley
SPORTS EDITOR:
Harsha Sridhar
DESIGN EDITOR:
Brighton Kamen
PHOTO EDITOR:
Tyler Meuter
HEAD COPY EDITOR:
Alexis Brazier
ONLINE EDITOR:
Kripa Chandran
WEB DEVELOPER:
Ross Lindsay
Founded in 1911, the Technique is the
student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an official
publication of the Georgia Tech Board
of Student Publications. The Technique
publishes on Fridays weekly in the fall
and spring and biweekly in the summer.
ADVERTISING: Information can be
found online at nique.net/ads. The deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at
5 p.m. one week before publication. To
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us at (404) 894-2830, Monday through
Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

COVERAGE REQUESTS : Requests for


coverage and tips should be submitted to
the Editor-in-Chief and/or the relevant
section editor.

Copyright 2015, Brenda Lin, Editorin-Chief, and the Georgia Tech Board
of Student Publications. No part of this
paper may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the
Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of
Student Publications. The ideas expressed
herein are those of the individual authors
and do not necessarily represent the views
of the Board of Student Publications, the
students, staff or faculty of the Georgia
Institute of Technology or the University
System of Georgia. First copy free for
additional copies call (404) 894-2830

MAURA CURRIE
AND SHEKINAH HALL
NEWS EDITOR AND
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
EARLY ACTION RELEASE
Tech officially admitted the
first students of the class of 2020
through the early action decision
release on Jan. 9. Of the 14,861
students who applied in the early
action round 4,424 were admitted, making for a 30 percent admission rate. Admitted students
had an average new SAT score of
1453 out of 1600, which converts
to roughly 2166 out of 2400 on
the old SAT, and an average
ACT score of 33. 96 percent of
admitted students had taken Advanced Placement calculus, and
the average admitted student
had taken 10 or more Advanced
Placement courses throughout
high school. For the first time in
Techs history, 48 percent of the
admitted applicants are female.
48 states and 39 countries are
represented.
DONE WITH DEAD WEEK
This semester marks the beginning of a new policy that
replaces Dead Week with Final
Instructional Class Days and
Reading Periods. Final Instructional Class Days will be the
last two days that a course officially meets. During these days,
no tests or quizzes may be given,
and all tests and quizzes must
be graded and returned to the
students by the last instructional day.
Reading Periods will be designated days for students to
study for finals. During these periods, no classes will be held and
any assignments are prohibited.
Professors may schedule review
sessions to be during a Reading
Period day, but they may not
introduce or grade material on
new concepts.

GT AND THE GOP


In Dec. 2015, CNN traveled
around the United States in a
Campaign Camper to document
college students questions for
the 2016 presidential candidates.
Many Tech students took the opportunity to ask their questions
when the Camper parked in the
Campanile on Dec. 3.
During the Republican debate on Dec. 15, two Tech
students were featured Josh
Jacob and Ashley Tofil, both International Affairs students. Jacob asked Donald Trump about
his plans to combat the Islamic
State within the boundaries
of international law, and Tofil
asked Carly Fiorina about her
plans for interacting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
ONLINE MASTERS DEGREES
Tech graduated its first class
of students earning an online
masters in computer science on
Jan. 11. The class of 20 students
are the first of their kind at Tech,
where the online masters in
computer science has existed for
nearly two years.
2,841 students enrolled in
one or more OMCS course during the Fall 2015 semester, hailing from multiple states and several nations outside the US.
The program attracted the
attention of AT&T, which has
contributed over $3 million to
aid in launching the program,
and that of President Obama,
who referenced it in 2013 and
2015 as a prime example of innovative STEM education.
GOOD DEED GONE VIRAL
Students from the Scheller
College of Business gave a holiday gift to security guard Marcus Burns, having raised $1,600
for the gift in just over a day.
The moment, attended by
over 100 students, was captured
on cell phone and promptly went
viral on social media. The video
was viewed more than 400,000
times on Facebook alone,
and racked up over two million
total views across all social media
platforms.
Burns, known by Scheller students for his friendliness and upbeat attitude, said that he would
use the gift to take his family out
for a night of bowling and dinner
over the holidays.

Picken acquitted of
computer trespassing
MAURA CURRIE
NEWS EDITOR

The Tech student responsible


for a hacking incident on the
University of Georgias (UGA)
master calendar in Nov. 2014
has officially been acquitted after
undergoing a year-long Pre-Trial
Diversion program.
Ryan Pickren, a fourth-year
EE and CMPE, was indicted
with a felony count of computer
trespass on Dec. 16, 2014 following a Hate Week prank in which
he exploited a security flaw and
published an unauthorized message reading Get ass kicked
by GT on the UGA websites
master calendar. A week later,
Pickren was taken into custody
in Athens and released the same
day on a $5,000 bond.
The Athens-Clarke County
District Attorney permitted
Pickren to enter a Pre-Trial Diversion program, which enabled
him as a first-time offender to
avoid pleading guilty or no contest in exchange for community

service, a written apology to


UGA and good behavior for one
year after entering the program.
During his program, Pickren completed his community
service with Techbridge, an Atlantan non-profit who provides
tech support to other non-profit
organizations.
Techbridge is an awesome
company, Pickren said. I really enjoyed my time with them.
There is a real need for the services that they provide to the
community.
Having successfully completed the program, Pickren
has had all charges against him
dropped and his record has been
expunged.
He intends to continue pursuing his passion for computer
science: I definitely have a passion for cybersecurity. Today my
ethical hacking activities are focused on Bug Bounty programs.
These are legal programs set up
by companies who are willing to
pay bounties to researchers who
can identify security vulnerabilities in their online systems.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Pickren

Ryan Pickren is a fourth-year Tech student. He faced a felony


charge after defacing the UGA website, but was acquitted.

sliver

nique.net

Georgia Techs Journal of the Arts and Literature


art, n. - The expression or application of creative skill and
imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting, drawing, or
sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their
beauty or emotional power.
It is art that makes life, makes interest,
makes importance and I know of no substitute whatever for the force and beauty of
its process.
Max Eastman

The first-ever issue of The Technique was published this week in


1911. Sadly, I see theyre still struggling with finding non-liberal
writers and staff.
Roommate: Oh no! Me: That remind me, I need to check the
football score!
Ann, you beautiful tropical fish
The best way to spread Christmas cheer... is finishing finals.
Most heartless thing to do: Set T-Square as a blocked site on Stay
Focused.
Good Paper
Finals studying: the best time to look up diverse poop emojis
Youre pretty awesome too!
Hey I am submitting greatness!!
Feeling great
OR 1=1; echo ;
OR 1=1
asdddddddddddddasdddddddddddddasdddddddddddddas
Why do people always compare number deaths to shark deaths.
How many people are actually exposed to sharks?
I dont care
Lol i love pizza
Silver box is a strange thing but the more stranger thing is that it
has a rule not to talk about it
Its always a good idea to transcend everyday levels of confusion.
Bud obviously slivers.
When was Abraham Lincoln born
potato nugget

technique January 15, 2016 3

// NEWS

area to a nearby neighborhood.


The drug lord had previously escaped from Puente Grande jail
in 2001 and evaded capture for
13 years before being recaptured.
Though now back in Mexican
custody, Guzmn will eventually
be extradited to the United States,
where he faces multiple indictments for drug smuggling.

NORTH KOREA TESTS WEAPON


North Korea announced a
successful test of the communist
states first hydrogen bomb on
Jan. 6, following a 5.1 magnitude seismic event near the city
of Kilju. Though North Korean
press releases maintain that its
scientists have created technology
for smaller hydrogen bombs than
those tested in the past, other nations remain skeptical; the White
House indicated on Jan. 6 that
the blast, which released an estimated six kilotons of energy, is
far too small to fit the profile of
a hydrogen bomb, which have
been known to release 15,000 to
50,000 kilotons of energy.

CLIMATE DEAL REACHED


World leaders attending the
2015 United Nations Climate
Change Conference in Paris
reached a deal on Dec. 12 which
would attempt to aim to limit
global temperature increases to no
more than approximately 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
The deal, also known as the
Paris Agreement, focuses primarily on encouraging developed
countries to curtail their carbon
dioxide emissions and aid less-developed countries in establishing
sustainable practices.
Countries will be assigned individual goals for contribution to
the overall cuts, though there are
no mechanisms to force countries to meet said goals. The Paris
Agreement will not be fully in effect unless the 55 countries who
emit the most greenhouse gases
ratify it as a treaty.

EL CHAPO CAPTURED
Mexican authorities recaptured drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzmn on Jan. 8 following a
six-month search for the escaped
prisoner. Guzmn had escaped
from a maximum-security Mexican prison in July 2015 through a
mile-long tunnel from his shower

PARIS ATTACKS REMEMBERED


Jan. 7 marked the one-year
anniversary of terrorist attacks in
Paris which killed 12 employees
in the office of satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo, four hostages in a
grocery store and one Parisian policewoman. A ceremony was held
in Paris Place de la Republique

MAURA CURRIE
AND HASIT DEWAN

NEWS EDITOR AND


ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

to commemorate those killed in


the Jan. 7, 2015 attacks as well
as the 130 concertgoers killed in
an attack on the Bataclan Theater on Nov. 13. French President
Franois Hollande helmed the
event, which was attended by approximately 2,000 Parisians and
featured musical performances,
readings and the dedication of an
oak tree in memory of the victims.
POWERBALL JACKPOT
One in 292.2 million: those
are the odds one has of winning
the Powerball. These impossible
odds have not stopped thousands
of people from queuing up for a
chance at history by winning the
$1.3 billion jackpot.
Since Nov. 7, there has been
no Powerball winner. Though the
current series began at the minimum $40 million, the lack of a
winner caused the prize money to
balloon to a historic $1.5 billion.
Even after taxes and all the other
cuts made, the winner will walk
away with a record $560 million.
Though the lottery has consistently been a source of revenue
for states, only 44 states actually
participate. While the six other
states have traditionally refused to
institute a lottery due to moral oppositions, given how much states
have generated from this current
Powerball, all six are now considering legalizing the lottery.
A winner from suburban Los
Angeles as well as Tennessee and
Florida was announced Jan. 14.
Had a winning number not
been sold, experts say that the
jackpot amount would have
spiked to over $2 billion.

New Pre-Health
advisor appointed to C2D2
HASIT DEWAN

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR


The Center for Career Discovery and Development (C2D2)
recently announced the addition
of new pre-health advisor, Francisco Castelan. Castelan is replacing Andrea Clark who left in
September of 2015. After months
searching for the best suited candidate, the C2D2 finally decided
on Castelan, a professional with
more than ten years of advising
experience.
With degrees from University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and University of WisconsinMadison, Castelan holds a passion
for helping students find their career aspirations. He took this love
to Northwestern University, and
later Spelman College, where he
worked as an advisor for nine years
and one year respectively. Now, he
has joined the pre-Graduate and
pre-Professional Advising team
here at Tech.
In addition to advising students, Castelan will be heavily
involved with various pre-health
professional groups. He is also
the Chair for the Committee on
Diversity and Inclusion and as
a co-chair for the 2016 national
conference. Serving as a representative for the National Association
of Advisors in the Health Profession, he holds positions on com-

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mittees within the Association of


America Medical Colleges group
on Student Affairs.
The opportunity at Georgia
Tech was a natural match to work
closely with students and join a
team created to focus on student
services and career development,
Castelan said in a press release.
C2D2 has a clear commitment
to keeping Georgia Tech on the
forefront of both innovation
and service for its students and
thats where I hope to strengthen the foundation for students
pursuing careers in the health
professions.
As a member of the pre-Graduate and pre-Professional Advising
team, Castelan will work closely
with students who are seeking
admission to professional schools
as well as those who may be pursuing prestigious post-graduation
scholarships and awards.
We are excited that Francisco
has joined the team, said Shannon Dobranski, director of PreGraduate and Pre-Professional
Advising. In addition to his advising credentials, he has strong
connections with professional
schools and the national prehealth community.
He will take point with all
pre-health programming and
cross-train the other pre-professional advisors so that we can
always provide the best possible
service to our students.

4 January 15, 2016 technique

// NEWS

Safety moratorium issued on hoverboards


MAURA CURRIE
NEWS EDITOR

Under the recommendation of


Techs safety and legal officials, a
temporary campus moratorium
has been placed on the self-balancing scooters commonly known
as hoverboards.
First announced in a Department of Housing email on Jan.
7, the moratorium was initially
on hoverboards in residence halls
but has since been expanded to be
campus-wide.
The moratorium has now
grown to cover all buildings,
said Larry Labbe, campus fire
marshal. It operates in Housing
with their policy procedures and
their judiciary process. [Having a
hoverboard in ones room] works
just like being caught with another item in your room that youre
not supposed to have, so were using natural, pre-existing mechanisms there.
The moratorium is a result of
increased attention on the safety
of certain lithium-ion batteries in
hoverboards, and more specifically their reported combustibility.
Id been monitoring it as social media and the news started
covering it, Labbe said. There
were just too many incidents, so
I sent an email to our risk manager, and that was how a series
of meetings began. We convened
Legal and Risk Management, and
in that first meeting we were all

like-minded And so we quickly


moved to whether we should do a
ban, or a moratorium or an advisory, and how we would do it.
The next two or three meetings
brought a lot more people to the
table: the dean of students, housing, the police chief and many
others.
Were not against the product,
and thats important to note. Tech
is about pushing forward with
new technologies and products, so
we want to approach this with the
sense that this is a moratorium, its
temporary.
The Consumer Products Safety
Commission, a federal agency, is
currently investigating reports of
the lithium-ion batteries in hoverboards catching fire in nine different states.
Its not really unique to hoverboards, but the combination
of low-quality batteries and an
application that gets thrown
around a lot has resulted in some
of these fires, said Dr. Matthew
McDowell, an assistant professor
in Mechanical Engineering and
Materials Science and Engineering. Lithium-ion batteries hold
a lot of energy, because the materials within the battery naturally
want to chemically react. However, they are physically separated
from each other by a membrane in
a battery. A lot of the safety issues
associated with lithium-ion batteries arise when the membrane no
longer does its job for instance,
if it is punctured or material grows

through the membrane.


Furthermore, the quality of
your lithium-ion battery matters
a lot cheaper batteries made
with sub-par standards may have
manufacturing defects that make
it much easier for agitation or
an external shock, perhaps like
jumping onto a hoverboard, to
damage internal components,
which induces safety hazards.
The moratorium is intended to
be a stopgap solution while mul-

tiple investigations into the safety


of different brands of hoverboard
continue.
That was one of my questions
of Legal can we ban certain
brands? Were still waiting for a
grouping [of safe versus unsafe
brands], and weve decided to let
the federal investigation by the
Consumer Products Safety Commission give us an answer, Labbe
said. We plan to reconvene at a
later date, give them a chance to

come out with some feedback, and


then from that the campus is going to look at the moratorium to
see if we change it, drop it, maybe
list safe ones versus unsafe ones.
My gut says the Consumer
Products Safety Commission is
going to find the problematic batteries and manufacturers, issue a
recall and the moratorium will be
lifted at least partially I dont
think hoverboards are gone. I
think theyll probably be back.

Photo courtesy of Ben Larcy

A self-balancing scooter, popularly referred to as a hoverboard. Ongoing concerns regarding


the toys lithium ion batteries have led to preventive bans on college campuses across the nation.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

Showcase, Present, and Inspire

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH @ GT

gttower.org

technique January 15, 2016 5

// NEWS

Tech becomes certified buzz-friendly campus


HASIT DEWAN

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR


The Tech Urban Honey Bee
Project is one of the most innovative and unique programs of its
kind in the U.S. Headed by Jennifer Leavey, the initiative aims to
not only further our own understanding of honeybee habits and
the effect of urban expansion on
them, but also to foster a sense of
responsibility and promote sustainable development of cities.
Housed in the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, the
numerous hives here serve as the
focal point of the program. Students and faculty work together in
maintaining the hives and ensuring the health and growth of the
bees. In doing so, they are able
to closely study various behaviors and cause/effect relationships
within bee systems.
We are interested in how habitat fragmentation affects genetic
diversity in urban honeybee colonies, Leavey said. How pollution affects honeybees and where
bees find forage in the city.
In fact, Tech was recently certified as only the second Bee Campus USA affiliate in the country:
a program designed to utilize the
strengths of research institutions
to better the state of bees across
the country.
We are very proud to be the
second certified Bee Campus USA
in the nation, Leavey said. This

designation greatly complements


the efforts of the students, faculty,
and staff currently working on environmental and sustainability issues we believe the certification
will provide the institution with
an import platform to facilitate
wider dialogue regarding pollinator awareness.
With this certification, Tech
will serve as an invaluable resource
for initiatives and programs across
the country that are hoping to
contribute to the honeybees rehabilitation. Additionally, Tech
plans on developing a Campus
Pollinator Habitat Plan that will
include plans on including native
pollinator-friendly plants. This
will be implemented in conjunction with a least toxic integrated
pest management plan: a tool that
will be made publicly available instructing how to properly ensure
healthy landscapes.
As the world worries over decreasing bee populations, the
answers to such questions will
undoubtedly prove important in
years to come. The results from
the new venture seem to be promising. Improvements in regards to
pest pressure and metal contamination are promising and exemplify just how game changing this
project can be in the future.
Through this integration of
the diverse set of minds represented on the Bee Campus USA
committee, Georgia Tech will develop innovative and sustainable
practices that can be applied right

here on campus and in similar


environments around the world,
Leavey said.
Bee Campus USA is a subsidiary of Bee City USA, an organization dedicated to addressing the
recent drops in bee populations
across the United States. Created
in 2015 with the partnership of
Southern Oregon University, Bee
Campus USA is designed to marshal the strengths of college and
other educational campuses for

the benefit of pollinators.


To become a Bee Campus,
institutions must maintain a Bee
Campus USA Committee, sponsor various bee-friendly events, as
well as educate the general population on pollinator-related issues
through courses, workshops and
signage near hives and pollinatorfriendly landscaping.
Techs Urban Honeybee Project was created in an effort to increase the scientific communitys

understanding of how urbanization affects honeybeees and other


pollinators vital to human food
systems. Its mission for education, interdisciplinary research
and collaborative innovation incorporates the spirit and goals of
Georgia Techs strategic plan,
according to the programs webpage, which also hosts a 24-hour
BeeCam and other educational
resources for Tech students and
non-students alike.

Photo courtesy of GT Honeybees

Bees living in the Urban Honeybee Projects hive on top of the Clough Undergraduate Learning
Center. Tech was recently named a certified Bee Campus by
Bee Campus USA.

Opinions
OUR VIEWS | Consensus Opinion

We shall not cease from exploration and


the end of all our exploring will be to
arrive where we started and know the
place for the first time T.S. Elliot

Making changes to add/drop week


Streamlining registration to benefit more students

Presently, students who are waiting to


sign up for a full course are at the mercy
of students who plan on dropping said
course. If students wait until the last minute to drop a class, it does not give other
students looking to pick up the class
enough time to sign up.
In order to alleviate stress for students
seeking classes to graduate, the add and
drop date should be separated into two
days. While the Student Government Association campaigned for students to drop
classes earlier last January, this had little
effect as it was not formalized.
We propose that drop day should be
several days before students finish adding
courses, ensuring that students who still
need a class are able to sign up for it. This
would also mean that no significant assignments should be due during this period.
Even under the current system, it is
stressful for students switching in and out
of classes to keep up with assignments

because there is not an adequate amount


of time for students to complete the work
before the due date. Students do not have
access to class T-Square pages until they
are formally registered for the class, which
may be after the assignment is due, depending on when others drop the class.
Another way to facilitate the registration process would be to issue all students permits for classes earlier than the
Wednesday of classes. This prevents other
students from holding classes and filling
them up while there are other students
looking to sign up for the course.
Additionally, while students are waiting
for permits and moving up in the waitlist,
they often sit in the class even though they
are not registered for it. Not only is this a
violation of school policy, but it also leads
to overcrowding in classrooms.
By making these changes to registration
week, students play a larger role in getting
the classes they need.

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


Brenda Lin EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Nick Johnson MANAGING EDITOR
Max Kaltman BUSINESS MANAGER
Maura Currie NEWS EDITOR
Harsha Sridhar SPORTS EDITOR
Trishna Chandarana LIFE EDITOR
Tyler Meuter PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Vidya Iyer OPINIONS EDITOR


Kara Pendley ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Brighton Kamen DESIGN EDITOR
Ross Lindsay WEB DEVELOPER

FAREWELL BY LANAH MARIE JOSE

Death is a
natural part
of life...

technique

OPINIONS EDITOR: Vidya Iyer

Friday,
January 15, 2016

Living life through the lens of a camera


Are you insinuating that one cannot both document
an experience and at the same time enjoy that
experience fully? If so, I completely, but respectfully
disagree with you.

illuminaughty
International students and Thanksgiving
Congrats to all involved in this program, because
being an international student isnt easy, given our
complex culture and language.

Lance
Why I dont want to here your vegan jokes
I, being vegan, am claiming to do the RIGHT thing !! If
u think RIGHT is superior to wrong then YOU TOO can
do the right thing !!

Maha Raman
Dont try being a vegan and catch a cold. Youll get
lots of funny hahas, like Know what you need? A
juicy hamburger.

G
I love the nutritional expert part, soo true, thanks.

MariCee
Ben Carsons tall tales
Cant pick on the other partys aversion to the truth?

Doug Kintz
So theres no misunderstanding...Carson has
provided proof positive of his claims...

Tim Peebles
And Bobby Dodd stadium was built, not as some say
for football but as a location for Noah to build his ark.

Marshall Nason
Write to us:

letters@nique.net
Got something to say? Then let
your voice be heard with the Technique. Sliver at Nique.net, tweet us
@the_nique or check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/thenique. We
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 spaceavailable basis.
Each week we look for letters that

are responses to or commentaries on


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, including 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 concern, contact the Opinions Editor at
opinions@nique.net.

technique January 15, 2016 7

// OPINIONS

Providing homes for the homeless


The capitol building of Sacramento, California was the location of an important protest over
the winter holidays. The city has
a no camping ordinance, which
hurts the citys homeless population a great deal. Understanding
the problem the ordinance creates, many non-homeless people
protested by deliberately camping outside the capitol building.
My initial reaction to the
protest which I did not hear
about until approximately two
weeks in to it was dont
these people have jobs of their
own that they need to be at or
family to be with during the
holidays? Despite this initial
reaction, I do commend these
activists and think their protest
highlights a significant problem
in our country.
As politicians debate whether
or not to allow refugees into the
country, a large portion of our
population remains homeless
in unwelcoming cities with nowhere else to go.
In regards to Sacramento, as
well as any large city with any
sort of homeless population, I
believe the answer is clear: they
should follow in the footsteps

I do commend these
people and think their
protest highlights a
significant problem in our
country.

TRISHNA CHANDARANA

LIFE EDITOR

of cities like Salt Lake City


or rather the state of Utah as a
whole and provide proper
housing for the chronically
homeless.
In addition to housing, the
city of Sacramento can also,
following Utahs example, provide on-site counseling for those
dealing with substance abuse
issues. The capital can also give
the homeless small jobs to pay
a small rent, so the city is not
just funneling money, but rather
making an investment.
Utah is real life proof that
this strategy is both cost effective and successful, so it does
not makes sense why other cities
and states feel the need to spend
more taxpayer dollars to get a

Perfection is in the eye


of the beholder
I sat down to write this edito- made me effective at my job had
rial, and I thought about all the nothing to do with a test that I
controversial subjects I could had passed, at least not one on
write about. Our country is paper. I excelled thrived because
changing rapidly, the world is I led a team, adapted well, mochanging, and
tivated myself
everyone is worand others and
ried about step- Perfection is ... taking took on added
ping on each
re spon sibi l it y.
every flaw that you While I learned
others toes, but
I do not want to encounter and making many of these
talk about any
attributes during
it positive. my time at Tech,
of that. I want
to talk about a
I was never testKARA PENDLEY ed on them.
subject that affects each and
In order to
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
every
student
grow in a career,
here: striving for
the most imporperfection is ruining us.
tant quality is to be able to lead
I walked onto campus two and work with others. As young
and a half years ago. I had goals, intelligent people, we will often
like I am sure most do. I wanted be put into situations where we
to make perfect grades, go to are leading people who will be
the gym all the time and gradu- older and more experienced. Arate with a perfect job lined up. I rogance and posturing can be
am still holding out for the per- a natural reaction to prove that
fect job, but not because I think you are worthy of the job,
there is such a thing as a per- but that will lead down a tricky
fect job anymore. I know that path. By asking questions and
whatever I do, there will be bad engaging all of the people, you
days and good ones. The differ- can build relationships that will
ence is how I define perfect.
push you towards success.
Perfection is no longer deI learned that I flourished in
fined as being free from all the workplace. I could set realflaws, but it is taking every flaw istic goals and achieve them. I
that you encounter and making realized that you have to fail
it positive. I will have a perfect many times before the best soday every time I can go to sleep lution comes about. But more
knowing that I have grown than that, I learned that I was
stronger, smarter or wiser.
not failing. I was constantly imI did not have this mental- proving. The first iteration of
ity when I came into school. I anything will never be the last,
had never made anything but an and it should not be the last.
A, and anything less felt like a
As I go forward at Tech and
failure. So needless to say, I felt in my career, I can now look at
like I was failing all the time. It my life as the first iteration. A
took me until I started my co-op bad boss will make me stronger,
to realize that an A on a test a mistake will teach me the right
or in a class does not define my way, and if I handle a situation
self-worth or my worth to my poorly, I will be able to do it betemployer.
ter the next time. Everything I
In reality, no one at work do makes me stronger, smarter
cared whether I made an A in or wiser, and, for me, that will
physics or a C. The things that make my life perfect.

less than desirable result with


the current regulations?
Let me be clear, when I say
provide decent housing I
mean modern units that are free
of rats, roaches and termites and
are not located in the seedy part
of town. Though modest, these
accommodations need to be attractive to the homeless and not
right next door to their old crack
dealer otherwise nothing will
change.
Realistically, I understand
that it is not a problem that can
be solved with the snap of my
fingers, but I do believe that if
cities like Sacramento put forth
an effort to treat the homeless
problem in a similar fashion to
what Utah has done, they may

find it to be a rewarding endeavor. It may take a decade, but


short-term solutions is not the
way to long-term success.
Many of our homeless are
children, family, victims of circumstance or even veterans; living on the street should not be
permanent, nor should it mean
that they are beyond help or
criminalized. It is depressing
to see so many homeless on the
streets in any city, but especially
in a first world heavyweight
country like ours. We should
be treating our homeless not as
criminals or as festering problems that need to be hidden, but
as real life people who need a
helping hand.
This season, every hot shot
politician in the country is
weighing in on the big issues,
and everyone is looking to the
national stage for a leader to fix
all of our problems. It might be
a good time for individual cities
and states to take a hard look
at how they treat their homeless problem and re-evaluate
how effective their approach
is, whether it means modeling
themselves to Utahs approach
or redesigning their own.

the 1800s was the oppression of


STATUES FROM PAGE 1
minorities. I personally dont see
racist against white people. I why people would take the Conmean ... A) no its not and B) federate States to be their heriugh, shut up. Racism is about tage: the losing team from 200
structural oppression and in- years ago founded upon a crime
equality, like how statues re- against humanity.
inforce the idea that a specific
Despite how depressing the
group of people are less than hu- state of affairs can be in New
man. Let the records show that Orleans, I learned this past sumwhite people are not oppressed. mer that all the crap Ive dealt
Having ones hot
with was only
air balloon of
fairly racist.
Racism
is
about
an ego brought
If all the Constructural oppression federate flags
down from the
stratosphere is
Gatlinburg,
and inequality ... in
not racist when
Tenn., were laid
everyone else is
white people are not out side by side,
below sea level.
could see
oppressed. you
It seems that
them from space
Hometown
with the naked
NICK JOHNSON eye: the planFacebook these
MANAGING EDITOR etary version of
days falls into
four categories:
a Donald Trump
photos with family or friends, bumper sticker. There were more
someone got engaged, someone dinner shows than black people
got married and BLACK-ON- in the entire city.
BLACK CRIME (Ive never
It all comes back to white
seen it lowercased, and Ive seen privilege. I speak for everyone
it a lot). Apparently, BLACK- when I say that white male
ON-BLACK CRIME should privilege is the worst. Twitters
be Louisianas sole focus rather new Head of Diversity is a white
than the awful public education, guy from Silicon Valley, which
awful local infrastructure or aw- is listed in the thesaurus as an
ful Saints season. Racists love antonym for diversity. White
BLACK-ON-BLACK
crime people blissfully unaware of dibecause to them, it justifies ra- versity sit at the heads and hiring
cial discrimination, removing hands of companies, convinced
all forms of gun control and that the best candidates are
citing Breitbart as a journalistic the ones with firm handshakes,
source. If a fair population of the non-threatening melanin counts
black community is poor and is and easy-to-pronounce names.
forced to live in certain areas of People campaigned against seethe city, its not like any crimi- ing Star Wars since Rey, Finn
nals are going to drive across the and Poe appeal to a wider group
Causeway to rob a white family of people (you already know
on the Northshore.
they lied and watched it anyWhat it really seems to be way). In Oregon, armed, miliis an attempt to maintain the tant YeeHawdists from Yall Qastatus quo, distracting people eda took over a federal building,
with a misinformed, nebulous threatened to kill federal officers
concept and the caps lock key. and were called protesters inStatus quo happens to be the stead of terrorists. Dont get me
shortened and meaningless ver- started on Donald Trump.
sion of status quo res erant ante
For the reasonable white peobellum, translated the state in ple out there, no one wants to
which things were before the hear your objectively incorrect
war. They were talking about a opinions and assertions about
different war back in the 1300s, diversity. Shut up and listen to
but the antebellum status quo in what diverse people have to say.

What are important


qualities in a potential
presidential candidate?

COREY CASKEY

FIRST-YEAR CHEME

Someone who can fulfill


their promises.

DAVIS HUBBARD

SECOND-YEAR CMPE

Willingness to make decisions that need to be made


regardless of party
affiliation.

ISRAEL NUNEZ

SECOND-YEAR MS ME

Someone who sets good examples to other countries.

OLIVIA STEHR

SECOND-YEAR CE

Concern for all people


regardless of their
differences.
Photos by Maria Furukawa Student Publications

8 January 15, 2016 technique

// OPINIONS

OUR VIEWS | HOT OR NOT

HOT

or

NOT

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Raising awareness for refugees


and human trafficking
The connection between
trafficking and refugee
populations is clear.

ABBEY MCDANIEL

CRC and Resolutions

With the start of the new


year comes people starting a
new and making significant
life changes because the
new year obviously means
its time to reinvent yourself.
The most common of these
changes is becoming healthy
and fit. While these new goals
are well-intended it means that
the CRC is jam packed. Its
funny to see the crowds dwindling down, but for now its
just a little annoying.

High Commissioner for Refugees.


This lack of legal status may
be one of the most problematic
issues refugees face. Refugees
are often not properly identified by immigration and border
protection; and, even if they are
given a legal status, they often
do not have the ability to work
legally, making them susceptible
to illegal employment situations
where they are willing to accept
exploitative employment for fear
of being sent back to their home
country. About 10 million people
worldwide are defined as stateless, meaning they do not have a
nationality at all. Traffickers can
often use a victims lack of legal
status to keep them from speaking out or seeking help from the
authorities. Many refugees are left
without a proper legal status (legal
statuses could include repatriation, integration in their present
country, or resettlement in a third
country) for years, left in unsafe
living conditions as they wait.
In October, Maria Grazia
Giammarinaro, the UN Special
Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, urged the EU to ensure that
all related policies and especially
migration policies must be consistent with the priority of prevent-

TECHS ON CAMPUS
PRINT RESOURCE!!!

Ha

nd
bo
o

ks
No

M
NA AIL S
ME ER
TA VIC
GS E
S

teb

ers

Singular They

The American Dialect Society named the singular form of


they as the word of the year
for 2015. Not only is this great
news for people who have been
called out for using singular
they in the past, but the acceptance of this pronoun indicates the acceptance of people
all across the gender spectrum.
This is definitely only a small
victory in a larger battle of acceptance. As for the grammar
nerds, just deal with it.

January is Human Trafficking


Awareness Month and marks the
beginning of a year where we will
continue to confront the growing
refugee problem that dominated
last years news cycle. However,
missing in the news coverage is a
mention of the trafficking and exploitation risk that refugees face.
As the European Union (EU)
struggled with the largest number of refugees seen since World
War II, their policy of open borders has been challenged and
EU states have fought over their
agreed upon quotas for accepting
refugees. Some world leaders have
called for acceptance and welcomed refugees, while others have
succumbed to an unjustified fear.
As we argue about accepting asylum-seekers, thousands of people
are left without adequate services
or the protection of a government.
The connection between trafficking and refugee populations
is clear. A large group of people
are fleeing their countries without resources or proper citizenship status, making them vulnerable to violence, exploitation and
traffickers. Even more troubling,
displaced children make up about
half of this vulnerable population,
according to the United Nations

Inv
Po ita
Br st C tion
oc ar s
hu ds
res

Last Sunday saw the end


of a Rock and Roll legend.
David Bowie, aged 69, passed
away due to liver cancer. At the
same age, Alan Rickman also
passed away due to cancer. He
was well known for his roles in
Love Actually, Die Hard, and
of course, Harry Potter as the
beloved Professor Snape. Both
of these men will be greatly
missed, but their mark in the
entertainment is sure to always
be remembered.

nn

Celebs Cancer Deaths

This heavenly delight is


coming near Tech really soon.
Located in University House,
Insomnia Cookies delivers delicious cookies up until three
in the morning and opens
again in just hours later. This
is perfect for students pulling all-nighters because there
is finally another place that
tis open past 2 A.M. besides
Waffle House and WingZone.
Besides that the sugar is sure to
keep students going.

CO
CA UN
MP TE
US R C
& U ARD
S S
MA
IL

oo

ks

Ba

Insomnia Cookies

MS INTA AND IHTI TECHNOLOGY


AND SOCIAL MEDIA INTERN

ing and eradicating trafficking


and exploitation. Her statement
makes clear that nations should
provide a legal, protective status
for refugees.
With such a large-scale, global
issue, it can be difficult to find a
way to get involved and affect
change. To get started, here are
some ideas:
Provide resources. The season of giving may be over, but
there are various small donations
you can make that can provide
a big impact to a refugee family
in need. The more we meet the
needs of these individuals, the less
vulnerable to exploitative circumstances they become.
Encourage acceptance. The
recent rhetoric around refugees
has been troubling, to say the
least. Lets get educated on the
refugee experience and be compassionate towards this vulnerable
population.
Purchase
conscientiously.
Stay up-to-date on companies and
products that have taken pledges
to ensure human trafficking and
labor exploitation are not part of
their supply chains.
Get informed. There are multiple organizations in the Atlantaarea that work with both human
trafficking and refugee services.
For information on trafficking,
consider youthSpark, the Southern Poverty Law Center, GeorgiaCares, and Tapestri.
For information of refugee services in Georgia, New American
Pathways or Lutheran Services of
Georgia are great resources.
Also, visit The International
Human Trafficking Institutes
website for information, events,
and ways to get involved at www.
theihti.org

CONTACT US TODAY!!!
404-894-3570

www.pcs.gatech.edu
pcs@oit.gatech.edu

EXPLORE
COLOR
endless possibilities.

LEARN

about Georgia Tech and campus life.

CREATE
memories with your family.
The Office of the Parents Program
presents

SIBS DAY AT GEORGIA TECH

Saturday,
February 20, 2016
Georgia Tech students are invited to host brothers,
sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, family friends
you name itand give them a taste of campus life,
Yellow Jacket-style!
For ages 7-177 Cost: $45 per person
Registration closes on February 5, 2016
For more information visit parents.gatech.edu/sibsday
Questions? Call 404-385-1396 or email parents@gatech.edu

parents.gatech.edu

GT Sibs Day poster 2016 11x14.indd 1

11/12/15 12:06 PM

Life
RE

LIFE EDITOR:

technique

A new Srat is coming to town!

Trishna Chandarana

10

The increased female student population has led the CPC


planning to add one of three new sororities.411

ASSTISTANT LIFE EDITOR:

Layla Ghazi

life@nique.net

(in)novation

Student Center

Ballroom was made to


be divided into two
sections, but the divider
is not soundproof.

Ballroom

EXIT

by Trishna Chandarana

EXIT

319

Muslim students
must pray in hallways
due to lack of space.

back of house tour

Friday,
January 15, 2016

301

320
321
W

Aux
Ops
332

EXIT

M
Ferst
Place

343

EXIT

rd
floor

359

Not enough room


has been allocated
for Paper & Clay.

Paper Dining
&
Serv.
Clay Oce

Student
Center
Admin.

EXIT

Spring Cypress
Black Student
Organization
Oces

Crescent

The Computer
Commons has only

W M

15

EXIT
W
RE

outlets.

K
o

di
Ra

400

Computer
Commons

Oce of
Leadership
& Civic
Engagement

Catering
Deck

EXIT

student organizations,
but only

M W

Under
Information the
Desk
Couch

Toxic substances from


Paper & Clay has leaked
onto the salad bar.

cubicles and

30

storage cabinets.

EXIT

Food Court does not


have sufficient seating.

EXIT

Juniper

Peachtree
W

Kitchen

nd

floor

Second Floor
Food Court

EXIT

EXIT

EXIT

Panda
Express
Post Oce

Taco Bell
Hamper
Haven

Subway

EXIT
Meeting rooms
were booked

10,000
times in 2015.

Student
Center
Theater

DePoe Eye
Center

Burdells

EXIT

23,000
students,

7,000
faculty, but only

10,000
P. O. boxes.

With the crowded lunch rush and only


post office on campus, the Student Center
is undoubtedly one of the busiest buildings on campus. Originally opened in
1970, the building was designed to service
16,000 people nearly half as many as
Techs current 30,000. To give students
a hands-on look at its issues, the Student
Center is offering behind-the-scenes tours
at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays. The 45-minute
tours meet at the information desk and
highlight the following issues.
The Student Centers most pertinent
and reoccurring problem is that of space:
storage space for businesses, kitchen space
for catering events, table space for dining,
lounge space and meeting space for students and employees and, most notably,
space for meditation and religious pur-

EXIT

Chik-Fil-A

W M

Grease from the


kitchen falls on
the bowling lanes.
Tech Rec

Gaming room is
used as lunch
overflow due to
lack of space.

poses. It is safe to say that the space in the


Student Center is bursting at the seams.
We need at least one or two more
ballrooms, at least one or two more rooms
like the Peachtree room ... but really we
need about 10 more meeting rooms for
students, said Kate Curnow, communications and marketing manager of the
Student Center. [The service hallway] is
another one of those storage spaces that
isnt supposed to be storage space. If you
are loading anything that is larger than a
regular box, then it needs to ... be brought
in individually. For example, when the
bookstore is bringing in the caps and
gowns, they need to bring them all in individually ... about 400 boxes.
With over 400 student organizations
on campus, one small designated room

st
floor

Design by Brighton Kamen Student Publications

Te Kap
st lan
Pr
ep

SGA
Piedmont
Oce

EXIT

with only six cubicles and limited storage


space underwhelms. This creates a sustainability issue with event supplies and
forces organizations to throw out old supplies which could potentially have been
used by other organizations.
A major problem is the lack of space
for religious purposes. Because of how
outdated the Student Center is, there is no
space for students of any religion to meet,
which is particularly troublesome for
Muslim students who must pray five times
a day forcing them to pray in hallways.
Additionally, the building does not
meet many modern standards. The oldschool electrical room and duct-taped
pipes are particularly concerning.
The electrical room is from 1970; it
is old-school and powering the Student

Center, Curnow said. There are 17,000


people in the building every day, and it
makes me very nervous. It is just a matter of time before things start failing, and
we are rapidly approaching the point of
crumbling. We dont have gender-neutral
bathrooms; we dont have family bathrooms; we dont have a lot of those things
that in 2016 are considered standard. It
really comes down to outdated systems
and lack of space.
The Student Center needs to be updated, that much is clear to all of its visitors.
The question now is what the budget will
be and how much the Student Center can
be updated within that budget. The referendum will be a semester-long campaign,
culminating in a student vote during the
SGA elections.

technique January 15, 2016 11

// LIFE

CPC declares plan of sorority addition


LAYLA GHAZI

ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR


According to the Office of
Admission, of the approximately
8,726 persons in the class of 2019,
the freshman class boasts a female
population of 40 percent, compared to the previous classes of
2017 and 2018 with 37.36 and 39
percent female students, respectively. In addition to the diversification of the student body, the significant increase in women has led
to increased female involvement
throughout campus, most notably
in membership within the Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC).
The collective CPC community consists of seven sororities (Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi,
Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi,
Alpha Xi Delta, Phi Mu and Zeta
Tau Alpha), as well as two associate member chapters (Alpha Delta
Chi and Alpha Omega Epsilon).
Compared to the Spring 2015 semester, where the total number of
active and new members in sororities was 1,343, the Office of Greek
Affairs reports that the Fall 2015
semester had a collective total of
1,540 active and new members.
In 2014, the Council created
an exploratory committee, but
the community did not feel like
we were prepared to take on another Chapter. During Fall 2015
recruitment, our community felt
strained when we had a record
number of women go through
Formal Recruitment, said Marguerite Bradley, third-year IE,
who serves as the Executive Vice
President of the CPC and was a
representative for Alpha Xi Delta
on the exploratory committee.
The recruitment data provided
by the CPC Exploratory Committee states that the number of
women starting rush increased
from 436 to 489 between the

2014 and 2015 recruitments.


Party sizes were getting larger
than the houses could accommodate, and we added additional
parties to several of the days,
Bradley said. The exploratory
committee allowed us to take a
closer look at the data and predict
what would happen to our Chapter sizes if we added another sorority. It also gave us the opportunity
to determine if our campus had
the resources a new sorority would
need such as housing options.
At the open CPC meeting on
Nov. 16, the official vote to open
the campus for extension passed.
However, prior to the public vote,
there was some cause for concern
from some women in the Greek
community who feared that the
unique character of the current
nine sororities could potentially

be jeopardized.
I do not feel that my sorority
is challenged by the addition of a
new chapter, said Elizabeth Osman, first-year IAML. There are
different types of communities
within each chapter, and this new
chapter can find its place on campus. I am personally very excited
about the new chapter because I
knew a good amount of girls during Fall 2015 rush that were not
able to find a chapter that they really fit into and stopped the process. I think the fact that some
girls cannot find a home on our
campus is very upsetting.
Once approved, several sororities approached the expansion
committee over the course of winter break with proposals.
I think the reasons the CPC
gave during the open meeting as

to why they were looking to add


another chapter on campus were
truly convincing, said Meagan
Fountain, first-year ME.
During the analysis of the exploratory committees findings for
expansion, the CPC provided data
that demonstrated that by 2020,
sorority pledge classes could be
between 70 to 80 women without
the addition of another chapter.
I hope that, with the addition
of a new sorority, every girl that
wants to be involved in the strong
sisterhood can develop her sisters,
can have the opportunity to find
what she wants, Osman said.
The expansion committee narrowed down the search to three
sororities: Kappa Delta, Chi
Omega and Kappa Alpha Theta.
The three sororities will have presentations Feb. 2226.

Spending the
lottery winnings
CHRISTIAN SHAHEEN
STAFF WRITER

The Powerball lottery is up to a


record-breaking $1.4 billon. It has
been dubbed the largest jackpot
in the history of the world by the
executive head of the Texas lottery, Gary Grief. The chances of
winning the grand prize are 1 in
$292.2 million. But slim chances
havent stopped anyone from daydreaming, What if? So here is
some advice in case you end up
actually winning the Powerball.
HAVE A DANCE PARTY
What else are you going to do
after discovering you are now a
billionaire? Put on throwbacks
like Make it Rain and reenact
the music video with real money
(instead of monopoly money) because you can do that now.

Photo by Layla Ghazi Student Publications

The executive board of the CPC meets to discuss the results of the data collected by the exploratory committee. The increased female population has jumpstarted the need for a new chapter.

Roger Guenveur Smith:


Rodney King

Intensely cathartic and moving


The New York Times

Friday, Jan. 15, 8:00 pm


Saturday, Jan. 16, 8:00 pm
In this riveting performance, Smith captures
the story of a flawed, good-hearted everyman,
and reveals Americas endlessly complicated
relationship with its racial past and present.
Georgia Tech students free; Georgia Tech staff and
faculty $10. Tickets at Ferst Center Box Office.

Mark Gindick

Wing-Man

Mark Gindick is a gifted physical


comedianthe laughs in Wing-Man
come fast and furious. The Rochester CITY Paper

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 7:30 pm


Thursday, Jan. 21, 7:30 pm
Friday, Jan. 22, 8:00 pm
Saturday, Jan. 23, 8:00 pm
Wing-Man is a laugh-out-loud and surprisingly
poignant one-clown show that explores our
obsession with social media.
Georgia Tech Student Tickets only $10;
Tickets at Ferst Center Box Office

arts.gatech.edu

404-894-9600

GO TO DISNEY WORLD
What better place to celebrate
your newfound billionaire status
than the happiest place on earth?
You can finally afford to visit all
of the Walt Disney World Theme
Parks in the world. Buckle up because you will be spending quite
a bit of time at Magic Kingdom,
Epcot, Animal Kingdom and
Hollywood Studios.
See TIPS, page 13

12 January 15, 2016 technique

// LIFE

LiquidText expands ability to absorb knowledge


TRISHNA CHANDARANA
LIFE EDITOR

The saying when one door


closes, another one opens aptly
applies to Tech graduate and
founder of LiquidText Craig
Tashman, CS 12. Upon running
into a dead end with his Ph.D. research, Tashman, encouraged by
his advisor in the Graphics, Visualization and Usability (GVU)
center, quickly switched to a topic
that he had found more interesting since Andy Wilson from Microsoft introduced him to a multitouch surface.
Tashman had been toying
with the idea of reimagining how
people interacted with information ever since that meeting, so he
decided to pick it up as his Ph.D.
thesis. Though many faculty
members were a bit apprehensive
of this new thesis topic, his advisor was intrigued.
He said, You know, I dont
know exactly how this is a Ph.D.
thesis yet, but its awesome, and
well figure out how to make it a
Ph.D. thesis, Tashmand said.
When I first proposed this, it
wasnt part of an existing grant
or project. It was just something
I wanted to do. A lot of advisors
would have said Really nice, kid,
go play on that on your own time.
Ive got a grant I want you working on. Not my advisor. He said,
I dont know how were going to
pay for it, but were going to find
a way. He worked really hard to

get me the freedom and the latitude to work on this. He took a


big risk.
As he neared the completion
of his project, the feedback he
was receiving was overwhelmingly positive. With the aid of his
professor and doctoral committee,
he was ready to start working on
a commercial version of his prototype upon graduation.
LiquidText, though marketed as a PDF reader, is meant to
change the way users interact with
information. Users can squeeze
pages together to view different
sections at the same time and link
them together; they can write
comments and link them to multiple chunks of information across
various documents as well as pull
important information right off
the page and link it to other comments in the workspace.
Tech helped me in a lot of
really profound ways, Tashman
said. I think the most profound
was the GVU center [...] and particularly my professor, [they] really went above and beyond the
call of duty to enable me to do
this. We had money to pay people.
We had an environment where
students were encouraged to do
projects. The other thing that
was really cool about Tech was
some of the outside relationships
it had. Tech had a really good
relationship with Steelcase, a big
manufacturing firm out of Michigan. The Steelcase folks came by
and saw what we were doing and
said, Wow this is terrific. We

would love to be a part of this in


some way.
This relationship allowed
Tashman to do user testing on
non-college students, expanding
the versatility of his project.
While many of LiquidTexts
current users are students and
lawyers, Tashmans long-term
goal is to expand LiquidText to
make it accessible and useful to as
many people as possible.
This process of retrieving,
organizing, synthesizing and inseminating knowledge isnt something that just happens amongst

students or lawyers; its something


everyone is doing, Tashman
said. The knowledge, the apps
and the tools used will vary, but
the process itself is fundamental.
Googles vision is to be the place
that organizes the worlds information, Our vision is to be the
tool people use to understand the
worlds information.
Though LiquidText is only
currently available on the iPad,
Tashman and his team are working vigorously to bring the app
to Windows computers both
with and without touchscreens

and other devices by the end


of the year.
We want to bring it to your
PC, and we want to bring it to
your Mac and maybe eventually your smartphone, Tashman
said. We want to have this app
as a browser plugin, so you can be
navigating around web-pages, see
something important, pull it out
and connect it over to some piece
of a PDF that you were working
with a couple days earlier.
Students and professionals
alike will soon be able to utilize
the full scope of LiquidText.

Photo courtesy of Craig Tashman

LiquidText allows uses to interact with information in a novel way. Craig Tashman, LiquidText
creator and Tech graduate, followed a non-traditional path for his Ph.D. to create the application.

DIVERSITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM


A Diversity Ambassador is a student committed to learning about the multiple facets of diversity,
equity, and inclusion through participating in a two-semester program to work towards becoming
more multicultural competent.
Diversity Ambassadors will be recognized for their achievement and remain in this program as
leaders, trainers, and champions for student diversity.

APPLICATIONS DUE JAN 29, 2016


for more info:
www.diversityprograms.gatech.edu

technique January 15, 2016 13

// LIFE

Seven Tech students make 30 Under 30


JON LONG

CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Earlier this month, Forbes released its annual 30 Under 30
list, a collection of 30 successful
movers and shakers under 30
years old in a variety of different
fields. Tech had a strong showing this year, with seven students
or former students making the
list across six different categories,
more than doubling last years total of three.
Lujendra Ojha is a current
Ph.D. candidate in planetary science at Tech. Ojha, included in
the science category, was the man
behind the recent announcement
by NASA that evidence of water
was found on Mars. His observation of the Martian landscape led
to an official research project that
ended in what was arguably NASAs biggest announcement across
all fields in 2015.
Theres going to be years of research put into this to even prove
that this is definitely a proof of water, Ojha said, courtesy of CNN.
And from that, we can move on:
OK, if this is water, what are the
chances that life could be in these
kinds of surroundings?
Allen Chang, BME 08, made
the list in the Manufacturing &
Industry category. His company,
Vertera Spine Inc., was the first
company to develop and manufacture an FDA-approved synthetic replacement for human
bone, PEEK Scoria.

With PEEK Scoria, we are


solving the PEEK-bone integration problem while exploring other innovative approaches to improve clinical outcomes for spine
patients, Chang said, courtesy of
newson6.com. We have come a
long way since founding the company over two years ago, and I am
looking forward to seeing what
we can achieve as we develop additional product lines for spine
and beyond.
Chang, who developed multiple medical devices while at Tech,
is hoping to expand and diversify his business beyond synthetic
spines and into other sectors of the
healthcare market.
In the category of Retail and
eCommerce, Candace Mitchell,
CS 11, co-founded Techturized
Inc. with four fellow Tech graduates in 2012. Techturized is a
player in the $3 billion AfricanAmerican hair-care industry. The
companys biggest venture as of
2015 was an app, Myavana, that
provides custom recommendations to women based on their
own unique needs and allows
users to share advice, tips
and techniques.
Emily Woods, ME 10, the first
of two Tech grads in the Energy
category, is leading efforts to improve sanitation in third-world
countries. Her company, which
is currently in its early stages, is
presently testing a method in Kenya for turning human waste into
a sustainable source of fuel.
While the method for the sani-

tation process is still being tested,


it is showing promise as a viable
and sanitary source of fuel for developing countries.
The second graduate in this
category is Alec Manfre, ME 11,
the CEO and co-founder of Bractlet. He uses advanced technology
to get detailed data on electrical
usage in order to help businesses
save both energy and money. According to Forbes, his technology
has saved businesses 35 percent on
electrical costs.
Paris Rouzati, MGT 13, made
the list in the Marketing and Advertising category. Rouzati is currently the manager of marketing
for about.me, a company that lets
users create their own personal
web pages. She creates strategies
catered to the fast-changing world

of Social Media and specializes


in the behavior of Millenials and
Generation Z.
To round out the list, Josh Allen, CHEM 08, gave Tech a presence in the Healthcare category.
He is vice president of research
and development for Oncoceutics, who discovered a way to potentially kill cancer cells without
harming healthy cells. His discovery is one of the most promising
in the oncology field and has catapulted him into the forefront of
cancer research.
If these seven Jackets are any
indication, Tech stands on the
forefront of innovation in solving
todays problems. From cancer research to renewable energy to hair
care, Tech grads are active in all
aspects of society.

TIPS

FROM PAGE 11

BUY AN ISLAND
Small islands sell for as low
as $20,000. Though it might be
a better investment in the long
term to spend more money on a
larger island, can you imagine the
amount of fun and privacy you
can have on your very own island?
Unless any engineers would like
to design an underwater island,
in which case: go for it.
BUILD YOUR DREAM HOUSE
Build yourself a house with
everything you have ever seen on
BuzzFeed or pinned on Pintrest.
Buy your mom new house too.
Heck, go Oprah and buy everyone a new house because you can
afford to be that generous now.
HIRE A PERSONAL CHEF
When you move into your
dream house, you are going to be
too busy planning your next vacation and managing your stock
portfolio to cook healthy and
tasty meals, so let someone take it
off of your hands.
GET FIT WITH A TRAINER
Get the body of a model so
you can look just as good in all of
the new designer clothes that fill
your closet.

Photo courtesy of GT Communications

Josh Allen (left) and Candace Mitchell (right) were both featured
in the list. All of the graduates strive to help people in various ways.

TRAVEL THE WORLD


You will no longer have to go
to Techs Lorraine campus or hit
up your friends with Delta connections in order to find yourself
on a train traveling through the
Alps. Buy yourself a first class
ticket to anywhere you want to go
and enjoy the trip of a lifetime.

Entertainment

technique

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:

Kara Pendley

ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:

Jamie Rule

entertainment@nique.net

14

Friday,
January 15, 2016

Photos courtesy of Breath Cast, Fox 21, Robin Scott, Amazon Studios, moon0727, The Weinstein Company, AMC Studios; Graphic courtesy of Presentation Magazine; Design by Ansley Marks Student Publications

NICK JOHNSON

MANAGING EDITOR
Quite a few TV shows aired
the final episodes of their respective seasons over Techs Winter
Break. Even more online-only
shows rang off the New Year with
special episodes or entire seasons.
For those poor souls who missed
any, here are some recaps. Beware,
spoilers ahead!
NCIS
For longtime viewers of
NCIS on CBS, there are a few
novel treats in Season 13 that go
beyond the predictable. Gibbs
(Mark Harmon, Freaky Friday) gets a haircut and shows
an emotion, Ellie Bishop (Emily Wickersham, I am Number
Four) and Jake (Jamie Bamber,
Battlestar Galactica) break up,
Jeanne Benoit (Scottie Thompson, Star Trek) reappears on
Tony DiNozzos (Michael Weatherly, Dark Angel) radar, and the
team fromNCIS: New Orleans
makes an appearance in a special
joint episode.
Everything else has been seen
before: the DiNozzo rise and fall
of romance, murder mysteries of
the week and a new mysteriousbad-guy cliffhanger. Still, for
a show pushing 300 episodes,
any innovation is pretty good.
However, being able to pick out
the bad guys at the beginning of
each episode leaves more to be
desired from the show for those
longtime viewers.

LEGENDS
Season two of Legends was
completely reimagined from the
procedural terror-plot-of-the-week
of season one to a gritty action/
drama due to its low viewership.
The new season features the badboy undercover legend of Martins, Dmitry Petrovich (Sean
Bean, Lord of the Rings), whose
actions Martin does not remember from a decade ago. Martin is
brought back into Dmitrys world
as Kate (Aisling Franciosi, The
Fall), the daughter of Dmitrys
former flame Ilyana (Klra Issov,
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince
Caspian), is inadvertently caught
up in another terrorist plot.
Only a single character from
season one, other than Martin
himself, shows up at any point in
the season, and the final events of
season one are hardly mentioned,
despite the former season leaving plenty of loose ends to tie up.
Aside from the lack of continuity,
the season on its own falters. Possibly a dozen times per episode,
the scene completely changes, going from present day London to
2001 Czech Republic to a 1972
boarding school somewhere in
the UK back to the present day,
but this time in Paris. The shifts
in scene are jarring and confusing; there could have been one or
two episodes dedicated to exposition to allow the others to breathe.
Low viewership was last seasons
issue, and this season had even
fewer viewers. Legends has not
been renewed for a third season
by TNT.

ONEPUNCH MAN
Some of the greatest minds and
artists of anime joined forces to
produce One-Punch Man. Season one follows Saitama (Makoto
Furukawa, Is it Wrong to Try to
Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?),
a plain-looking bald guy who is
bored from beating all of his enemies with a single punch. He joins
the ranks of official heroes to gain
fame, but this backfires.
The story holds up rather well,
as it is more about Saitamas quest
to find an enemy worth fighting
rather than any individual enemy he defeats. However, most
of the other characters fall flat,
with only Genos (Kaito Ishikawa,
Owari no serafu) receiving any
character development. Most of
the characters are throwaways,
with over a dozen top-tier heroes
being introduced over the span of
two minutes near the end of the
season. Punching through the
faults of the show, however, is the
incredible animation quality in
the fight scenes. Energy repulsors,
sword slashes, flying kicks and
even Saitamas single punch per
fight are all beautifully animated.
Saitama throwing his single
punch is as fun for him as it is for
the viewers. However, the final
fight scene of the show features
Lord Boros, Dominator of the
Universe, someone who requires
Saitamas consecutive normal
punches to defeat. Boros knee
smash is strong enough to send
Saitama literally to the moon, but
the final blow from Saitama is so
powerful that its shockwave splits

the atmosphere in half for thousands of miles.


MOZART IN THE JUNGLE
Mozart in the Jungle is listed
as a comedy, but season two hits
all the right notes when it is not
trying to be funny. Rodrigos
(Gael Garca Bernal, The Motorcycle Diaries) and Haileys (Lola
Kirke, Gone Girl) adventure
through Mexico city has a sweet
tone and natural humor to contrast the chaos behind the scenes
of the New York Symphony Orchestra. However, the virtual reality fight between conductors
leaves much to be desired.
Bouncing between sweet, serious and funny, the theme feels
confused at some times while
managing to be on point at other
times, just as the orchestras performances are portrayed. An impending labor strike stitches the
episodes together serving as the
serious tone as well as providing several minor characters with
chances to perform away from the
dominating presence of the main
actors. There are at least three different shows mixed into Mozart
in the Jungle, and they occasionally play in unison. But when they
do or when the sweet romantic
comedy has a solo performance
such as in the episode How to
Make God Laugh the show
as a whole becomes a masterpiece.
SHERLOCK
Although season four of Sherlock will not air until 2017, the
super sleuth (Benedict Cumber-

batch, The Imitation Game)


made an appearance in London
during the 1890s attempting to
solve the case of the Abominable
Bride. The show played out in
typical Sherlock form, although
with a ghastly feeling more fitting
for a Halloween special.
A bride killed herself on her
anniversary, escaped the morgue,
killed her husband, was confirmed
dead and then killed another man.
An interesting case on its own was
made more so when Moriarty
(Andrew Scott, Saving Private
Ryan) showed up. This shocker
brought viewers back to modern Sherlock, who was dreaming
about the case of the bride in order to better understand the ending of season three. After the final
reveal, the shows usual, exceptional editing takes over, seamlessly flowing present day and over
a century ago. Cryptic clues from
Mycroft (Mark Gatiss, Shaun of
the Dead), Watson (Martin Freeman, Captain America: Civil
War) noticing things Sherlock
does not, Mary (Amanda Abbington, Mr. Selfridge) investigating
on her own, conflict with Moriarty: this becomes just a normal
episode of Sherlock.
INTO THE BADLANDS
Into the Badlands on AMC
brought style in its short first
season. From the Baron Quinns
(Marton Csokas, The Lord of
the Rings) heavy southern drawl
to the poppy flowers striking red
against the de-saturated greens of
See FINALES, page 16

Georgia Tech Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration January 13 28, 2016

; Featuring Jeff
Johnson
; 3 p.m.
; Student Center
Ballroom
Social activist
and television
commentator Jeff
Johnson challenges
students, faculty,
staff, and community
members to celebrate
the real legacy of Dr.
Martin Luther King
Jr. while considering
their own.

Civil Rights to
Human Rights:

ML K R et ur n s , 2 0 1 1 Cr ys ta l Bo r de ( ht tp : / /v ia m yv iew fin d er. b log s po t .c om )

January 13
MLK Lecture

UNCLAIMED
LEGACY:
Who Will Lead
the Next Social
Movement?

The
COLOR
Courage
to Lead

RSVP:
www.diversity.
gatech.edu/2016mlk-lecture.
January 14
CAMPUSWIDE STUDENT
CELEBRATION:
Coming Together
to Fulfill the Dream
; 7 p.m.
; Student Center
Ballroom
Student speeches,
cultural performance,
and a candle-lighting
ceremony. Reception
to follow.
Contact:
kjohnson306@
gatech.edu.
Jan. 15-16
Arts@Tech
presentsRoger
Guenveur Smith:
Rodney King
; 8 p.m. (both nights)
; Ferst Center for the
Arts
In this improvisational
performance,Roger
GuenveurSmith
captures the story
of a good-hearted
but flawed everyman
and, by extension,
reveals Americas
complicated
relationship with
its racial past and
present.
Contact:
Office of the Arts,
Mathew Igyarto,
404-894-9600,
www.arts.gatech.
edu/ferstcenter.
Discounts available
for Georgia Tech
students, staff, and
faculty.

EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE GEORGIA TECH COMMUNITY UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.

January 18

January 18

January 24

January 27

January 28

NATIONAL
MLK HOLIDAY
OBSERVANCE
A Day of Service:
Make a Difference
with A Day On,
Not a Day Off

Dr. Martin Luther


King Jr. Annual
Commemorative
Service

MLK SUNDAY
SUPPER: A
Community Meal
and Conversation

The Art of Civil


Disobedience

COURAGE TO LEAD:
Student Panel

; !-<
; Ebenezer Baptist
Church

; 6 - 8 p.m.
; Bill Moore Student
Success Center,
Presidents Suite

Students will learn


how to express their
desire for social
justice through the
arts (e.g., poetry,
song, chant,
paintings, signs,
buttons, etc.).

Students will be
motivated to advance
social justice by
engaging with
student leaders who
have taken a role in
advocating for causes
dear to them.

; 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
; Student Center
Ballroom

In this campuswide
initiative honoring the
life and legacy of Dr.
King, participants will
team up to engage
in service projects
with metro Atlanta
community partners.
RSVP:www.engage.
gatech.edu.
Contact:
giavanna.rimi@
vpss.gatech.edu.

Sponsored by the
).'%.3%1

spaces at this annual
church service
will be available to
the Georgia Tech
community through
the MLK Day of
Service.
Visit:
www.engage.
gatech.edu.

For more
information

Visit
www.diversity.
; 6 - 8 p.m.
; 6 - 8 p.m.
gatech.edu/
; Student Success
; Student Success
Center, Press Room A Center, Press Room B MLK-celebration.

The Georgia Tech


community is invited
to come together
over a meal to talk
!"/43
 
Celebration events,
Contact:
Dr. Kings legacy, and barryjohnsonsmith
the courage to lead.
23@gmail.com.
(%1%!1% 20!#%2
available.

Please let the


designated event
sponsor know if you
need a reasonable
accommodation to
participate.

Contact:
barryjohnsonsmith
23@gmail.com.

Visit:
www.engage.
gatech.edu.
Contact:
Sirocus.barnes@
ceismc.gatech.edu.
!"   !"    "
 "   ! ! 

16 January 15, 2016 technique

FINALES

FROM PAGE 14

the estates to the Widows noteworthy hairdo, the show claims


an aesthetic all of its own. Sunny
(Daniel Wu, The Man with the
Iron Fists) is a bit of a bore with
his killing streak of 400 people
being conflicted by actual emotions for his pregnant girlfriend,
but Sunnys dual-wielded swords
paint a different picture. Wu slays
his choreography as Sunny slays
his enemies. However, more interesting than his routine through
unskilled fighters is his dance
with the Widow (Emily Beecham,
Mirrors Edge).
One of the best fight scenes
of 2015, blades clash as the most
feared fighter faces off against the
Widow who killed her husband.
In contrast to the violence, the
slower scenes resonate with deceit
and southern drawl. The deceit is
rather unsurprising, though, with
perhaps one less-than-important
betrayal out of several lies not being expected. A special mention
goes to Veil (Madeleine Mantock,
Edge of Tomorrow), who sticks
to who she is and contrasts every
other character by the end. There
is much plot to be explored in a
potential season two, as the show
has yet to be renewed.
MARCO POLO
To announce the Season twos
Summer 2016 arrival of Marco
Polo, Netflix posted a short origin story about Hundred Eyes
Sifu (Tom Wu, Batman Begins), Marco Polos teacher in
season one. Good use was made
of the 30-minute runtime, as
there was the action and acerbic
dialogue of the better episodes of
season 1, not to mention the high
production value evident from a
single screenshot.
Sifus fate had already been
mentioned at some point during
the season, but this short gave the
monk the character development
and depth that was not afforded
to him previously. From warrior
monk to prisoner to blind man to
blind master, viewers witness not
only Sifus evolution but also the
evolution of the Khans (Benedict
Wong, Prometheus) respect for
Hundred Eyes.

// ENTERTAINMENT

Golden Globe winner stuns audiences


FILM

The Revenant
GENRE: Drama
STARRING: Leonardo
DiCaprio, Tom Hardy
DIRECTOR: Alejandro G.
Irritu
RATING: R
RELEASE DATE: Dec. 25

OUR TAKE:
NOAH ROBERTS

CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Just in time for awards season,
director Alejandro Irritu brings
his first film since Birdman
(2014), the film that took home
four Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Director) and blew
away audiences and critics alike
with its incredible acting, extraordinary storytelling and creepy
drum score. The Revenant stars
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of
Wall Street, Titanic) as Hugh
Glass, a fur trapper and frontiersman in 1820s South Dakota. The
plot follows his harrowing and
challenging return journey and
persistence to enact his growing
vengeance upon the man who left
him for dead after a bear mauling, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy,
The Dark Knight Rises).
The story has a strong anchor
in history, as most essential characters are named accurately and
are motivated by their real-life
counterparts decisions. Hugh
Glass was, in fact, left for dead
by Fitzgerald, but the film, based
on a Michael Punkes novel of the
same name, obviously dramatizes
the affair. Instead of launching
himself on a violent quest for
decisive revenge, Glass actually
battled to survive and find his way
back to his home base, an outpost
called Fort Kiowa, an astounding
200-mile journey.
Irritu also shakes up the
dramatic web by removing DiCaprios character from the other

fur trappers, developing him as


sort of a Dances with Wolves
type (or Avatar type, as they
are essentially the same film) with
a history living with the Pawnee
tribe and often referring to his relationship with a Pawnee woman
who bore him a son. Brilliantly
rubbing the edge of the usually
black and white divide between
the Whites and the Native Americans, spawning a complex grayarea protagonist with muddled allegiances, yet a distinct and sturdy
set of morals.
This is a truly beautiful film.
From the opening seconds, Irritu treats his cinematography like
scales a balance between the
brutality and beauty of the Dakotas. The film contrasts frosty
peaks, clear, crisp streams and
deep green and brilliant white
sprawling landscapes with gruesome battles and animal encounters, perfectly detailing the duality of nature. It is the classic case

of a proud lion: a stunning, regal


creature with intricate musculature and an immaculate anatomical layout, but the lion doubles as
a machine, engineered to kill for
meat without remorse. Irritus
artful cinematography won the
Golden Globe for his feat of brutal
beauty, and is a sure lock for the
Academy Award.
The spectacular setting of The
Revenant makes it a film experience worthy of a trip to the cinema, but what propels it to the
next level a level closer to film
mastery is the strong acting,
particularly that of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. Over the
years, Leo has become a fan favorite and also managed to establish
himself as an elite actor. While he
could have been a bit more passionate as Hugh Glass, he was in
front of the camera nearly for the
entirety of the film, and mixes
fear, wonder and determination
into his character. As an A-list ac-

tor, though, his performance was


expected, and the actor who truly
exceeded was Tom Hardy. Previously only known as Bane in The
Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy
exploded into the 2015 mainstream film world with essential
roles in five huge films, most notably the delightfully action-packed
Mad Max revamp. Irritu uses
his hauntingly deep voice to transform the British actor into a Texas
native with an obsessively greedy
and brutal nature, forming a gripping antagonist.
Alejandro Irritu, the Mexican-born director, producer and
writer who has the potential to be
one of the greats, delivers a fantastic piece of filmmaking once again
with The Revenant. The film is
a must-see in theaters, but know
that DiCaprios big ticket name
does not mean that the movie is
simply a shell for his performance:
there are many complex layers to
this very intricate film.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

The Revenant showed a tale of survival and revenge set against grand scenery. Loosely based
on historical events, this drama follows Glass and Fitzgerald across the wilderness of the Dakotas.

technique January 15, 2016 17

// ENTERTAINMENT

Players celebrate music and the past in old game


GAMES

Eternal Sonata
CONSOLE: Xbox 360, PS3
GENRE: Role-playing
DEVELOPER: tri-Crescendo
RATING: T
RELEASED: 2007

OUR TAKE:
JAMIE RULE

ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR


Eternal Sonata was developed by tri-Crescendo and released on Xbox 360 in 2007. It
was then rereleased with extra
sections and additional playable
characters a year later for PlayStation 3. Players can revisit an old
game as they ring in the new year.
This RPG took its role playing
genre seriously, as it focuses on the
real life pianist and composer Frdric Franois Chopin. The opening of the game shows Chopin
sick in bed with a less than hopeful doctor. Throughout the game,
this scene is revisited several
times, but the majority of Eternal
Sonata takes place in a world that
Chopin is sure is merely a dream.
Throughout the game, Chopin,
who is one of ten (12 in the PS3
version) playable characters, continuously switches between trying to convince himself that this
world is reality, that it is a dream
and that it might not matter. He is
rather confused most of the time,
and many of the other character
tend to disregard what he says.
At the beginning of the game,
the player starts out with Polka,
a young girl who can use magic,
which, in this world, means she is
terminally ill. She soon sets out on
a quest to speak with Count Waltz
and request the lowering of taxes

on Floral Powder, the medicine


that she sells since it is better than
the untaxed Mineral Powder.
Polka soon meets a well-dressed
Frederic the dream-world Chopin goes by his unaccented first
name who tells her that she
is a figment of his imagination.
The two continue on their way to
Count Waltz, meeting Allegretto
and Beat who also plan to ask
for the lowering of taxes for their
own reasons.
The story becomes more involved from here, eventually
growing to include pirates, an underground revolutionary group, a
goat herder who apparently had
nothing better to do, several dragons and the forming of a mindcontrolled army. Unfortunately,
Eternal Sonata also saw fit to
include historical asides where
players are treated to slide shows
of paintings and pictures with text
overlays describing several points
in Chopins life. While including
history is not inherently bad, there
are far more interesting ways to do
so. As is, the average player would
be bored by the overly slow text
that interrupts gameplay and has
no real bearing on the rest of the
game. Also, since these asides are
presented in no particular order,
they are not particularly useful at
teaching Chopins life.
The actual gameplay is turnbased combat. The player can
choose which three characters
will fight in each battle, instantly
making several of the characters
superfluous. Each of the three
characters can be mapped to a different controller, adding an interesting take on co-op to the game.
During enemies turns, the player
is given a chance to block attacks,
which improves greatly on the
usual approach of just taking a
beating until it is once again that
characters turn.
The fighting controls are sim-

Photo courtesy of Brandon Motz

Polka and Allegretto debate philosophy in one of Eternal Sonatas many asides. Frederic can easily become the most powerful character while still being merely a bystander for most of the plot.

plistic, but logical, and make the


combat an enjoyable part of Eternal Sonata. Whenever a character
executes a powerful special attack,
he or she will say something rather
poetic such as Alegrettos phrase,
Fall into the never-ending depths
of night!, before beating the enemy viciously with a music themed
weapon or, in Polkas case, an umbrella. This is interesting the first
time a special attack is unlocked
since the dialog will be new,
but can get rather repetitive
very quickly.
During combat, one of the
special attacks is Beats ability to
take pictures. This is extremely
rewarding, since players can then
sell the photos for exorbitant prices and will never want for gold.

This aspect of the game seems to


be slightly broken, though it was
modified in the PS3 version to
make it less so, since players can
earn thousands of gold for a single picture and the price of new
weapons, armor and items can be
bought for considerably less.
Outside of combat, player one
can wander the over world, leaving
any who choose to play the game
in co-op mode to sit and watch
someone else play the game until
the next fight. Fortunately, fights
are frequent outside of cities, and
in cities, cut scenes abound, so no
one is playing.
A non-story related side quest
in Eternal Sonata allows the
player to find Score Pieces by inspecting various places and then

the techn

play the found sheet music with


NPCs to try making a decent
sounding duet. This certainly fits
the theme of the Chopin-centered
game, but it is not a particularly
rewarding endeavor unless, perhaps, the player knows music
well or is interested in a
second play through.
Eternal Sonata is a fun game
with good controls and, despite
beating the players about the head
with its philosophy and morality,
has an interesting storyline and
more characterization than most
similar RPGs. Though the ending
starts out strange, gets weirder and
then travels to another dimension
entirely composed of the bizarre,
it is wholly worthwhile and is certainly memorable.

ique

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18 January 15, 2016 technique

ZIGGY BY TOM WILSON & TOM II

// COMICS

XKCD BY RANDALL MUNROE

SMBC BY ZACH WEINERSMITH

CLASSIC
FOXTROT BY BILL AMEND

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS
1. New store keeps British ice-cream (6)
4. Noblewoman wants pub on old headland (8)
9. Request comes in to get engine part (6)
10. Emit a fug perhaps and use it to disinfect (8)
11. Gate of harbour by a lake (6)
12. Chief of staff blasted lenient guard (8)
13. Container in grate (3)
14. One looks for member of 60s group? (6)
17. Sly devil loses one pound then promises to pay (7)
21. Occupier of temporary shelter outside centre of
Gdansk (6)
25. A chap to tease (3)
26. One working with Norma on hill? (8)
27. Nation accepts popular playwright (6)
28. Going across river involves guts (8)
29. Six vehicles for clergymen (6)
30. Member of audience is unusally silent before the
Queen (8)
31. To give protection from French fiend, I must go
(6)

LAST WEEKS SOLUTION

DOWN
1. One gives direction to put name to letters (8)
2. Kept quiet (8)
3. Raised tax in east Leeds endlessly (8)
5. One mistreats Jack and his employer? (6)
6. After work I swallowed drug (6)
7. Woman finds Pamela inebriated to some extent (6)
8. Yes, elm could be suitable (6)
12. Relish entertaining one with the Messiah (7)
15. The German turned up for wine (3)
16. Small building is closed first off (3)
18. Calm about intravenous drug (8)
19. Banter thats not lasted well? (8)
20. Emphasised puddings should rise (8)
22. Con the healthy and prosper (2,4)
23. Churned up salted deposits at river mouths (6)
24. Girl engrosses soldiers with martial art (6)
25. Leave a story for footballer (6)
BY ALBERICHCROSSWORDS.COM

// COMICS

DILBERT BY SCOTT ADAMS

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE BY STEPHEN PASTIS

technique January 15, 2016 19

CLASSIC
CUL DE SAC BY RICHARD THOMPSON

LIO BY MARK TATULLI

CLASSIC
CALVIN & HOBBES BY BILL WATTERSON

EASY SUDOKU PUZZLE

BY JAMIE RULE AND K ARA PENDLEY

B&W

Business Speaker Series


A Hermann Brown Lecture

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Former Senior VP, AT&T Mobility
Feb 10 Jon Winsett
CEO, NPI Financial
Feb 17 Carlos Amesquita
CIO, The Hershey Company

Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m.


LeCraw Auditorium | Scheller College of Business

Feb 24 Bill McGahan


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Author, No Greatness Without Goodness,
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technique January 15, 2016 21

// SPORTS

Olympic star makes impact on Jackets


ALISON LAVERY

CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Tech has no shortage of remarkable students, from app inventors to talented musicians. One
Jacket has a particularly strong
claim to fame, though: having
participated in the 2012 London
Olympic Games. Meet freshman
swimmer Haibing Iris Wang.
Wangs swimming career prior
to her collegiate debut illustrated
a brilliant talent in the water. As
an athlete, Wang has been well
known in China since her high
school days. A gold medal in the
100-meter freestyle at the China
City Games in 2011 and a bronze
medal in the Chinese National
Championships in 2012 where
she qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in summer are only the
start of her athletic resume.
Wang swam the 4x100 freestyle relay at the 2012 Olympics
and helped her nation take fourth
place, a hair away from ascending to the iconic podium with her
teammates. Just before beginning
her collegiate swimming career,
Wang even won two golds in the
4x100 relays during the 2013 East
Asia Games.
On the fast track to a phenomenal career, Wang gained global
attention and sparked the interest of Tech womens swimming
coach Courtney Shealy Hart.
Hart reflected her belief in Wang
by making her one of the womens
swim teams five recruits for the
class of 2019 and the only one
who attended high school outside
of the state of Georgia. While
her background is different from

BASEBALL
The season has yet to begin, but
accolades are already rolling in for
Jackets baseball. Junior pitcher
Zac Ryan has been named a preseason third-team All-American
by Louisville Slugger, and Tech
ranks No. 21 in Collegiate Baseball Newspapers poll, per ramblinwreck.com. The team begins
its season at home on Feb. 19
against Purdue.

Photo by Elliott Brockelbank Student Publications

Tech swimmers gather during a swim meet. Though merely a freshman, Iris Wang has gone a
long way towards earning the respect of her teammates and opponents, one meet at a time.

that of her teammates, she shares


with them a passion for aquatics.
Shealys praise of Wang in the aftermath of the latters signing was
truly effusive.
Iris will be a game changer
and catalyst for our womens
team. Her current times will make
her presence known immediately
at the ACC and NCAA level,
Shealy said, per ramblinwreck.
com. Making it onto six of Techs
womens swimming school records lists and earning a first place
spot in three individual freestyle
events, Wangs first season at Tech
left fans excited to watch her grow

into a conference powerhouse.


That hope has certainly been fulfilled thus far.
In Dec. 2015, Wang was named
ACC Swimming Performer of the
Week along with teammate Yuval Safra, who was awarded Male
Swimmer of the Week. Wang
and Safra earned their ACC accolades after leading their respective
teams to wins over Cincinnati and
Florida Atlantic. Posting an individual victory in the 100-freestyle
and two triumphs in the 200-freestyle and 200-medley relays, earning the respect of competitors
and teammates alike while dem-

onstrating that her performance


at the London Olympics was far
from her peak. Wang ended 2015
a force to be reckoned with.
The spring season looks to be
an even greater success for Wang.
The Jackets will host Duke, Michigan and Alabama at the McAuley Aquatic Center on Jan. 16.
Between the meet tomorrow and
the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in March, Iris
Wang will carry Techs hopes. If
history is any indicator, the freshman swimmer is more than suited
for the role; in fact, she is wellprepared to assume it.

was perhaps not even as close as


the score indicated. What has
changed? The Packers could get
left tackle David Bakhtiari and
cornerback Sam Shields back from
injury; their experience could be
vital against an excellent Arizona
team. Nonetheless, Aaron Rodgers will earn his salary in this one.
Cardinals: Arizona is the rare
NFL team that achieves balance;
it has succeeded both in getting
on the scoreboard and keeping
opponents off. On offense, quar-

terback Carson Palmer has an embarrassment of riches, and defensive end Calais Campbell wreaked
havoc on a befuddled Packers offensive line the last time these two
teams played.
Pick: While this rematch
should be much closer than the
first contest with so much on the
line this time around, the Cards
will likely pull one out. An upset,
while exciting, is unlikely, thanks
in part to injuries. Cardinals 24,
Packers 21.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (1/17)


Seahawks: Seattles win last
week was razor-thin. While the
Hawks move on, the onus is on
quarterback Russell Wilson and
refreshed running back Marshawn Lynch to return life to the
offense. The defense has no such
issue, ranking tops in the league.
Panthers: Carolina has engineered an incredible season. They
sit pretty at 15-1, ranking in the
top 10 on both sides of the ball,

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?


Seven former Jackets football
players are on NFL playoff teams,
including two who played last
week: Green Bay Packers safety
Morgan Burnett and Cincinnati
Bengals defensive end Michael
Johnson. Burnett set a career
high with 13 tackles, and Johnson
made an impact with five tackles,
including one for a loss. Burnetts
Packers will advance.
HOCKEY
This weekend, Tech hockey
will strap on their skates and hit
the ice in Savannah, The Hostess City of the South, as the team
faces off against the Florida State
Seminoles and the Georgia Bulldogs. The brief stint offers Tech
one of a few more opportunities
to work out lineup changes and
technique adjustments before the
upcoming ACC Tournament.

Familiar storylines mark electric divisional round


HARSHA SRIDHAR
SPORTS EDITOR

Its called Wild-Card Weekend


for a reason.
The first round of the NFL
playoffs have passed, leaving in
their wake a path of destruction
felt from Houston to Washington,
D.C. The divisional round will
likely prove equally interesting.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT NEW
ENGLAND PATRIOTS (1/16)
Chiefs: KC hasnt dropped a
game since Oct. 18, and that is
for good reason. The defense has
played well the Chiefs havent
allowed more than 22 points in a
game over that period and with
impact players on all levels of the
defense, that trend looks likely
to continue.
Patriots: Just a few weeks ago,
the Patriots were undefeated, Tom
Brady was untouchable and the
AFC seemed to be New Englands
for the taking. Now, the team is
wounded, limping into the postseason having lost four of its last
six. The Pats No. 10 scoring defense will depend on defensive end
Chandler Jones to pressure the
quarterback early and often.
Pick: Its hard to pick against
New England at home in January.
Patriots 31, Chiefs 23.
GREEN BAY PACKERS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS (1/16)
Packers: Just three weeks ago,
Green Bay was stomped by the
Cardinals in a 38-8 debacle that

Photo courtesy of John Leyba

Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas makes a catch in a preseason game versus the
Seattle Seahawks. Both teams play in the divisional round of the playoffs this Sunday.

including the leagues top scoring offense, and vaulting quarterback Cam Newton into legitimate
MVP discussion. He has made
more with less; though Carolina
lost top receiver Kelvin Benjamin
to injury before the season started,
receiver Ted Ginn, Jr., and tight
end Greg Olsen have picked up
the slack in his absence.
Pick: Panthers coach Ron Rivera has never taken Carolina past
the divisional round. That will
change this year at the expense of
the team that ended its season last
year. Panthers 22, Seahawks 14.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT
DENVER BRONCOS (1/17)
Steelers: Pittsburgh is coming
off a game against divisional rival
Cincinnati that was more reminiscent of a gladiatorial contest
than a modern sporting event.
While injured quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger will play through
a sprained AC joint, star receiver
Antonio Brown is doubtful, per
pro-football-reference.com.
Broncos: The big story in the
Mile High City is Peyton Manning: the future Hall of Famer
will make his first start since Nov.
15 in what is one of the last gorounds of his storied career. It also
helps that Denver has a defense,
one that could make life difficult
for a hobbled Roethlisberger and
a weakened group of Pittsburgh
pass-catchers while giving Manning field position.
Pick: This will cement Roethlisbergers legacy. Steelers 20,
Broncos 17.

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technique January 15, 2016 23

// SPORTS

Womens basketball faces mid-season challenge


JOE SOBCHUK

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR


The womens basketball team
lost their fourth straight game in
the ACC as they fell to No. 19
Florida State in Tallahassee by a
score of 75-69 on Sunday afternoon in Tully Gym.
Three Jackets scored double
digits in the game, led by freshman guard Ciani Cryors 18. Seniors Aaliyah Whiteside and Irene
Gari posted 17 and 12 points, respectively, in the teams effort.
The game began with a streaky
first half as the Seminoles were
able to double Techs score at 3417 midway through the second
period. The Jackets stormed back,
however, securing the next 16
points and entering the halftime
locker room down by just one.
Whiteside and Gari catalyzed
the scoring run with some timely
jumpers and free throws, followed
by a pair of opportunistic steals by
sophomore Imani Tilford to sustain the teams momentum.
The Seminoles came out firing
in the second half to regain a 10
point lead, but three straight field
goals by the Jackets brought the
margin to just four points. Florida States lead hovered between
four and seven points for much
of the third and fourth quarters,
and even dipped as low as three
when sophomore Antonia Peresson nailed a three pointer with
just over three minutes to play in
the game.
The Seminoles did not let the
game get any closer than that,
though, as they controlled the ball
off of rebounds down the stretch
to seal their victory. Their ability
to put a game away late displayed
the savvy of a group accustomed
to winning close games, a trait the
Jackets have yet to master.
I thought we came out and

battled in a tough environment on


the road, said MaChelle Joseph,
head coach of the Jackets, after
the game, courtesy of ramblinwreck.com. I felt like our kids
really competed and played hard.
With the victory, the Seminoles extended their home winning streak to 27 games. The team
was able to control the pace of the
game for extended periods of time
by outrebounding the Jackets on
both sides of the floor. They led
56-31 in total rebounds, with a
31-16 advantage on the defensive
side and a 25-15 lead offensively.
Florida State also had a large
contribution from their bench
players, who outscored their
counterparts on the Jackets 37-13.
In fact, the Seminoles led every
scoring statistical category except
for points off of turnovers, as they
dominated Tech in the paint, on
second chances and on the fast
break, minimizing the Jackets
margin of error.
While the Jackets can afford
to lose these battles against lesser
opponents, top-tier teams such as
Florida State challenge the team
to play a nearly perfect game. In
this case, the team was not up to
the challenge.
While Seminoles head coach
Sue Semrau surely understood
that her team was a significant
favor to win the game, particularly because of their formidable
streak at home, she entered the
game with respect for the success
Tech has enjoyed when playing
its brand of basketball. After the
game, she shared her thoughts
on her teams victory, courtesy of
seminoles.com.
I was so proud of our defensive efforts and our rebounding,
Semrau said. Georgia Tech is
physical, theyre tough, and we
knew it would be tough. We knew
we needed to come out and have
a stronger mentality than they

Photo by John Nakano Student Publications

Tech womens basketball coach MaChelle Joseph issues instructions to her team during play.
The team must dig itself out of a whole in the conference standings after a winless start.

did, and that is something we are


growing in. Im really proud of
these guys.
After the loss, the Jackets are
still winless in conference play
at 0-4 and have the fourth worst
overall record out of 15 teams in
the ACC. The team had the opportunity to turn their fortunes
around against North Carolina on
Thursday night in a home game
that tipped off after press time.
Tech will be back in action this
Sunday at 2 p.m. as they host the
Virginia Cavaliers, whose No. 4
ranked mens team was upset by
the Jackets at the McCamish Pavilion a week ago. The womens
ability to conjure similar results
will not depend on the venue,

however, but rather on their ability to play fundamentally sound


basketball in a consistent manner. Should they succeed in doing
so, the second half of the season
could very will be an about-face of
the first.
Signs of revival are clear;
the team has challenged higher
ranked opponents such as the
Seminoles, and its experience in
the ACC has provided it experience with some of the foremost
womens basketball programs in
the country.
There exists a gap between acknowledging an issue and successfully addressing it, however, and
it is one that Coach Joseph and
the Jackets players will attempt

to bridge in the coming weeks


and months. If Tech continues
to squander opportunities and
allow opposing teams to dictate
the style of play, the season may
end tepidly.
Should it force opponents to
battle it physically and wear them
down over the course of games,
there may well be light on the horizon for a team on the precipice.
Success is within their reach, but
not for long. The window of opportunity will not remain open
for long if the team continues to
drop games it has the chance to
win, but with the personnel and
coaching available, there is reason
for basketball fans to hope for a
change in the story.

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Sports

SPORTS EDITOR:

Harsha Sridhar
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR:

Joe Sobchuk

sports@nique.net

Righting the Ship

After a poor conference start, women's hoops seeks the formula for a
memorable finish.423

technique

24

Friday,
January 15, 2016

Mens basketball strong at halfway mark


HARSHA SRIDHAR
SPORTS EDITOR

Entering this season, it was


fair to wonder whether mens
basketball head coach Brian
Gregory was running out of time
to demonstrate his worthiness as
Paul Hewitts successor. After all,
Hewitt led the team to five NCAA
Tournament berths, including
the only Final Four appearance
in school history. Meanwhile,
Gregory had only managed one
winning season, a 16-15 effort in
2012 that ended with a first-round
loss to Boston College in the conference tournament. While multiple high-caliber opponents stand
between the Jackets and national
relevance, the 2015-16 team has
proven itself ready to face that
veritable gauntlet.
Tech took a 7-2 record and
three game winning streak into
winter break. That included an
impressive 77-64 win over VCU,
a team that had made five straight
NCAA Tournament appearances
and launched previous head coach
Shaka Smart to national recognition. The run of success ended at
the hands of rival Georgia, the
Bulldogs first win against the
Jackets in Coach Gregorys tenure. Gregorys players responded
to the loss by going undefeated
in a three-game home stand versus Southeastern Louisiana, Colgate and Duquesne. That left the

team at an impressive 10-3 mark


entering conference play. Techs
first two ACC contests were representative of the challenge it faces,
close road losses against top-25
foes UNC and Pittsburgh. They
prepared the team for its most
impressive victory of the season,
a 68-64 home win over thenranked fourth Virginia, a game in
which the Jackets enjoyed success
from beyond the three-point arc
and stymied the Cavaliers typically consistent offense.
Techs ability to compete with
top-flight opponents is hardly
new; the team played two close
games against Notre Dame last
season along with single-digit
losses to Louisville and Duke. But
its winning effort against Virginia
was its first against a top-five team
since 2010. Moreover, the team is
achieving success in a surprising
way: on the shoulders of a highscoring offense.
Thus far this season, Tech is
scoring 77.5 points per game, its
highest mark since 2007-08 and
more than 14 points better than
its 2014-15 performance. While
the defense has slackened, allowing more points per game than it
has since 2008-09, that decline
can in part be attributed to an increased number of possessions for
both teams: opponents attempted
53.03 shots per game last season
and 59.69 thus far this season.
This more uptempo brand of
basketball is in large part thanks

Photo by John Nakano Student Publications

Graduate transfer James White stands alongside mens basketball head coach Brian Gregory.
White has provided valuable interior depth for a seasoned team that has succeeded thus far.

to the emergence of two transfers:


former Maryland guard Adam
Smith and former Alabama forward Nick Jacobs. In conjunction
with the rest of the senior class,
Smith and Jacobs have helped the
Jackets rank in the top 40 nation-

ally in three-point percentage and


in rebounds.
In collegiate athletics, experience is fickle. Techs upperclassman-laden roster will undergo
major turnover this offseason, as
all four of the teams leading scor-

ers graduate. Until then, though,


the Jackets find themselves in an
ideal position: experienced, motivated and soon to be battle-tested.
Should the team continue at its
current pace, fans should prepare
for an exciting postseason.

Mens tennis primed for strong spring season


ALISON LAVERY

CONTRIBUTING WRITER
If Fall 2015 was any indication of the prowess of the mens
tennis team at Georgia Tech, fans
can look forward to an even more
exciting performance this spring
and next fall.
Seniors Casey Kay and Nathan
Rakitt hope to have an exceptional final season at Tech. With his
brother Michael, Kay opens the
spring ranked No. 36 in doubles
by the pre-season Oracle/ITA
rankings that were released last
Tuesday. Rakitt began last spring
at No. 1, but a shoulder injury
nagged him through ACC play,
leaving him in the third spot. He
will no doubt seek redemption in
the spring.
The senior athletes arent the
only ones who can be expected
to have top spring performances.
Tech fans should keep an eye on
sophomore Christopher Eubanks,
ranked sixth in singles. A blue
chip prospect out of high school,
Eubanks made his collegiate tennis debut two falls ago. His devotion to the sport only grows, as
evidenced by his outlook entering
the new season.
For many of Techs mens tennis players, the 18th spring under
head coach Kenny Thorne began
weeks ago. Eubanks explained to
Jon Cooper of The Good Word,

Photo by John Nakano Student Publications

Redshirt senior Casey Kay extends for a backhand at the GT Fall Invitational. Kay is the
most veteran member of a young Jackets tennis team looking to make a name for itself.

I hope to use the momentum


from the fall to have a really good
spring and try to help provide my
team with at least one point, if not
a couple at every match.
Developing strong momentum
early in the fall, Eubanks won
11 out of 14 singles matches and
two out of four doubles matches.
He earned the highest finish by

an American-born player after


gaining a spot in the USTA/ITA
National Indoor Championship
semi-finals in November.
Winter break was no vacation for Eubanks. He was invited
to spend a week at the StubHub
Center in Carson, Calif., for USTAs Player Development camp.
Eubanks spent seven days training

with some of the premier names


in American tennis. His time in
California solidified his commitment to taking no time off from
training, providing him with motivation to excel in the coming
season. An experience like that is
a fantastic opportunity for a growing collegiate athlete to prepare
for the professional circuit. His

work ethic will serve him well in


his career and as a Jacket.
The Jackets will open the spring
hosting the MLK Invitational at
the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
The invitational starts today and
goes all weekend. Throughout the
weekend, Tech, No. 43 in the ITA
collegiate rankings, will go up
against No. 19 Ole Miss, ranked
seventh Georgia and ranked second Oklahoma. The rankings
would indicate that the Jackets
are overmatched, but a competitive performance against those
teams would bode well for Techs
confidence and the teams ability to compete with the countrys
elite teams as the season wears on.
With home advantage and a team
packed with well-trained athletes,
the Jackets can be expected to perform at their best this weekend.
Tech hopes to start the season off with strong showings at
the aforementioned invitational
and ITA Kickoff Weekend. If all
goes well, Jacket fans can look
forward to an energetic group
taking the court at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago this February,
intent on launching itself to national recognition and providing
its fans with a reason to believe.
The team will have an opportunity to demonstrate how far it has
come at the ACC Championships
at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.
this April.

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