Technique
Atlanta Symphony
Friday, September 30, 2011• Volume 97, Issue 11 • nique.net
The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performs season opener.415
T thefts spark campus wide reaction
Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications
Photo by Will Folsom / Student Publications
Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications
As part of an initiative to raise awareness about the issue of stealing T’s on campus, the lights illuminating the large T’s on Tech Tower were turned off on Wednesday.
Admin voices discontent Students express mixed SGA hosts Keep the ‘T’ opinion on missing T’s in Tech week with vandalism By Vijai Narayanan Editor-in-Chief
By Sam Somani Contributing Writer
By Madison Lee Contributing Writer
The issue of T thefts from signs has come to the forefront of discussion on campus in recent weeks due to an increase in the number of thefts. According to the Institute, the value of T’s stolen from signs on campus has totaled over $100,000. “This is no longer a tradition. This is a destruction of property, and it’s costing you money,” said Institute President G.P. “Bud” Peterson. “This is just embarrassing because it makes campus look bad. We’ve got donors who give us millions of dollars to construct facilities who then walk by those buildings to see the T’s stolen from them.” “Recently I have heard from faculty, alum, parents and guests during Family Weekend express concern regarding the number of missing T’s on campus,” wrote John Stein, the Dean of Students in an email. The theft of T’s from signs on campus has become a common occurrence for the past several months. Notably, two T’s were stolen last year from the “Georgia
Student opinion regarding the theft of T’s from campus signs was divided. Some students said that the spike in T-thefts in recent weeks made the campus look visually unappealing. “Taking the Ts makes our campus look like crap,” said Zee Dhanani, a second-year ISyE major, who said that the decision of the administration to crack down on T thefts would make Tech “not look like a poor campus.” “I understand the tradition at Tech, but it does get a little messy when you’re walking around campus,” said Lindsey Walton, a second-year MGT major. However, there were some students who looked at the matter as a continuation of a tradition, or even a nonissue. “The current methodology of tackling the problem is a little extreme,” said Andrew Benton, a second-year ME major. “Kids are doing it for fun, not with the intention of hurting property. It’s a part of tradition which is some-
SGA hosted a week-long event this week called ‘Keep the T’ in Tech to discourage T thefts on campus. The goal of the event was to tell students that stealing T’s from signposts is not an accepted practice at Tech. The initiative was organized by SGA when concerned administration officials and students raised the issue of stolen T’s. There have been complaints that the exploit can cause confusion for visitors new to campus, as well as reflect badly on the Tech community. Donors and alumni often view this as detracting from the aesthetics of the school. “A couple of weekends ago most, if not all, of the Ts in the new Clough Commons building were taken [from] the entire fourth and fifth floors. It was really unfortunate timing because the building was dedicated just this past weekend…it’s obviously a place that we’re all taking a lot of pride in, and it reflects poorly on something that people have invested so much time and money in,” said
See Admin, page 6
See Student, page 7
See SGA, page 6
C21U explores innovative education strategies By Emily Cardin Staff Writer
This week marked the official launch of the cutting-edge Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U). Started in December 2010 and led by Professor of Computer Science in the College of Computing Dr. Rich DeMillo, the center is intended to generate a larger discussion about innovation in secondary education. “The whole world is innovating in higher education, and most of that innovation involves technology. An innovative institution like Georgia Tech simply has to be at the forefront of helping to reinvent education for the 21st century. Technologies like online delivery and social networks that a year ago we used to think were disruptive are now routinely used,” DeMillo said.
On Monday, C21U hosted a student poster session and panel to discuss intersections between education and innovation. “The C21U student un-conference was an innovative approach to introducing and engaging a key constituency, students, in a conversation about the nature and delivery of higher education. Much like the weather, many opinions are uttered about higher education, the need to positively affect it and potential innovations, but no one seems to actually do much about it,” said Dr. Paul Baker, Director of Research, Center for Advanced Communications Policy and Professor in the school of Public Policy. During the poster session, students were encouraged to present ideas and developed research about innovative ideas regarding secondary education. Students were also encouraged to participate in a
student-led panel discussion afterwards. “The purpose of the panel was to expose students to some innovative, potentially disruptive ideas about how universities and higher education might be done differently,” Baker said. One such proposed idea was “free tution.” Several institutions across the country do not charge tuition to students, and the merits and downfalls of such an idea were expounded upon at length by the students. “The potentially revolutionary [of free tution] was an intriguing one, and should be commended for being disruptive in nature, and hence potentially innovative. The idea proposed can be compared to an engineering approach that produces a marvelously engineered device, elegant in nature, but probSee C21U, page 7
Photo by Sho Kitamura / Student Publications
Professor Pete Ludovice from the school of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering presents at the C21U un-conference.