Author: Andrew Nelson

With the 2010 midterm elections drawing to a close, the political landscape has experienced a significant shift in party control, with a Republicans gaining majority of governors and representatives and a nearly even split in the Senate with Democrats still in control. Data shows that projected total voter turnout was 42 percent of the electorate, […]

Most food styles immediately surrounding Tech are the typical city fare: standard American dishes, often greasy and cheaper than most. Among the better of the dozen or so in sight of campus is J.R. Crickets, self-described as “Atlanta’s wing tradition.” The closest of their 12 locations, just over the North Avenue bridge on Spring Street, […]

Roy Barnes Roy Barnes, the Democratic nominee for governor, is the former governor of Georgia. Barnes grew up in Cobb County and earned his undergraduate and law degree of the University of Georgia in six years. Returning to Cobb County after college, he opened a law firm until his election to the Georgia State Senate […]

A new face is making a big name in the School of Literature, Communication and Culture. Andy Frazee, recently awarded with the Brittain Postdoctoral Fellowship, has won the 2011 Subito Press Book Competition for his poetry manuscript The Book of I. The competition is hosted by the Subito Press, a nonprofit publisher with the Creative […]

The party to be at last week was the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s (NPHC) annual Homecoming Step Show on Saturday, Oct. 2, featuring crews from four fraternities and two sororities as they stepped their way to glory in front of a sold-out crowd. Stepping is a traditional American dance that stems from college students in historically […]

The Chinese Friendship Association (CFA) welcomed Atlanta’s Chinese and Taiwanese university population to a night of cultural gathering at the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet this Monday, Sept. 27. With over 400 students, faculty, administrators and professionals from around Atlanta in attendance, including 96 just to run the event, that is quite a hefty lot of moon […]

The final candidate for the Vice President of Institute Diversity (VPID), Archie Ervin, made his public presentation on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at the Global Learning Center, detailing his goals to develop a road map of the next 25 years. “It is clearly understood that the Georgia Tech of tomorrow and its future success is contingent […]

Their goal: to make sure every student sees success after college and they never leave Tech behind. Their methods: philanthropic initiatives selected by members, hanging out with and attending talks by Tech alumni and deriving inspiration from Tech’s traditions and history. After months of erratic marketing through matrix barcodes and yellow-splattered banners with vague event […]

On Friday, Sept. 3, Captain Robert Crippen, US Navy, Rt., and pilot of the first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle, presented one of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation’s (ASF) $10,000 scholarships to Joy Buolamwini, a third-year CS major, for her academic and research work in computer science. A crowd of about 50 students and faculty […]

While other students study abroad in Asia, Tech students in Atlanta were able to experience the tastes and tones of Asian culture as they trekked through a series of Asian-oriented stands across campus on Tuesday, Sept. 7. “This was our first attempt at such a large-scale event,” said Elysia Hwang, vice president of the Asian […]

Speaking to a combined audience of students, faculty and administrators in the Global Learning Center on Thursday, Sept. 2, Anthony Walesby presented his qualifications and goals as he vies with two other finalists for the newly-established position of the Vice President of Institute Diversity (VPID). “My interest would be to assess the what’s happening now, […]

The men who made the Ramblin’ Wreck tune a nationally, if not internationally, recognizable fight song are seeking fresh vocals to strike their chords. With a variety of songs, the Glee Club presented Tech’s singing voice to incoming students this Mon., Aug. 23, at the Rock Your Face Off Concert. Beginning at the Navy ROTC […]

MEET…THE MAN WHO RUNS THE PLACE: Institute President G. P. “Bud” Peterson Holding a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Peterson has been president at Tech since April 2009. Before that, he held top academic and administrative positions at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Texas […]

http://nique.net/focus/100898 Within the 200,000 square foot Technology Square Research Building, the Socially Intelligent Machines (SIM) Lab is developing the next revolution in advanced human-machine interaction: robots that learn from socializing. “First, we revolutionized the office and the home using dumb terminals, but now we have embodied agents that can automate things in the real world. […]

http://nique.net/focus/100856 Tech’s first and largest satellite campus, Georgia Tech Lorraine (GTL) in Metz, France, has provided its students an international campus-away-from-campus for 20 years this week. Hundreds of people attended celebrations in Metz, including, for the first time, Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. A representative from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, CEO of Coca-Cola […]

http://nique.net/focus/100845 With a $227 million decrease in the University System of Georgia’s (USG) budget, Tech students will see a $500 per semester increase in tuition starting with the Fall 2010 semester. The tuition increase will offset $80 million, and reductions in USG’s 35 colleges and universities’ operating budgets will offset the remaining $147 million. “I […]

http://nique.net/news/100823 On Wednesday, April 21, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Atlanta and Tech emergency services responded to a reported mercury spill in the Manufacturing and Related Disciplines Complex. Six fire trucks, two police cars and four emergency response vehicles were on the scene soon after the incident. “I was sitting and studying on the first floor, […]

http://nique.net/focus/100797 Paper brochures, e-mails from admissions and information sessions may not always persuade prospective students to consider Tech as the college of choice, but what about the opportunity to learn engineering skills while building robots with Tech’s engineering students? The student organization RoboJackets offers a hands-on perspective of engineering as well as a unique view […]

http://nique.net/focus/100772 Following last week’s CultureFest and TASA’s Night Market, Tech’s Jewish student organization GT Hillel hosted its IsraelFest Tuesday, April 13, at the Campanile, attracting approximately 600 people to the free activities and cultural information opportunities. “We wanted to give the appeal of Israel in modern society,” said Eran Mordel, first-year ISyE and Israel programming […]

http://nique.net/focus/100721 With about 45 cultural student organizations on campus, one of the best ways for students to explore these different cultures is Tech’s annual CultureFest—a week-long schedule of activities sponsored by Culture Tech and AIESEC, featuring activities by eleven student organizations. Culture Tech has hosted this event since 1985, stemming from the Annual International Festival, […]

http://nique.net/focus/100700 Atlanta may outshine all but a star or two on most nights, but atop the Howey Physics Building both students and the general public may bring celestial bodies into focus with Tech’s first observatory. Taking the elevator to the top floor of Howey, a flight of stairs to the roof and then a second […]

http://nique.net/news/100645 When passionate Tech students aren’t spending their 72-hour days on studying, they are dedicating 72-hour days to a noble cause. Jesse Clark, an MCRP grad student, and several others from student organizations have spent the last month organizing the GT Jam for Haiti: a benefit concert to relief for Haiti. The concert will host […]

http://nique.net/news/100615 While diversity may just be a fashionable buzzword for marketing campaigns, an institution like Tech—as a whole—actually takes the word to action from the administrative to the individual student level. “From a collegiate standpoint the world was evolving from ‘affirmative action’ to ‘diversity’ when I was at Tech, so it was this new terminology […]

http://nique.net/news/100582 Following Tech’s trend of sustainability innovations in practice and building design, the Residence Hall Association’s (RHA) improvement committee has announced this year’s round of Wasted Watts — a competition between residence halls to lower their power consumption. “One of the biggest issues that we’re looking at is how to get people to use sustainable […]

http://nique.net/focus/100554 For the seventh year now, Tech’s African American Student Union will host its Black Leadership Conference over the Feb. 19-21 weekend, focusing on their I-Change campaign: a call to individual change in and out of their normal communities. “The Black Leadership Conference is a breeding ground for those who believe in leadership and diversity […]

http://nique.net/focus/100542 Each spring break since 2007, several dozen of Tech’s Trailblazers—including undergraduates, graduates and post-doctorates —combine outdoors exploration with environmental improvement via trips to national parks and local service projects. The Trailblazers club offers their alternative spring break trips, local environmental service projects and convenient services for the “outdoorsy” student. Their Alternative Spring Break (ASB) […]

http://nique.net/focus/100492 Campus weapon control is still on the radar for both the apolitical and outspoken student. At a recent interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC), Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson stated his opposition to firearms on campus, specifically concealed weapons. Among his points, Peterson cited possible weapon misuse, the unlikely event that a major […]

http://nique.net/focus/100437 The Yellow Jacket Flying Club is perhaps the only club at Tech that casually travels the country on weekends, grills on a mile-long asphalt driveway and maintains $170,000 of equipment. Since 1946, Tech students have been flying to earn their pilot license or to cross the country for a barbeque and airshow. Their fleet […]

http://nique.net/focus/100438 Stephen Colbert once said, “I’ve never trusted the web. How do you hold it personally responsible? Can you put a distributed network of fiber-optic cable on notice? In other words, can I challenge it to a fight?” He makes a good point: how can we trust the web? Network security on a scale as […]

http://nique.net/focus/100333 Gary Schuster announced on Oct. 21 that he will be stepping down from his position as executive vice president for Academic Affairs as soon as his replacement is found. The Institute hopes to find a replacement for the position by July 1, 2010. Schuster has served as the provost since August of 2006 and […]

http://nique.net/focus/100278 In early October, the Sustainable Endowments Institute released its College Sustainability Report Card. The report card grades universities on their efforts to improve energy efficiency and dedicate sufficient resources to environmental issues. This year Tech earned a “B,” the highest grade yet, thanks to the initiatives undertaken by Tech’s Office of Environmental Stewardship and […]

nique.net From high school to his third year at Tech, aerospace engineering major, Jonathan Walker has contributed to his community in the name of science, and his deeds have recently been rewarded by a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). Astronaut Charlie Duke visited campus on Sept. 22 to present Walker with the […]

nique.net Since the 1970s, the Student Center’s Music Listening Room (MLR) served students as a place for relaxation, a cool atmosphere and often for mid-day naps. However, by Spring 2010 the Student Center will convert the MLR into a new location for Under the Couch (UtC). “For some people, relaxing means lying down on a […]

nique.net The Jackets’ volleyball team begins conference play in earnest this weekend, and the team’s 7-4 record through four early-season invitational tournaments has generated confidence and enthusiasm among the coaches and players. Tech got off to an exciting start with a five-set victory over Georgia in the season opener and has seen success throughout the […]

nique.net What used to only be found in instrument panels and holiday lightbulb strings, LED (light-emitting diode) technology shows great promise in lighting the way for Tech to a more economic and environmentally-friendly direction. Facilities faculty has completed several lighting renovations already on campus, including converting all the lighting in the Tennenbaum Auditorium to LED […]

Nique.net Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship program needs some help of its own to continue providing financial assistance to students at Tech and all state universities. The Georgia Lottery Program, which funds both HOPE and statewide pre-kindergarten programs, is not growing along with the budgeted allowances to students needing the scholarship. In the last fiscal year, HOPE […]

Nique.net Until 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, Tech freshmen will be able to apply for candidacy in the Student Government Association’s (SGA) freshman representatives elections. The new freshman class will elect four representatives to SGA’s undergraduate legislative branch from Sept. 11-16. The elected freshmen representatives serve with 53 other representatives from majors/schools, athletics, co-op […]

Ending grade school after 12 straight years is perhaps the greatest achievement and relief of high school graduates, but now there’s this whole college thing. Meh. Fortunately, now that students are adults and have a high school diploma or GED, they have free range to their future: university, community college, vocational school, military, and even […]

One of the latest health crazes is the anti-high fructose corn syrup movement. The greatest fears are obesity, hyperactivity, and the general anti-heavily-manufactured-food idea. The greatest fault, however, is the ignorance of why it may be unhealthy. While high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is definitely heavily manufactured, it is not a direct cause of obesity […]

The poor, over-beaten topic of school meals and how they are essentially colored cardboard is hardly the case for KISD and deserves more credit. First, schools must abide by federal regulations enacted by old men in Congress. After that, schools must operate and purchase food within their budgetary limits. Since this is the U.S. where […]

1999, Nauvoo, Alabama – I’m hiking through the 1100-acre woods at the Camp McDowell environmental center. We had hiked over a river, up hills, around countless waterfalls, and a green diversity I’ve never seen before. Suddenly, rounding a rock formation, we saw light ahead; the woods seemed to simply stop, as if the earth had […]

It seems that since Obama’s move to Pennsylvania Avenue, the Iraqi parliament’s troop pullout deadline, and Bush’s escape from the daily headline punching bag, Iraq has faded out as a major subject of debate. Most tasks in the blunderful war in Iraq seem to be on a (though still vague and easily fudgeable) track; however, […]

“Recovery won’t happen overnight, and it’s likely that things will get worse before they get better,” said President Obama in his weekly radio address. With the economy suffering, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will create or save three to four million jobs over several years, according to Obama. The total cost of […]

The Guantanamo Bay detention center currently imprisons approximately 245 people, held on various charges related to terror (they’re militants, bombers, bomb-makers, drivers, etc.). This imprisonment also clearly violates the Geneva Conventions and the morals of the highly touted nation of freedom and justice. I believe that everyone, regardless of nationality, should be held to justice […]

The United Nations has been less than united lately, detracting from its mission of world domination of peace. The problem lies in its own enthusiasm to be world police, world bank, and world peace generator. It needs to get its act together before (though it seems it already has) it reverts to the League of […]

The Presidential selection of the Cabinet is not always a smooth process. Obama’s pick for Secretary of Commerce Bill Richardson and his pick for CIA Director Leon Panetta have both tripped before they even reach their confirmation hearings. New Mexico Governor, and former Secretary of Energy, Bill Richardson withdrew his from his nomination for Secretary […]

Israel continues air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip, pursuing the Hamas militants who have fired 3,278 rockets and mortars into Israel just in 2008. Though Israel officially handed off control of the Gaza Strip to the PLO, most aspects of life depend on Israeli military policies. Since Israel controls the sea, air, and […]

Students learn from health class/parents/commercials/Mr. Mackey that marijuana bad. Mmk? Yet, it is still one of the most abused and most politicized drugs. A simple Google search on marijuana shows how polarized the debate is. Pot is no longer a G-Man vs. Hippy issue; scientists have stepped up the debate with libraries of studies and […]

So far, President-elect Obama has appointed most of his cabinet and several non-cabinet positions: Secretary of Homeland Security – responsible for national security organizations like the Coast Guard, border patrol, FEMA, and Secret Service – will be Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. Secretary of Veterans Affairs – responsible for military veterans benefits like healthcare, medical facilities, […]

True, Whole Foods groceries does have fresh fruits and bread, and your family cooks a feast from the wrapped and pre-stuffed turkeys from HEB, but the surest, direct-from-the-source-fresh main food for Thanksgiving is acquired by hunting your own turkey. This is not a call to all the gung-ho families to grab a shotgun and storm […]

Listen up, Muggles, the wizard community has allowed the non-magical world to play its famous game of Quidditch. The newfound sport found almost exclusively at schools is “Muggle Quidditch,” the Harry-Potter-derived sport for the magically disinclined. Founded at Taylor by Andrew Beckstrom, sophomore, the club is still writing a constitution to make it an official […]

“I don’t like the proposal,” said Katy ISD superintendent Alton Frailey about the proposal to make a major change to how GPA is calculated throughout Texas high schools. School administrators and students alike are polarized by the Texas Legislature’s bill requiring the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to come up with a way for all […]

Presidential candidate Barack Obama declared Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate via text message early Saturday morning, August 23. Later that day at the public announcement of his selection, Obama said, “[Biden] is that rare mix. For decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him. He’s an expert on […]

http://kisdwebs.katyisd.org/campuses/THS/StudentZone/Documents/Mane%20Event%20Jan%2030%202009.pdf Israel continued air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip until January 18, pursuing the Hamas militants who have fired 3,278 rockets and mortars into Israel in 2008 alone. Though Israel officially handed off control of the Gaza Strip to the PLO, most aspects of life depend on Israeli military policies. Since Israel controls […]

At a press conference held this weekend, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino addressed possible national security threats for this Halloween. Perino said, “Most threats are groups of three to eight children ages 8-13. For example, last October, Virginian officials detained three adolescents who attempted to extort candy on the threat of a “trick” from […]

The next presidential election in November 2008 will be the first change in presidency since 2000, when most THS students were still in elementary school. This election will also be the seniors’ first chance to vote in an important governmental election. 17 presidential candidates have taken their first steps in campaigning for the presidential race; […]

So, after over five years the U.S. has yet to establish what Bush originally intended: “to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.” Even Dick Cheney knew such an idea was implausible, saying in 1994, “Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein’s government, […]

We all recognize that notorious “Blocked by Websense” page jeering, “Katy ISD’s Internet use policy restricts access to this web page at this time.” But where are the limits for this policy? KatyISD’s website boasts that its internet filtering blocks “more than 25,000 inappropriate websites each day.” Of course this is a bona-fide effort to […]

After only a few months in the presidential election primaries, only Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Mike Gravel contest for the Democratic Party’s nomination, while Republican John McCain already won the Republican nomination after the March 4th vote. To finalize a party’s ticket to a single candidate must win the nomination of his or her […]

Since the commencement of the “War on Terror,” the U.S. has by far been its most enthusiastic advocate. However, following the quagmire that is Iraq, President Bush has noticeably fallen behind in the management of the operation pursuing the greatest modern enemy of America: Osama bin Laden. In fact, at a 2002 news conference, Bush […]

An international fervor of political correctness, intended to be universally pleasing by stifling attempts at religious expression by public establishments, instead tends to offend religions, ideologies, and those endowed with common sense. Representing various religions and holidays in a public display is a respectable gesture; however, some instances of political correctness may make some cringe. […]

For those of us approaching the end of high school, we are faced with the scramble for college admission and financial aid. A significant consideration in both admission and financial aid is affirmative action. Affirmative action, in its general form, is a method of granting minority populations a higher priority for admission to education or […]

Political oppression of dissident citizens and minority ethnic groups by Burma’s governing military junta (who changed Burma’s English name to Myanmar) has recently increased in intensity. Burma, a rice-producing nation in Southeast Asia, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Roughly 25% of the population lives on less than one dollar a day. […]