March 8, 2019•Volume 104, Issue 24•nique.
net
technique
News 2
DUST BEGINS TO SETTLE IN UHR p3
NEWS
Top L: Photo by Taylor Gray Student Publications; Top R: Photo courtesy of Grace Busby; Above: Photo by Garrett Shoemaker Student Publications
Making vaccines accessible with microneedle patches
ELIZABETH GRACE
STAFF WRITER
In the Laboratory for Drug
Delivery, huge strides are being
made towards vaccine accessibil-
ity. Yasmine Gomaa, a research
scientist and the associate direc-
tor of the lab, sat down for an
interview with the Technique to
discuss her work. In her role as a
research scientist, Gomaa does a
lot of work in the lab itself, and in
her capacity as the Associate Di-
rector, she writes proposal grants
and reports. The lab’s principal in-
SPORTS
. .
Men win senior night
Opinions 5
vestigator, or PI, is Professor Mark
Prausnitz.
Generally, the lab’s focus is
drug delivery by means of the
skin. Some of the most recent
work concerns microneedle patch-
es, which are small, square pads
with an array of micron-scale nee-
dles on one side. These patches are
placed on the skin like a band-aid
and dissolve in the skin’s intersti-
tial fluids.
Part of the group’s motivation
is to bring vaccines to the rest
of the world. Many of the coun-
tries in which the microneedle
patches could be used have aver-
p20 Consensus: GT dining
Life 8
LIFE
age temperatures at around 30 or
40 degrees Celsius, or 86 to 104
degrees Fahrenheit. Part of the
group’s work is to transform this
liquid state into a solid state, and
then keep it solid and stable at an
elevated temperature so that the
drug can be stored in warm and
humid areas.
Gomaa said, “Right now, most
vaccines are liquids administered
via intradermal or intramuscular
injection. That by itself is a big
problem if we are speaking about
developing countries.” Healthcare
professionals are an added cost
See GOMAA, page 11
OPINIONS
p5
Entertainment 12 Sports 20
ENTERTAINMENT
Lucas Bros
talk comedy
JONATHAN JEFFREY
NEWS EDITOR
Twins Keith and Kenny Lucas, who
perform stand-up comedy together as
the Lucas Bros., have made a name for
themselves through their unique com-
edy style and format. The twins are set
to perform at Atlanta’s Laughing Skull
Lounge next week, and they recently
spoke with the Technique about their
writing process, their 2017 Netflix spe-
cial “On Drugs,” and their upcoming
Atlanta shows.
Technique: You guys had a Fox
show, “Lucas Bros. Moving Co.” a few
years ago. What was your process like
when you were creating that show, and
do you think your process has changed
since then?
Kenny: Well, that was really early
in our career, and it was a new medium
that we had never really explored, so it
was all kind of experimental, and new
and fun and different, and I think it
really helped us to get closer to un-
derstanding what our overall comedic
POV is. We’re still trying to under-
stand what our overall comedic POV
is, but it was a good start, it was fun.
I would say that we weren’t as refined
as writers and we weren’t as refined as
actors.
Keith: I think we’ve become much
better at all of those things, but the
show was a process that I greatly ap-
preciated.
Technique: You guys also released
a Netflix comedy special called “On
Drugs” back in 2017. What was the
process of making that like, and how
did Netflix approach you guys, or how
did that conversation start?
Keith: Great question. You know,
the process of developing “On Drugs”
See LUCAS, page 13
Photo courtesy of Shot@Life Flickr
Pictured above is Yasmine Gomaa, a research scientist at
Tech, giving a presentation about the microneedle patches.
News
NEWS EDITOR:
Jonathan Jeffery
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR:
Will Finch
news@nique.net
nate a member of House Leader-
ship to attend meetings of the Ex-
ecutive Cabinet for the remainder
of the semester."
Besides reminding Terry that
attending executive cabinet meet-
ings are crucial, the resolution also
demonstrated that the UHR sup-
ports making "the voting records
of all representatives throughout
the 2018–19 session public on the
Georgia Tech Student Govern-
ment Association website as soon
CoC Dean Finalists Speak technique
During the late February, the four finalists to
be the next dean of the College of Computing
2
Friday,
pitched their ideas to campus in seminars44 March 8, 2019
additional insight into the sur- GTRI parking deck in response to
rounding issues. a suspicious vehicle parked there.
"I want to just get a survey of As the officer approached the
student opinions, possible con- vehicle, he noticed that the vehicle
flicts of interest, " Zanlerigu said. was occupied by two people. Ad-
ditionally, as he got closer to the
RESTRUCTURING UPDATE car he noticed the distinct smell
Also during open forum, of marijuana coming from the car.
Akarsh Hemrajani, third-year Upon arriving at the vehicle,
CS, explained that his committee the two occupants stated that they
was "discussing the possibility of were Tech students and that they
having the presidential elections were simply chatting. When con-
[moved] to a single transferable fronted about the odor of marijua-

E
ach week , this sec tion of
News will include coverage
of different aspects of bills
and resolutions that have passed
through Student Government. This
will include the Undergraduate
House of Representatives, Graduate
Student Senate and the Executive
Branch of both government bodies.
JONATHAN JEFFREY
NEWS EDITOR
A WEE REMINDER
On Tuesday, the Undergradu-
ate House of Representatives
(UHR) voted unanimously to
pass resolution 19U045, a "Re-
soultion on Bylaw Compliance,"
which served as an indirect re-
minder to Speaker of the House
Darryl J Terry, II, fourth-year
PUBP, of some of the duties that
they expect him to fulfill.
Last week, it came to the at-
tention of multiple representatives
that Terry had not attended sev-
eral executive cabinet meetings,
and neither had he nominated
any representative to attend those
meetings in his stead.
The resolution, authored by
Rep. Nate Knauf, noted that "Ar-
ticle II Section 2.A.a of the bylaws
declare that all members of the
Executive Cabinet attend weekly
meetings set by the Undergradu-
ate Student Body President," and
that "Article I Section 3.A.j of the
Bylaws declare that the Speaker of
the House shall be considered a
member of the executive cabinet."
The resolution resolved that
"the Speaker of the House should
either personally attend or desig-
as possible."
Since December, Knauf had
repeatedly called on Terry to pub-
lish voting records on the website.
While Terry chose to publish
Feb. 26 voting records last week,
no other individualized voting
records of the 2018–19 UHR ses-
sion has been published on the
website as of Thursday, March 7.
FLOP THE DROP
During open forum section of
the UHR meeting, Nana Zan-
lerigu, representative at large,
discussed his committee's inves-
tigation comparing Tech's drop
and withdraw deadlines to several
other schools. Of all the schools
surveyed, only one — University
of Texas, Austin, had stricter drop
periods. Most schools were far
more generous: Yale, as one of the
more extreme examples, allows
students to withdraw even just be-
fore finals.
"We compared a lot of schools,"
Zanlerigu said. "Georgia Tech is
ranked 80. We noticed that this is
just absurd."
Zanlerigu encouraged people
to research out to him if their de-
partments would support extend-
ing the deadline or if they had
BILL SUMMARY
BILL
Women’s Soccer – New Jerseys
Alpha Phi Omega Conference
Golf Club NCCGA Spring Membership
VSA Fan Dance Costumes & Fans
Ballroom Dance – Maryland Jam
RoboBoat Competition
voting system," which would al-
low an instant runoff.
WHO'S DOING WHAT WHERE
Undergraduate President Evan
Gillon presented a comprehensive
list of which people he had ap-
pointed to Institute-committees.
"I disagree with the way that
this has been done in the past,"
Gillon said. "It's not the most
transparent. Y'all should be in-
formed of all appointments that
happen, all changes that happen
on executive boards, even the ones
that are by bylaws not able to be
overturned, they should be pre-
sented."
Previously, Gillon said, there
has been no standardized way
to keep track of all the appoint-
ments, and often, executive cabi-
net members simply mentioned to
UHR the results of committee ap-
pointments during weekly report
presentation to UHR.
"We're working with our IT
board," Gillon said, "to place in-
formation on appointments and
other executive orders in Jacket-
Pages and on the external website,
which would have the additional
effect of enabling the implementa-
tion of version control."
AMOUNT GSS UHR
$2,178.67 24-0-0 32-0-0
$325.00 24-0-0 32-0-0
$400.00 24-0-0 32-0-0
$439.08 24-0-0 32-0-0
$802.67 24-0-0 32-0-0
$1,211.16 24-0-0 32-0-0
CASEY MILES
MANAGING EDITOR
COVERED AND DRUNKED
Around 4:00 a.m. on Feb.
28, GTPD was dispatched to the
Waffle House in Tech Square in
response to a suspicious male.
When the officers arrived at
the scene, they met with the wait-
ress who had called them in. The
waitress informed them that a
male seated near the doors drink-
ing a can of beer was the suspi-
cious male.
Beer is not permitted to be
consumed at the Waffle House
location in Tech Square. Addi-
tionally, the waitress informed the
officers that the male had also uri-
nated right outside the restaurant.
Upon approaching the male,
the officer noted that his eyes were
red and watery and the he was
emanating an odor of an alcoholic
beverage.
The officers and the male
walked outside without incident
and the officers began to investi-
gate the male. It was quickly dis-
covered that the male was both a
Tech student and under the legal
age to drink.
In addition to the student code
of conduct violation he received,
the student was also given a crimi-
nal trespass warning for the Tech
Square Waffle House. He was
informed that if he ever set foot
on the Waffle House property he
would be arrested.
“REEF”EARCH
On the morning of Feb. 28
at 12:41 a.m., a GTPD officer
was dispatched to the roof of the
na, the female in the driver’s seat
became nervous and began stut-
tering while trying to explain that
she was not smoking in the car.
After running the two students
through crime databases and
finding no hits, the officer asked
them to step out of the car while
he spoke to them. After talking to
the two students for a while, the
driver admitted that she did have
marijuana in the car.
After this confession, a search
was performed of the back seat
in which the officer discovered a
container of marijuana and relat-
ed paraphernalia. The officer then
asked the passenger if she had
anything in the car to which she
responded that she also had mari-
juana in the car.
The officer found another con-
tainer with marijuana and para-
phernalia in the passenger side
door. Both containers and their
contents were taken in for de-
struction and the students were
both given student code of con-
duct violations.
STEALING THE DOUGH
Just after noon on Feb. 26 an
officer was stopped by the man-
ager of Ray’s Pizza in Tech Square
regarding an incident of an em-
ployee stealing money from the
restaurant.
Over the course of two weeks,
an employee had inflated tip
amounts by around a dollar when
a customer paid with a credit card.
In total, the employee had sto-
len $127.42. The manager of Ray’s
elected not to press charges as long
as the employee paid the money
back. After paying the $127.42,
the employee was fired.

sliver // your thoughts

nique.net
Fun Fact: the inventor of the modern electric scooter rejected his
GT acceptance and went to MIT. Friends of his at GT stream-
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NEWS EDITOR
Jonathan Jeffrey
lined the technology. OPINIONS EDITOR
For this week’s logic bomb: [sparing your eyes from gamma Samira Bandaru EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jon Long
rays of the massive explosion]
finally, the poem in the March 1 issue’s slivers was neat But wait, Casey Miles MANAGING EDITOR LIFE EDITOR
Lauren Lambert
there’s more
you guys should allow people to submit ask burdells via the sliver ENTERTAINMENT
Founded in 1911, the Technique is the student newspaper of the
box thanks for the suggestion, we’ll get on that right away Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an official publication of
EDITOR
I really hate people who submit slivers about how much they hate the Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. The Technique
Josh Trebuchon
people who submit slivers about how much they hate people who publishes on Fridays, weekly in the fall and spring and biweekly in SPORTS EDITOR
hate people. the summer. Harsha Sridhar
It’s hard to be moderate in a world that’s black and white
The rose is a rose, ADVERTISING: Information can be found online at nique.net/ PHOTO EDITOR
And was always a rose. ads. The deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m. one Casey Gomez
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And the pear is, and so’s net. You may reach us at 404-894-2830, Monday through Friday
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The dear only knows Copyright © 2018, Samira Bandaru, Editor-in-Chief, and the Zoie Konneker
What will next prove a rose. Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. No part of this pa-
WEB DEVELOPER
You, of course, are a rose - per may be reproduced in any manner without written permission
Tristen Allen
But were always a rose. from the Editor-in-Chief or from the Board of Student Publica-
And that is your weekly dose of poetry in the sliver box, that tions. The ideas expressed herein are those of the individual au- HEAD COPY EDITOR
was “The Rose Family” by Robert Frost. Tune in next week thors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board of Avni Shridhar
Student Publications, the students, staff or faculty of the Georgia
to see if there’s more Institute of Technology or the University System of Georgia. First
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely copy free; for additional copies call 404-894-2830.
// NEWS technique • March 8, 2019• 3

Elections Code revised, UHR cools down

JONATHAN JEFFREY
NEWS EDITOR
Last week and on Sunday, the
Undergraduate Judicial Cabinet
(UJC) held hearings to determine
whether Josephine Graves, cur-
rent elections chair, did indeed
violate the bylaws that the Un-
dergraudate House of Representa-
tive (UHR) claims she did in last
week's resolution.
"We gave a formal recommen-
dation that [has not] been acted
on yet, that will happen within
five business days," Rachel Stills,
the Chief Justice, told UHR on
Tuesday. "We looked at failures
rather than just actual claims, so
what that means is, rather than
just for breaking the bylaws, but
that actually affected what hap-
pened to SGA or would be best
for SGA."
After reviewing the undergrad-
uate SGA (USGA) constitution,
UJC determined that they did not
have the authority to remove the
election chair from office: instead
that power lies with the under-
graduate president, Stills said.
"According to this constitution
article, the president actually has
the sole power to remove some-
one from office from any position,
so our recommendation will be
pointing to Evan," Stills said, re-
ferring to Evan Gillon, the current
president of USGA.
Feeling "personally and pro-
fessionally" close to the situation,
according to a letter forwarded
to UHR last Thursday, Stills had
recused herself from the hearings
and deliberation process, appoint-
ing an Interim Chief Justice to
take her place.
Specifically, it is Article IV of
Section 2 of the USGA consti-
tution that stipulates that "the
President shall have the power
to remove from office an student
who he or she has appointed, ex-
cept members of the Undergradu-
ate Judiciary Cabinet or those in
positions primarily responsible for
trying student misconduct."
The Elections Committee and
chair, besides running USGA
elections, also handle issues of
elections code violations. While
the Elections Committee was
moved under the jurisdiction of
UJC in Spring 2017 to insulate
the committee from the executive
branch, at least for the Graves,
the current Elections chair, the
USGA president, Gillon, was in-
volved in the appointment process
before handing the appointee off
to UJC for approval.
During the UHR meeting on
Tuesday, representatives voted to
approve several changes to the
elections identified through a re-
view to bring it in line with USGA
bylaws. At the end of Tuesday’s
meeting, UHR entered into exec-
utive session in order to “discuss
the current state of the House,”
according to meeting minutes.
“I think it’s important to have
this just be within the House,
so we can have an intimate dis-
cussion about how we feel the
House is operating without feel-
ing any potential pressure from
Cab also being present,” said
Ajanta Choudhury, first year BIO,
freshman class representative and
UHR Secretary, who called the
motion to enter executive session.
The campaign season for
USGA will begin Monday, March
10, and last until March 29. Vot-
ing will occur from March 25 to
29, when the undergraduate presi-
dential ticket and the representa-
tives-elect will be announced.

Photo by Garrett Shoemaker Student Publications

During the Undergraduate House of Representatives meeting on Tuesday, the "elephant in the room" was what happened last meeting, Rep. Delaney Murphy, third-year
LMC, vocalized during open forum. Representatives on Tuesday approved elections code changes and convened privately to discuss "the current state of the House."
4 • March 8, 2019• technique
College of Computing dean finalists give seminars
MARY BANGS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
As the search for the next dean
of the College of Computing con-
tinues on to its final stages, the re-
maining candidates came to Tech
to answer questions and explain
their ideas to students and staff in
townhall-style seminars. Held in
the Clough Commons each Tues-
day and Thursday in the latter half
of February, the seminars allowed
the four finalists to express in de-
tail their backgrounds and visions
for the College of Computing.
The first finalist, Charles Isbell,
a professor and executive dean in
the College of Computing, spoke
about his background and ideas
for the College of Computing on
Feb. 19. He discussed his experi-
ence in helping to develop the
popular threads model within the
College of Computing, and its po-
tential to promote interdisciplin-
ary degrees at Tech.
“We have to be creative and
take advantage of the centrality of
computing,” Isbell said.
Isbell also talked about the
massive growth in the industry re-
cently. She claims this it could be
a great opportunity for increased
research and industry interaction.
Using the computational media
major as a successful example,
Isbell believes collaboration be-
tween computer science and other
degree programs such as indus-
trial engineering or industrial de-
sign could be effective. Overall, he
stressed the need to expand com-
puting into other disciplines in or-
der to “solve our joint problems.”
On Feb. 21, Kathleen Fisher
visited campus for the second
townhall. A professor and chair of
the computer science department
at Tufts University, Fisher empha-
sized the importance of building
// NEWS
diversity and inclusion in comput- Computing and remove barriers rience. Zegura expressed her de- Additionally, Zegura empha-
er science in order to increase the for faculty. sire for the College of Computing sized the need to streamline pro-
number of women and underrep- The final candidate to present to increase the number of women cesses for researching faculty and
resented minorities within both was Ellen Zegura on Feb. 28. As and underrepresented minorities Ph.D. students.
the student body and the staff. a Fleming professor in the school in the Ph.D. program. Zegura explained that search-
“The more people that are in of computer science here at Tech, She believes that the under- ing for consistent research fund-
those [underrepresented] groups Zegura is a faculty co-director graduate experience plays a huge ing and fulfilling teaching obliga-
that become Ph.D. seekers and of the Center for Serve Learn role in a student’s choice to pursue tions can be difficult for professors
ultimately faculty members, the Sustain on campus as well. As a a master’s or Ph.D., in turn affect- and researchers.
more those groups will see that it part of her many leadership roles ing the amount of research and “Less friction and more slack,”
is possible to pursue computer sci- within the College of Computing, higher-level educators produced she said, would lead to greater suc-
ence,” Fisher said. Zegura discussed her familiarity by Tech. cess for the college.
She went on to express interest with recruiting and administra- “The student experience in our The search committee is ex-
in expanding computer science to tive responsibilities. curriculum has to be front and pected to announce the new dean
include more than one major, an Zegura stressed the impor- center in how we design that cur- in May 2019, with a start date in
online post-bachelor’s degree, or tance of the undergraduate expe- riculum,” Zegura said. fall 2019.
an extension of the threads model
to include multiple schools out-
side of computing. Fisher wants
the attitude of “I got out” at Tech
to be adapted to a philosophy of
“I’m forever in.”
Radha Poovendran, a profes-
sor and chair of the Department
of Electrical and Computer Engi-
neering department at the Univer-
sity of Washington, was the third
candidate to present. Poovendran
stated that it is very important to
him to build collaborations across
different academic approaches.
“Our commitment to inclu-
siveness, diversity, and equal ac-
cess needs to come across in how
we recruit, promote and advocate
for any member of our commu-
nity,” Poovendran said.
Poovendran referenced suc-
cessful programs he has imple-
mented at University of Wash-
ington such as increasing alumni
touchpoints, developing a five-
year plan with junior faculty and
focusing on research.
In his townhall, Poovendran
explained factors that drew him to
Tech, which included excellence
in the computer science program
and present initiatives to start new
programs and innovations. Over- Photo Courtesy of Office of the Provost
all, he wants to increase the na- Clockwise from top left: Charles Isbell, Kathleen Fisher, Ellen Zegura and Radha Poovendran are all
tional standing of the College of finalists vying to be the next dean of the College of Computing. The new dean will be announced in May.
Opinions
OUR VIEWS | Consensus Opinion
Would You Like Flies with That?
Sodexo’s questionable definition of ‘edible’
With the contract between Tech and
dining provider Sodexo set to expire soon,
the Institute has an opportunity to mend
one of the most heinous issues currently
facing campus. Every day a new photo
makes the rounds on social media depict-
ing moldy cheese, spoiled milk and bug-
infested fruit. Incoming freshmen, at one
of the most strenuous colleges in the coun-
try, should not have to subsist on leftovers
from Fear Factor’s cancellation.
As a part of Freshman Experience, a
meal plan is inevitable for a large major-
ity of incoming students. While the terms
seem to vary from year to year — seeming-
ly becoming more and more egregious in
terms of allotted meal swipes — students
can expect to get significantly less out of a
meal plan than their dining fee would war-
rant. It would be cheaper, and healthier
given the state of the food, for students to
forgo a meal plan altogether and opt for a
diet of fast food.
The Consensus Opinion reflects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of the
Technique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.
technique editorial board
Samira Bandaru EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Casey Miles MANAGING EDITOR
Jonathan Jeffrey NEWS EDITOR
Lauren Lambert LIFE EDITOR
Harsha Sridhar SPORTS EDITOR
Zoie Konneker ONLINE EDITOR
Lauren Douglas DESIGN EDITOR
A CROWDED FIELD BY LAUREN DOUGLAS
OPINIONS EDITOR: Jon Long
“
”
Success is walking from failure to
failure with no less enthusiasm.
— Winston Churchill
For an institute that claims to be mak-
ing improvements in student health and
wellbeing, it would be an unforgivable
oversight for Tech to continue allowing
this current level of quality. Meals plans
at universities like Emory and UGA are
proof enough that healthy and substantial
meal plans in Georgia are viable. Are these
schools outliers, or are we eating flies be-
cause Sodexo was the lowest bidder?
It’s becoming more and more clear that
the state of our meal plan needs more at-
tention from administration, especially
given Tech’s impending freedom from our
current provider as we switch to Aramark.
Tech needs to explore options that justify
the price that students pay each semester.
A more reasonable meal plan would have
positive impacts on almost every aspect of
campus life, not the least of which being
the fact that students tend to be happier
and more productive when not subsisting
on rotten fruit.
Jon Long OPINIONS EDITOR
Josh Trebuchon ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Avni Shridhar HEAD COPY EDITOR
Tristen Allen WEB DEVELOPER
technique
Friday,
March 8, 2019
5
A skewed perception
of looks in movies
From “The Breakfast Club” onstrate her reluctance to undergo
and “Grease” to “She’s All That,” any sort of transformation.
moviegoers have always loved a After dishing Mia some back-
good makeover scene. Audiences handed compliments and declar-
go wild whenever the character ing that, despite her appearance,
who has been marked “different” he will make her beautiful, Paolo
changes her ap- finally prepares to
pearance to fit in “I recently revisited reveal his work to
with her peers. the Queen. His
One of the [The Princess Diaries] two trendy as-
best examples of and realized that it sistants hold up
this trope from “before” photos
my own child- sends mixed messages that obscure Mia’s
hood is the make-
over scene from
to its audience of face. When they
pull the photos
the “The Princess primarily young girls.” back, they reveal
Diaries.” For those a girl who now
unfamiliar, “The ROSEMARY PITRONE has shiny, straight
Princess Diaries” ASST. LIFE EDITOR hair and a face full
is a movie starring of makeup. Mia
Anne Hathaway smiles, anxious for
and Julie Andrews that was re- approval.
leased in 2001. It is a well-known statistic
It tells the story of Mia Ther- that a girl’s self-esteem plum-
mopolis, a 15-year-old girl who mets around age 12. Watching a
discovers that her distant and scene like Mia’s transformation
recently deceased father was the provides some insight as to why.
crown prince of a fictional king- Movie scenes like this, regardless
dom called Genovia. Her grand- of intent, brand those “before”
mother, Queen Clarisse, breaks and “after” images very clearly in
this news to her, thus catapulting a viewer’s mind.
Mia into the transition from awk- Thus, the movie reaffirms in
ward teen to poised princess. the minds of girls a strict code of
I recently revisited the movie what is and is not beautiful. For
and realized that it sends mixed example, I was once bickering
messages to its au- with my sister when
dience of primar- she said: “Well, you
ily young girls. In “It is a well-known look like the girl
some ways, the story statistic that a from the Princess
demonstrates that it Diaries, but from
is important to be girl’s self-esteem before she got the
yourself and that it plummets around makeover.”
is good to be differ- She was un-
ent. The filmmakers age 12.” able to recall Mia’s
even enlist the help name and had lim-
of the Backstreet ited memory of the
Boys by using the song “What plot, but it is important that she
Makes You Different (Makes You did remember the pivotal make-
Beautiful)” to drive this message over scene. Based on her under-
home. standing, to equate someone else’s
On the other hand, the movie appearance with the “before”
also reinforces standards of femi- pictures in that scene would be a
nine beauty that women are ex- great insult.
pected to uphold. This is evident This is the trap that many im-
in the makeover scene, which can pressionable children fall into.
definitely be interpreted as harm- They learn that characters like
ful to a young audience member’s Mia only have value post-make-
self-image. over; but, to believe that is to miss
In the scene, Clarisse recruits some of the more meaningful
esteemed beautician Paolo to messages in the movie.
make her granddaughter look Mia has a lot going for her be-
more like a “princess” should. fore she learns she is royalty. She
When Paolo first notices Mia, has friends who care about her
he shrieks. She has big, frizzy and cool hobbies like rock climb-
hair, her eyebrows are thick and ing; but so often throughout the
untouched by tweezers and her movie, Mia mentions feeling in-
awkward facial expressions dem- See MIA, page 7
Write to us: are responses to or commentaries on
content found within the pages of the
opinions@nique.net Technique. Along with these letters,
we are open to receiving letters that
Got something to say? Then let focus on relevant issues that currently
your voice be heard with the Tech- affect Georgia Tech as a university, in-
nique. Sliver at Nique.net, tweet us cluding its campus and student body.
@the_nique or check us out on Face- When submitting letters we ask
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to make it known to all of campus. letters be thought provoking, well
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as topics relevant to campus. We will for length and style.
print letters on a timely and space- For questions, comments or con-
available basis. cern, contact the Opinions Editor at
Each week we look for letters that opinions@nique.net.
6 • March 8, 2019• technique
In defense of quarters
All over campus, a feeling is
just starting to settle in. If you
listen closely, you can hear it as it
slinks its way into students’ minds,
manifesting itself as a continu-
ous stream of sighs, complaints,
yawns and, in extreme cases, the
occasional fit of sobbing.
The malady from which stu-
dents — and, sometimes, fac-
ulty — are beginning to suffer is,
of course, the academic fatigue
which results from taking the
same classes for four straight
months. As we enter the middle of
the semester, neither the end nor
the beginning is in sight, and we
begin to wonder how much more
we can cram into our heads.
It’s all enough to make you
wonder, wouldn’t it be great if our
terms were about half the length
that they are now? We would just
be wrapping up our classes, pre-
paring for exams and looking for-
ward to a short break between this
term and the next.
Such a system has a name, and
it once was not all that uncom-
mon. The quarters system — as
opposed to Tech’s current se-
mester system — was once more
popular in higher education than
it is today. Based on data from the
National Association of College
Stores — yes, that is a real organi-
zation — prior to 1991, 38 percent
of colleges used a quarters system,
while by 2001, that number had
dropped to 30 percent. Tech itself
contributed to this decline, ditch-
ing quarters in 1999.
// OPINIONS
Because the quarters system the same way they are in the fall
has become so rare, the issue of or spring. This provides greater
which system Tech would best be scheduling flexibility for students
served by is hardly a hot-button who do internships or co-ops, and
one. Students are unlikely to even it promotes a more uniform edu-
know anyone who cational experience
goes to a school that “Wouldn’t it be great across the student
uses quarters, let
alone to have expe-
if our terms were body. Students who
took a class in the
rienced the system half the length that summer would not
firsthand. Further-
more, the number they are now?” be put at a significant
disadvantage over
of professors who those who took it in
were at Tech prior JOSH TREBUCHON the fall. Marijuana Trebek
to the implementa- ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR I should finish A bill to legalize cultivation Longtime Jeopardy host
tion of the semester this piece by noting of Marijuana and distribution Alex Trebek announced that
system — while not yet all that that there is probably no chance of Marijuana oil in Georgia he has stage 4 Pancreatic Can-
small — decreases every year. that we will ever get to go back to for medical purposes is pick- cer this week. Though the me-
Still, the issue should be de- a quarters system. The reason why ing up steam, being approved dian survival rate is two to six
bated. At an institution like Tech Tech implemented semesters in Tuesday by Georgia’s House of months, Trebek remains opti-
where the majority of students the first place is because the Uni- Representatives. The law pro- mistic and willing to fight the
are taking difficult STEM course versity System of Georgia required hibits smoking, however. disease.
loads, the quarter system has seri- all of its member institutions to,
ous benefits. Shorter terms reduce and Tech would almost certainly
burnout and help students learn not be allowed to return to quar-
more effectively towards the end ters without the entire system con-
of courses. For evidence of this, verting back, which would be an
just ask your professors — those extremely difficult feat to achieve.
who were around the experience What’s more, just restructuring
quarters will likely reminisce nos- the curriculum and calendar at
talgically about how much easier Tech to fit quarters would be ex-
it was to keep students engaged. tremely difficult, and no matter
Quarters offer other benefits as how much it might benefit stu- IAC Networking Crookout
well, with perhaps the most sig- dents and professors, the adminis- The Center for Career A Tech student was robbed
nificant one being that the system tration would be unlikely to try it. Development and Discovery at a local Cookout restaurant
puts summers on an equal footing Still, when you feel completely hosted a joint venture with this week, losing their wal-
with the rest of the academic cal- beaten down at the midway point Ivan Allen College Student let, phone and car keys. This
endar. Rather than trying to force of a semester, wishing that you Advisory Board allowing Ivan comes just weeks after a rob-
a full semester’s worth of material could just take your final exams Allen students to network with bery-turned-kidnapping out-
into a much shorter summer term, and move on to something new, recruiters, hopefully paving side of the Midtown Krispy
quarters allow courses in the sum- it’s nice to think that there’s a the way for an eventual full Kreme sent unease throughout
mer to be administered in exactly chance. career fair. the campus community.
// OPINIONS technique • March 8, 2019• 7

On my time with the ‘Nique

Three years and two months before I left the office. Sometimes,
MIA FROM PAGE 5
visible. At one point a classmate
accidentally sits on her because he
fails to notice her. Mia is also ter-
ago, I was offered a job I didn’t I’d nearly oversleep my noon class rified of public speaking and tells
apply for. that next day. her grandmother, “My expecta-
Sitting at home a few days be- But week by week, I got better. “ . . . I did what all those self- tion in life is to be invisible, and
fore the start of the semester and Thanks to my more experienced help books advise you to do: I’m good at it.”
watching an episode of the West colleagues, I figured out InDesign While Mia is struggling to fit
Wing, I got a call from the Tech- shortcuts, best practices for an I saw an opportunity and in with her classmates, friends and
nique’s editor-in-chief at the time, interview and how to make sure took it.” high society, the queen’s head se-
Brenda Lin. Brenda mentioned the work my writers submitted re- curity reminds her, “Nobody can
that the sports editor, Jon Long quired minimal edits. And it cer- make you feel inferior without
— who, fittingly enough, now tainly helped that I had a fellow
HARSHA SRIDHAR your consent.”
manages the section in which this freshman editor — Maura Currie, SPORTS EDITOR In the end, Mia shows up to
editorial will be printed — was in the news section — with whom a glamorous ball where she is ex-
moving to a different role, and the I could commiserate. We’d often view Tech athletic director Todd Thank you to Georgia Tech Ath- pected to give a speech about her
assistant editor had no interest in walk back to our West Campus Stansbury after he was hired. letic Association staffers like Mike decision to accept the crown. She
taking his place. The sports sec- dorms together late at night, ex- My conversations with them le- Flynn and Kevin Davis, who have is soaking wet from the rain and
tion was mine if I wanted it. hausted but, at some level, satis- gitimized the work I was doing: promptly and generously worked wears only a raggedy sweatshirt
To say that I hadn’t envisioned fied. covering a college team alongside with me over the last few years. and jeans. For the first time, it is
this happening was an understate- The better I got at being the the likes of the Atlanta Journal- Thank you to every athlete who not her appearance that matters,
ment. I worked hard and wrote sports editor, the closer it got to Constitution’s Ken Suguira, who sat down for an interview with but what she finally has to say.
what I thought were pretty good the ideal situation I had envi- does that for a living. This isn’t to me and shared your perspective. She finds her voice and realizes it
articles, but my plan had been sioned when I accepted the job. say that my work ever measured Thank you to Danny Karnik, a was something she had in her all
to write more often, I had the chance to up to that of Suguira, who is an truly great photographer who has along, rather than something she
not to take over the view college athlet- excellent journalist Tech fans are generously let us use his photos needed perfect hair and makeup
entire section. Never- “For the last three ics from a perspec- lucky to have. when a Technique staffer wasn’t at to express.
theless, I did what all and a half years, tive I had never seen For the last three and a half an event to capture it. Thank you I am glad that I was able to
those self-help books before, both figura- years, I’ve been the sports editor to every person who has written revisit this movie with a new per-
advise you to do: I I’ve been the tively and literally. I of this newspaper. Everything for me, from one-timers to main- spective. It is not perfect, but its
saw an opportunity sports editor of this once sat next to Buzz around me has changed. The stays of our section like Alison message is more nuanced than
and took it. By the and watched a wom- men’s basketball and football Lavery and Emily Dykstra. Thank many people may remember. I
time I hung up, I was newspaper.” en’s basketball game coaches who were in place when you to John Edwards, who is a would encourage everybody to
the Technique’s new from just behind the I started my job are gone. The great friend and assistant editor, reflect on the media they grew up
sports editor. baseline. My assistant women’s basketball coach is on for agreeing to take over this sec- with, whether it is a book, a movie
Almost immediately upon ac- editor and I watched the overtime leave for unspecified reasons. The tion next year until he graduates or the music that was popular at
cepting the position, I was over- period of the 2017 Chick-fil-A old athletic director is at Purdue almost immediately. And finally, the time. It is important to reex-
whelmed by the number of things Kickoff Game from the Tech side- now. Within the Technique, I’ve thank you for reading this piece, amine the media that shaped us,
I didn’t know. I didn’t know how line. And what was most shocking worked under four editors-in- along with any others from the not only to better understand our
to set up an interview with an ath- to me was that significant people chief and three managing editors. sports section you’ve consumed own identities, but also to ensure
lete, how to use Adobe InDesign in the world of collegiate athlet- And countless classmates have in the last three and a half years. that the stories we create and share
or how to set expectations clearly ics were willing to talk to me. I had put their names down in a This has been an unforgettable with young children in the future
for my staff. The first few weeks attended a meeting with NCAA sports byline. journey for me, and when it ends do not continue to reinforce ques-
were a struggle. More often than president Mark Emmert and was So this piece concludes with in a couple of weeks, I’ll always be tionable standards that negatively
not, it would be 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. one of the first journalists to inter- a thank you to all of those folks. glad that you were all a part of it. impact their self-worth.
Life
Matt Siegler gives talk on planetary heat flow
ELIZABETH GRACE
STAFF WRITER
Last Thursday, February 28,
2019, Matt Siegler visited Tech
from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab-
oratory (JPL) to talk about his
work on planetary science. Siegler
is interested in building a geother-
mal lab at Tech and in partnering
with JPL via the GT-JPL Strategic
University Research Partnerships
(SURP) program.
“I would love to expand the
mission and instrument presence
of Georgia Tech, develop missions
and instruments of my own, have
years of experience working at
JPL and aid in the further devel-
opment of C-STAR and Georgia
Tech’s strategic partnership with
JPL,” he said.
Stepping up to the stage,
Siegler had an engaging smile on
his face. As the co-creator of the
webseries Ph.D. TV — an off-
shoot of Ph.D. Comics — he pep-
pered his talk with amusing jokes.
Siegler obtained his under-
graduate degree in physics and
film at Cornell University, spent
a year at CERN and went on to
obtain his Ph.D. at UCLA in
2011. He worked as a science ad-
visor on the 2014 Cosmos sequel
and has a passion for bringing sci-
ence to non-scientists. His current
avenues of research span geology,
astronomy, climate science, chem-
istry and engineering, but are tied
together by planetary science.
“I look at (nearly) everything
involving thermal processes from
the [planet’s] surface downward,”
he said.
Chat Over Chicken women’s networking lunch
NEHA BHATIA
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On one Thursday in every
month, women from the Georgia
Tech community gather at Ferst
Place, a restaurant located across
from the Student Center ball-
room, to dine together and engage
in discussions oriented around
professional development, ambi-
tions and the everyday experiences
women share at the school. Orga-
nized by the Women of Georgia
Tech Employee Resource Group
(WoGT), Chat Over Chicken
aims to provide a comfortable en-
vironment for campus women to
network.
At a typical Chat Over Chick-
en event, attendees sit at tables
with six to eight other women,
including a table host to comple-
ment the natural ebb and flow
of healthy conversation. Each
tabletop includes a list of topical
questions and conversation pieces
pertaining to women at the time
of the event — upcoming perfor-
mance reviews and strategic plan-
ning at the start of the new year,
for instance — but dialogue tends
to flow naturally and take on
many different directions.
The event was established in
response to feedback from WoGT
LIFE EDITOR: technique
Lauren Lambert Negative news cycle
ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR:
Rosemary Pitrone
The Technique dives into how watching the news affects
Friday,
8
students’ mental health. 49
life@nique.net March 8, 2019
The talk concentrated on three rate. The HP3 instrument will eral heat conduction. InSight was lucky in many
of his prominent research areas: subsequently deploy a heat flow Mars’ orbit is so elliptical that, ways; future follow-up expedi-
the InSight Mission to Mars, heat probe 5 meters deep below the unlike Earth, its orbital position tions may primarily be a measure
flow on the Moon and the Diviner surface of the planet to measure with respect to the sun has more of past climate, rather than geo-
project and microwave lunar heat the thermal gradient and thermal effect on the planet’s temperature thermal heat alone.
flux from lunar probe Chang’e, conductivity which determine than the direction of its tilt angle. “InSight will measure a lot
Arecibo Observatory and the Very heat flow. At the time of the talk, The planet’s orbit and long term more than just geothermal heat,
Large Array (VLA). drilling was scheduled to begin climate variations can cause geo- but luckily not that much more,”
NASA’s InSight Mars Lander the next day, March 1, 2019. thermal changes that imitate heat Siegler said.
reached the surface of Mars on In his role as co-investigator, flux and act as confounding vari- The second chapter of Siegler’s
November 26, 2018. InSight will Siegler made multi-scale 3D mod- ables. research talk covered the Diviner
remain stationary on the Martian els of non-geothermal sources Fortunately, the current cli- experiment and lunar heat flux.
surface, collecting data from a of heat flux to better understand mate conditions have minimal There have been two previous
single location. the measurements that HP3 will climate effects: Mars’ current tem- measurements of heat flux on the
Heat flow is the mechanism make. Siegler looked at heat dis- perature is not very different from surface of the moon at the Apollo
behind geothermal activity like turbances and transient phenom- the long term average over the past landing sites, but a measurement
volcanoes and plate tectonics. ena, like seasonal shadows, which 900,000 years, resulting in only a of heat flux from orbit demon-
Siegler hopes to use InSight’s could affect the data. He also small decrease in heat flux at In- strated that these two samples
measurements of heat flux to un- worked on large scale models of Sight’s location. In addition, the were taken near the boundary of
derstand Mars’ geology, interior Mars’ heat flux, including mantle location and timing of InSight’s unusually radiogenic terrain. As a
activity and chemical and thermal heat production, surface topogra- landing optimized the heat flux
See HEAT, page 10
evolution. phy, surface temperature and lat- measurement conditions.
Unlike previous missions,
which characterized the surface of
Mars, InSight will look deep into
the interior of the planet. Its goal
is to determine the planet core’s
size, composition and state of
matter, the crust’s thickness and
structure, the mantle’s structure
and composition and the tempera-
ture and heat flow of the interior.
Siegler’s focus is on InSight’s
Heat Flow and Physical Properties
Package (HP3), designed to take
the first in situ heat flux measure-
ment on Mars. Surface distur-
bances on Mars prohibit heat flow
measurements taken at a shallow
depth.
InSight plans to execute the
deepest dig that humans have ever
achieved on any object besides
Earth. The InSight lander will use Photo by Casey Gomez Student Publications
a drill to hammer into the Mars’ Matt Siegler gives a presentation on planetary heat flow and on the NASA InSight mission to
surface at a slow and methodical Mars. He hopes to expand his research and build a geothermal laboratory on the Tech campus.
members, who expressed a desire “Tech is such a widely distrib- incredibly important to share best ployees may register to attend
for informal, natural ways to net- uted place, and departments can practices and make new associa- through the invite on the Georgia
work on campus. Following posi- end up siloed because we’re all tions,” Duke said. Tech Daily Digest or sign up to
tive feedback from a pilot event heads down, trying to accomplish Chat Over Chicken is open the mailing list on the Employee
in August 2018, where organizers so many goals. These opportuni- to members of the Georgia Tech Resource Group (ERG) website,
were able to witness the support- ties to be in the same place are community. Students and em- diversity.gatech.edu/erg.
ive environment and valuable con-
versations that ensued, Chat Over
Chicken has become a monthly
staple at Ferst Place.
“In the very first Chat Over
Chicken, one member was talking
about a new certification she was
working on and contemplating
how she could use these new skills
to continue and grow at Tech,”
said Amy Duke, engagement
co-chair for WoGT. “As she was
outlining all these goals she had,
another person standing there es-
sentially said, ‘well, I’m the direc-
tor of that here at Tech, and here’s
what I think.’ It was worth do-
ing this because these two people
would not have interacted in any
other way naturally, and they were
put together in an opportunity to
help one another. It’s those kinds
of things that I find exciting.”
Following the success of the
event over the past seven months,
the organizers hope to extend the
event to meet the needs of women
from areas such as Tech Square.
In the immediate future, the event Photo by Garrett Shoemaker Student Publications
will likely be expanded to include Pictured above are attendees to Chat Over Chicken. Each month, women network and
more registrants. hold career-based conversations at Ferst Place on the third floor of the Student Center.
// LIFE
Does watching
the news impact
mental health?
MAYA FLORES
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Media has changed radically
in tandem with technological
development. News headlines
are everywhere: on TV, on the
radio, in print, on social media
feeds and in ads. It is nearly
impossible to escape the reach
of news outlets. This constant
bombardment can be hard to
deal with when the content of
news usually has a strong nega-
tive bias. Some students feel
that this has an impact on their
mental health.
Addison Ku, a third-year
ME student, thinks news is
sensationalist and therefore
does not pay too much atten-
tion to it.
“It’s easy to overreact to
headlines. Although the news
is often depressing, I think that
that’s just a symptom of the
24/7 internet news cycle. It’s
much easier to get clicks with
a bad story.”
Media outlets may be mea-
suring success in how many
people engage in their stories,
but by disproportionately pub-
lishing negative stories, they are
distorting public perception.
technique • March 8, 2019• 9
“Because of this,” Ku said,
“I think that it often seems that
the world is a more depressing
place than it is. Overall, I try
not to let negative news me-
dia affect my perception of the
world too much, because it is
outside of the scope of what I
can affect, so worrying about it
doesn’t help me.”
Like Ku, third-year BME
Maggie Nuget keeps away
from the news, but for a differ-
ent reason.
“Ignorance is bliss. I don’t
really pay attention to news,
especially politics because it re-
ally stresses me out. I’m already
stressed about school and class-
es, so I don’t really need to be
worrying about things I can’t
change.”
Nuget also brought up see-
ing politics on her social media
feeds, especially facebook.
“I lived in a small town. I
see a lot of stuff people from
back home post that’s very
sensationalist. Especially like
in groups, there’s a lot of very
inflammatory, divisive posts. I
see them and get kind of un-
comfortable.”
Other students stay involved
in the news, but find ways to
minimize any depressing ef-
fects keeping up to date may
have. First-year ChBE David
Covell gets most of his news
from late night talk shows.
“I really like The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert and The
Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
They talk about the news but
it’s in a pretty comedic way.
It’s hard to believe our current
political scene, and so learn-
ing about it with jokes is a lot
better than reading depressing
articles.”
“Other than that, I just kind
of try and ignore real news. I’m
looking towards the future and
hoping that changes are made
and things get better.”
Design by Beatrice Domingo Student Publications
10 • March 8, 2019• technique
HEAT FROM PAGE 8
result, the moon was thought to
be much more active than it actu-
ally is.
The Diviner Lunar Radiom-
eter Experiment, an infrared radi-
ometer on NASA’s Lunar Recon-
naissance Orbiter, was introduced
Dear Burdell, to combat this undersampling.
I’m in my second semester of my sophomore year. Diviner took measurements in
Is it too late to change my major to Business? polar cold traps, which are craters
From,
Wannabe engineer within craters on the moon that
never see even a hint of sunlight.
The minimum temperature that
Dear Wannabe, Diviner recorded was a surprising
First, it is important to ask yourself what your motivation for changing your major is. Are 18 Kelvin, which is not far from
you discouraged by challenging classes? Do you find your chosen field of study tedious? Take absolute zero, the temperature at
some time to reflect on why you chose your major in the first place. Think about the kind of which fundamental particles have
field you see yourself working in after you graduate, and determine if any of the skills you have little to no motion. This tempera-
already acquired can be transferred to that field. If you see a natural transition to business, then ture is far too low to be consistent
it might be worth pursuing. Otherwise, try scheduling an appointment with your academic with geothermal activity.
advisor or with a career advisor from C2D2 for more personalized guidance. Diviner’s data provide a con-
straint on the reduced heat flow
Dear Burdell, of the Moon, which in turn gives
How do you find a mentor? information about the composi-
From, tion of the mantle and lower crust.
Lost lamb Siegler and his group constructed
global models of geothermal heat
flux to apply to future missions.
Dear Lost, “From Diviner, we have a new
The best mentor/mentee relationships are ones that develop naturally. Is there someone in your and important constraint on geo-
field of study that you really admire? You should already have a strong relationship with the person thermal heat production of the lu-
you are seeking mentorship from; otherwise, they will not understand your background and your nar crust and mantle to add to our
future goals. Show initiative and an eagerness to learn, and you will be a great mentee. reanalysis of Apollo,” concluded
Siegler.
In the third and final chapter,
Dear Burdell, Siegler covered microwave heat
I don’t have any plans for spring break. What should I do to fill my time? flux. “Aka: wouldn’t it be great if
Sincerely, we could just map heat flux from
Broke and bored orbit?” he said.
Since microwave radiation
should be sensitive to physical
Dear Broke, temperature, Siegler hopes to use
It may be disappointing to be without plans for spring break, but you shouldn’t let that get microwave observatories to make
you down. There are plenty of ways to keep yourself occupied. Spring break is a great time to visit measurements of lunar heat flux.
friends from nearby schools whom you may not get to see often. It is also the perfect time to learn The VLA and Arecibo Observa-
a new skill. Try cooking a new recipe every night, or explore some of the great hiking locations tory are obvious choices, but so
throughout Georgia. If you seriously lack the motivation to do any of that, it is perfectly permis- far he has most extensively studied
sible to stay in bed the whole week watching movies or reading a book. data from lunar probe Chang’e,
which created the highest resolu-
tion 3D map of the lunar surface
in existence by using microwave
Have a question that you need answered? remote sensing.
Email life@nique.net for advice better than your mother’s. His most recent work in this
area translates microwave mea-
surements to physical tempera-
ture using a weighting function
// LIFE
that is determined by a quantity
called the lunar “loss tangent,”
which in turn is highly dependent
on the amount of titanium in the
region of interest. With Chang’e
1’s data, he was able to obtain a
best fit constraint on the loss tan-
gent’s dependence on titanium.
His group used this titanium fit to
model the subsurface temperature
of the moon for various geother-
mal heat fluxes and, coincidental-
ly, to obtain the rock abundance
on the surface.
“The Chang’e 1 and 2 [micro-
wave radiometer (MRM)] instru-
ment is a great way to map titani-
um bearing ilmenite, may be able
to map buried rocks and hints at
global heat flux variations. Orbit-
al microwave measurement could
provide a precise relative heat flux
measurement technique, but ab-
solute heat flux may not be pos-
sible — at least for MRM — and
ground truth missions are likely
required,” Siegler said.
As for future work in lunar
microwave measurements, Siegler
looks to longer wavelengths, and
in particular to some early lu-
nar microwave data taken by the
VLA. “A longer wavelength would
see even deeper and therefore be
more influenced by geothermal
heat. … With this preliminary
[VLA] data as motivation, we are
actively proposing longer wave-
length instruments with U. Mich-
igan and JPL,” Siegler said.
“In five years, I plan to have
a new thermophysical properties
and instrumentation lab, some
successful instrument develop-
ment (microwave, thermal and
in-situ geophysics) projects going,
be a popular teacher (not just for
my grade inflation), build many
strong collaborations with the
people I am meeting today, and
have a happy and productive re-
search group. In 10-15 years, I
plan to be leading spacecraft mis-
sions and instruments from Geor-
gia Tech, have an even happier
and larger research group, and be
surrounded by some great friends
that I just met today,” he said.
// LIFE technique • March 8, 2019• 11

act fast,” Gomaa said. Gomaa’s vert to its viral form and cause pa- lations that would stabilize the vaccines. We have really good data
GOMAA FROM PAGE 1
current work is on measles and ralysis. The inactive form cannot vaccine upon drying. To opti- to support how it’s kind of a per-
required to accurately portion the rubella with the aim of a clinical revert and cause paralysis, so it’s mize the formulation, she added fect match for the application,”
dose from a multi dose vial and trial soon. much safer,” Gomaa said. Unfor- stabilizing ingredients to several Gomaa said.
inject it into humans. The needles The most recent paper from tunately, the cost of the safe vac- casts and dried them to see how The next steps for IPV are to do
resulting from the administration the group concerns the stability of cine is very high due to the cost of much of the viral content was lost more clinical trials and seek FDA
of the drug need to be disposed the inactivated poliovirus vaccine the skilled provider needed for ad- or maintained. Then she kept the approval for a marketable product.
of carefully and correctly, requir- (IPV) microneedle patches under ministration. It is also unstable at patches in different temperatures “The ultimate goal is to see a
ing infrastructure that may not various environmental conditions. elevated temperatures and needs and humidities for up to a year to patch that you would buy from a
be present. On top of that, “These “IPV is a vaccine for the poliovirus to be refrigerated. As a result, the see how much of the formulation supermarket and apply to your-
vaccines may be virus particles that is given by injection in devel- group made an IPV microneedle was retained. In addition, she did self,” Gomaa said. There would
that need to be refrigerated, so oped countries. But in still devel- patch and tested its stability. mechanistic studies to see how be no need for a doctor’s appoint-
you need a cold chain of storage oping countries, they use the oral The paper’s first author, Chan- the storage temperature would af- ment, so vaccinations would be
and transportation. Developing polyvaccine, which is two drops dara Kolluru, performed the ma- fect the crystallinity of the patch, easier to obtain.
countries cannot deal with the in the mouth of the infant. That’s jority of the work. For the IPV for example. She tested the mois- In the future, the deployment
cost,” Gomaa said. Microneedle very convenient. It’s very easy to microneedle patch, the vaccine is ture content, the transition tem- of the microneedle patch could
patches do not require refrigera- administer and doesn’t require treated with stabilizing agents and perature and crystallinity, among send the number of cases of the
tion because they have been stabi- skill, but the thing is, there is a then solidified in a microneedle other things. “The microneedle is measles, flu and rubella plummet-
lized using techniques developed chance that that vaccine would re- cast. Kolluru looked into formu- a very good dosage form to deliver ing across the globe.
by the Prausnitz group.
In order for a drug to be com-
patible with the microneedling
process, it must meet specific
criteria. Since the needles are
micron-scale, only relatively small
volumes of the drugs can be ad-
ministered. As a result, the drug
needs to be highly concentrated
and potent. The drug also needs
to be immunogenic, meaning it
provokes the required immune
response, and stable. “We have al-
ready demonstrated that the prop-
er formulation of these vaccines
in the dry form as a microneedle
patch would help with the stabil-
ity,” Gomaa said. Recent clinical
trials on measles, rubella, ebola
and other vaccines proved that
these microneedle vaccines are
immunogenic.
The group has also used mi-
croneedles for delivery of other
drugs. Gomaa has worked on
the administration of oxytocin, a
drug for postpartum hemorrhage
that is currently given by injec-
tion. “If you don’t intervene and
give the injection, there’s a possi-
bility that the mom would die. We Photo courtesy of Mark R. Prausnitz
want to stabilize oxytocin to be The Laboratory for Drug Delivery developed a microneedle patch that will make vaccines more accessible worldwide, reduce
given in the form of a patch and disease and potentially replace the oral polyvaccine. The innovative patch would dramatically reduce measles, flu and rubella.

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

Showcase, Present, and Inspire

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH @ GT

gttower.org

Entertainment
Previewing the 2019 Atlanta Science Festival
JOSH TREBUCHON
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
On Saturday, March 9, the At-
lanta Science Festival kicks off its
2019 edition with several events
at various locations in the Atlanta
area, including one event right
here at Tech.
The annual festival, which was
founded in 2014 as a collabora-
tive effort involving Tech, Emory
University, the Metro Atlanta
Chamber and a variety of cor-
porate sponsors, is a celebration
of local science and technology.
The festival runs from March 9
to March 23 and features more
than 100 events, many of which
are free and perfect for Tech stu-
dents. These are some of the most
exciting events happening around
the city.
SCIENCE OF SUPERPOWERS:
Hosted on March 9 at 1:00
p.m. at the Carter Presidential Li-
brary and Museum, this event is a
conversation about science fiction
and the science of superpowers
moderated by Tech’s own Dr. Lisa
Yaszek, Professor of Science Fic-
tion Studies.
ESCAPE LAB:
In this event, which will be at
the Clough Undergraduate Learn-
ing Commons on March 9, teams
2 Chainz’ ‘Rap or Go to the League’ a mixed bag
MUSIC
Rap or Go to the League
2 Chainz
LABEL: Def Jam Recordings
GENRE: Rap
TRACK PICKS: “Momma I Hit
a Lick” and “2 Dollar Bill”
OUR TAKE: «««««
CHAITU KONJETI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz re-
cently released his fifth studio al-
bum, “Rap or Go to the League.”
Following his last release “Pretty
Girls like Trap Music” and the
“B.O.A.T.S.” album series, the ex-
pectations for the album were for
it to have more club bangers, more
hard-hitting songs about his trap
life and his come-up and more
infectious, raw flows. Nothing
more, nothing less.
Coming into this album, it was
difficult to make solid predictions
because 2 Chainz decided not to
release any singles or preview the
album in any way.
With 21 Savage’s album “I
Am > I Was” in late 2018 and
Offset’s recent release “Father of
4,” the recent trend has been for
established trap artists to deliver
mature-sounding albums in com-
parison to the rest of their discog-
raphy. Both of these albums have
had unpredictable features, such
as J. Cole, CeeLo Green, Childish
Gambino, along with conscious
lyrics and introspective analyses.
technique
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Josh Trebuchon
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Eli Hendler Friday,
12
entertainment@nique.net March 8, 2019
of participants will solve science-
based challenges to escape a labo-
ratory in a science-themed escape
room puzzle. The event runs from
2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., with new
challenges beginning every hour.
Admission is five dollars.
MESOZOIC GIANTS:
This March 10 event at the
Fernbank Museum of Natural
History allows attendees to take a
virtual tour of Argentina’s Patago-
nia region 100 million years ago,
and to walk with some of the giant
dinosaurs that roamed the area in
the mesozoic era. Admission is
free, but advanced online registra-
tion is required.
THE MOST UNKNOWN:
Orpheus brewery hosts a
March 11 screening of the titu-
lar documentary, which seeks to Photo by Eli Hendler Student Publications
answer some of science’s biggest Meisa Salaita and Jordan Rose present the schedule of events for the 2019 Atlanta Science Festi-
questions. Additionally, the event val at a Jan. 24 press event for the release of the schedule. The festival takes place March 9-23.
will feature a panel with several
scientists from the Atlanta area NEURO-ENGINEERING Highland Inn Ballroom, features family-friendly event features 100
discussing the themes of the film. This March 12 event at Mon- a group of scientists attempting a interactive science booths offer-
Admission is free. day Night Garage features a panel science-themed live science show. ing science-based activities from
discussion between ethics and The event begins at 7:30 p.m. and touching a human brain to driv-
THE SCIENCE OF CANNABIS: neuro-engineering researchers on admission costs ten dollars. ing an undersea robot.
This event, hosted at Manuel’s the implications of advances in These are just a few of the
Tavern on March 12, highlights neurotechnologies. Admission is EXPLORATION EXPO events which are taking place this
some of the research being done five dollars. This event, which runs be- month as a part of the Atlanta Sci-
on the biology of and medical tween 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. ence Festival. For more informa-
uses for the plant. Admission is SCIENCE RIOT: on March 23, takes place at tion on these events, and on the
free, but advanced registration is This March 14 event, put on by Piedmont Park and serves as the other events taking place, visit at-
required. Tech’s College of Sciences at the grand finale for the festival. The lantasciencefestival.org.
With “Rap or Go to the
League,” 2 Chainz seems to be
riding the new trend. The name
signifies how African Americans
are seen as only rappers or ath-
letes. The album starts off with a
melancholy, soulful introduction
in which 2 Chainz remorses over
the shooting of the son of fellow
rapper, Lil’ Fate. The song eases
into a powerful chorus from R&B
singer Marsha Ambrosius, in
which she prays for all of the sins
and wrongdoings to be forgiven.
At the end of the song, 2 Chainz
strays from the instrumental to
honor all of the people he has lost
recently until a dark, beautiful
male vocal melody accompanied
with a haunting piano solo inter-
rupts him. The song ends with a
small spoken-word-style compo-
nent discussing the racial issues
facing African Americans today.
The album immediately fol-
lows with a soulful sample crafted
by producer 9th Wonder in the
song “Threat 2 Society.” 2 Chainz
continues to choose the more con-
scious route with his lyrics as he
reminisces about moments in his
life that he regrets — rapping, “I
done some things I ain’t proud of
like sold my mom drugs” — and
reflects upon the choices he made
when he was living in the streets
and decided to start his rap career.
While the content and flow
provided by 2 Chainz melds per-
fectly with the bouncy boom-bap
90s instrumentation throughout
the verses, the rapper fails to seal
the deal with the chorus as he Photo courtesy of Def Jam Recordings
chooses a cadence that drastically Atlanta-based rapper 2 Chainz poses in Atlanta in a recent promotional photo. The
See 2 CHAINZ, page 14 trap artist recently released “Rap or Go to the League,” his fifth full studio album.
// ENTERTAINMENT
LUCAS FROM PAGE 1
was an eight year process. That’s
when we first started stand-up,
and, I mean, it was really just a
collection of all of our jokes that
we had come up with over those
eight years. Then we tried to piece
together a theme that connected a
lot of the jokes and, uh, we pre-
sented it to Netflix. We told them
that we had a version of an hour
that we wanted to make, but that
was ten months before we actu-
ally filmed it. But we told them
the idea and they bought it. They
bought it on the idea and then we
filmed it like a year later.
Technique: For people unfa-
miliar with your style of comedy,
what would you define as your
style, or your defining character-
istic, besides the fact that you’re
twins?
Kenny: I would say that our
style is, I mean it dabbles in surre-
alism and the nature of absurdity.
We like to discuss stuff like phi-
losophy and our drug usage and
growing up poor, and we try to
keep it somewhat nonsensical, but
like grounded in a sense. We like
to juxtapose real shit with super
silly stuff, so I feel like its a mix-
ture of a lot of things.
Keith: Yeah, I’d say stylistical-
ly, you know, unlike many other
comedians who don’t have a twin
or a partner, we like to play off of
each other a lot, so that’s some-
thing we’ve worked into our style.
Sometimes it seems like it’s just
the two of us talking on stage. But
yeah, I would say that we like to
talk about serious things and seri-
ous issues, but in like a light way.
But sometimes, you know, you
can’t make light of certain things,
so there are some things we can’t
talk about, but we try to use com-
edy to talk about serious things.
technique
Technique
Flags Bldg 137 Writers, •Designers, Photographers
technique • March 8, 2019• 13
Technique: So, without spoil- also we talk to the audience and comedy club? Do you like it more to make that number of people
ing anything, what kinds of we use the audience a lot and it cozy? laugh. You know, it’s totally an-
themes are you guys exploring in sort of, if it works out perfectly it Keith: That’s a good question. tithetical to the style that we’ve
your upcoming show here? becomes a conversation between I sort of do prefer a more intimate cultivated.
Kenny: So, in our next hour us and the audience and also be- setting, one where I can look the Technique: So you’re coming
we continue exploring some of tween ourselves where we’re just audience in the eyes and sort of to Atlanta next week, is this going
the themes we explored in “On like hashing out whether or not have a personal connection. I pre- to be your first time doing stand
Drugs,” but it’s a bit more cohe- life is worth living, and whether fer that, but as a comedian, you up in Atlanta?
sive and more personal. We try to or not it’s okay to commit suicide. gotta be prepared. I try to treat Kenny: Nope, we’ve done
unpack, you know, how we sort Obviously, you know, we believe them all the same way, you know, standup in Atlanta once this year,
of developed our PTSD and how that it’s not, and life is worth liv- but with the smaller, the more in- we did the 1AM show, and we’ve
that sort of transitioned into drug ing, but we try to work through timate venues, I tend to be more also done a few other venues be-
addiction and alcohol abuse, and it to show the logic to how we go comfortable. fore. We’ve done a couple shows at
the chase for fame and fortune there, to the conclusion. We try to Kenny: I couldn’t imagine Variety Playhouse before.
and sex and all that crap. I feel show that. having to perform at, like, Madi- The Lucas Bros. will be perform-
like a lot of that’s all just tangled Technique: So if you like to son Square Garden, you know. I ing for four nights at the Laughing
in together and it’s all related to engage the audience, what’s your don’t know what style of comedy Skull Lounge in Midtown from
your childhood, so we try to go favorite type of environment for a I would have to adopt in order March 14 to March 17.
all the way back to when we were
born and then work our way up
through all the way up until the
hollywood years to understand
why we wanted to be famous and
all that. We study a lot of philoso-
phy and one of the big philoso-
phers that we like, Albert Camus,
asks the question “Is life worth
living?”
Keith: Yeah, Camus would,
uh, he would say that the most
important philosophical ques-
tion is deciding whether life is
worth living, and we’re sort of
exploring that. Like, if that’s the
biggest philosophical inquiry,
then we have that, so we spend a
whole hour deciding whether life
is worth living, and we look back
at our past to see if, uh, the trau-
matic event impacted us to the
point where life isn’t worth living.
It’s like uh, we’re trying to pres-
ent an argument for, and against,
suicide.
Technique: So, is it kind of a
conversational thing, where you’re
playing off of each other, kind of
having a philosophical conversa-
tion with each other? Photo courtesy of The Lucas Bros
Kenny: Yeah, it’s a dialectic The Lucas Bros. perform together during a recent show. The two twins employ a unique comedy
between myself and Keith, but format, playing off of each other and the members of the audience in a conversational style.
Join the
nique.net /thenique @the_nique
14 • March 8, 2019• technique
2 CHAINZ FROM PAGE 12
breaks the flow of the entire song,
simply repeating “I’m a threat”
several times.
While the content of these
more mature-sounding songs is
not groundbreaking, this is the
first time the world has seen 2
Chainz take this thoughtful, in-
trospective approach.
2 Chainz poses with several famous athletes and musicians in HBO’s series “The Shop.” The rapper, who has cultivated a prominent
public image through appearances on television and a strong social media prescence, appeared on the show earlier this week.
Like 21 Savage and Offset, 2
Chainz also boasts an impressive
feature list consisting of Kendrick
Lamar, Lil Wayne, Ty Dolla $ign,
Chance the Rapper and several
other rappers. In addition, pop
singer Ariana Grande makes a
surprise appearance
In “Momma I Hit a Lick,” 2
Chainz collaborates with rapper
Kendrick Lamar and producer
Pharrell Williams to bring forth
a very west-coast, high energy,
bouncy track in which they flaunt
their success.
2 Chainz approaches the song
with a very standard flow until he
starts rapping in an awkward high-
pitched vocal pattern that reminds
the listener of Future’s infamous
feature in “King’s Dead” from the
Black Panther soundtrack. Ken-
drick starts his verse aggressively
and then abruptly switches into
a lowkey, quiet flow similar to 21
Savage’s flow in “Don’t Come out
the House” off of Metro Boomin’s
“Not all Heroes Wear Capes” al-
bum from late 2018. The quiet
flow makes it difficult for the lis-
tener to hear the lyrics and feels
very out of place in the overall
vibe and energy of the song. Ken-
Photo courtesy of HBO
// ENTERTAINMENT
drick switches his flow after a
short period of time and finishes
in a strong manner.
Lil Wayne, in “2 Dollar Bill,”
unleashes a confident, cut-throat
verse throughout which he im-
pressively maintains the same
rhyme scheme while establishing
the theme of being rare. Travis
Scott and Ty Dolla $ign both
come packed with catchy hooks
and Ariana Grande stays in her
comfort zone and sings a soft,
warm chorus.
While there are a lot of high
points in this album, there are
some low points as well. In songs
such as “I Said Me,” “Sam”
and “I’m Not Crazy, Life Is,” 2
Chainz uses a very disinterested,
boring flow that completely un-
dermines the strong, energetic
instrumental that accompanies
him. In “NCAA,” 2 Chainz uses
a strained, yelling tone that gets
very repetitive and annoying by
the first verse.
“I Said Me” begins with an
icy, chilling sample of 1983 song
“A Garden of Peace” by Lonnie
Liston Smith. However, the beat
drop and remaining portion of the
song did not continue the energy
and vibe that the sample provided.
Overall, “Rap or Go to the
League” is a welcome addition to
the 2 Chainz discography. Still,
while 2 Chainz provides several
standout tracks, by no means is
this an extraordinary album.
While the first listen of this
album may be disappointing and
not enjoyable, the album can
easily grow on the listener. Ulti-
mately, how listeners react to the
release will most likely depend on
what their expectations are when
going in to it.
Someone open to the idea
of 2 Chainz adopting a broader,
more traditional hip-hop/rap al-
bum would be satisfied with this
album, while those fans who were
hoping that 2 Chainz would stay
in his lane and continue to make
music in his traditional sound and
style will most likely be disap-
pointed.
// ENTERTAINMENT technique • March 8, 2019• 15

Hozier hits the mark with ‘Wasteland, Baby!’

MUSIC
Wasteland, Baby!
Hozier
LABEL: Rubyworks Records
GENRE: Alternative
TRACK PICKS: “Nina Cried
Power,” “Almost (Sweet
Music), “Shrike” and “To Noise
Making (Sing)”
OUR TAKE: «««««

PERRINE KEMERAIT
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After a wait of almost five

years, Andrew Hozier-Byrne,
more popularly known as Hozier,
finally released his second album,
“Wasteland, Baby!”, on Friday,
March 1. The album was teased
with the release of Hozier’s EP
“Nina Cried Power”, which de-
buted in early September 2018, as
well as by the singles “Movement”
in November 2018 and “Almost
(Sweet Music)” in January 2019.
The main question gnawing at
the minds of Hozier’s fans is the
reason behind the considerable Photo courtesy of Rubyworks Records
gap between his debut and sopho- Pop-folk artist Hozier recently released a new album, titled “Wasteland, Baby!” The album, which is just the singer’s second,
more albums. The Irish singer- blends songs which follow in the same vein as those on his self-titled debut album with some tracks experimenting with new styles.
songwriter attributes this delay
to his inability to write new songs fer lighter songs such as “From the delicate chimes of the single themes that resound throughout like “Nina Cried Power” with
while on tour. However, after fi- Eden” or “Work Song” may gravi- “Movement” evoke images of the album are today’s air of politi- Mavis Staples, which he dubbed
nally being able to take a break in tate more towards tracks like “Al- modern city life and are more cal discord and a sense of immi- “a song about protest songs,” and
2017, he launched into a renais- most (Sweet Music)” or “Shrike”. comparable to contemporary mu- nent doom; these themes appear “No Plan,” which was inspired by
sance era of song creation. Over Although the majority of the sic. The tracks that diverge from in “Nina Cried Power” and “No the idea that one should appreci-
a year of effort was poured into songs on Hozier’s sophomore al- Hozier’s standard provide clear Plan.” Even the love song “Waste- ate life. Despite the intense themes
writing and recording “Waste- bum are reminiscent of those on evidence supporting the singer- land, Baby!” likens the act of fall- present throughout “Wasteland,
land, Baby!”, but the resulting al- his previous album, “Wasteland, songwriter’s ability to progress ing in love to the end of the world. Baby!,” these ideas are woven
bum is well-worth the wait. Baby!” does include a few tracks in his musical abilities, but the Hozier decided to make these flawlessly into the artist’s music.
“Wasteland, Baby!” is a seam- that stray from the artist’s norm. majority of songs that populate concepts the central points of his Hozier’s sophomore album pro-
less blend of Hozier’s signature If Hozier’s typical songs are sug- Hozier’s album are a testament to new album because of the hellfire vides an excellent listening expe-
earthy, gospel and blues-inspired gestive of woodland scenery and the success of his signature style of that broke loose following the re- rience laden with both invigorat-
tracks along with his gentler, more natural landscapes, the dynamic music that launched him to fame. sults of the 2016 election. Driven ing, gospel-esque anthems and
folksy melodies; fans of “Take Me guitar and driving percussion of “Wasteland, Baby!” explores by the constant stream of anger serene melodies while also focus-
To Church” may also enjoy “Nina “No Plan,” the upbeat tempo of common themes including love and discontent present on social ing on topics that are incredibly
Cried Power,” but those who pre- “To Noise Making (Sing),” and and loss, but the most prevalent media, Hozier produced tracks relevant today.

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16 • March 8, 2019• technique // COMICS

SARAH’S SCRIBBLES BY SARAH ANDERSEN PEARLS BEFORE SWINE BY STEPHEN PASTIS

LIO BY MARK TATULLI

LUNARBABOON BY CHRISTOPHER GRADY

IN THE BLEACHERS BY STEVE MOORE

// COMICS technique • March 8, 2019• 17

SMBC BY ZACH WEINERSMITH CHANNELATE BY RYAN HUDSON

XKCD BY RANDALL MUNROE

SUDOKU PUZZLE

BY SUDOKUCOLLECTION.COM
18 • March 8, 2019• technique // SPORTS

Football announces series at Mercedes-Benz

This move could be the first step could give Tech more credibility games. Notre Dame fans are dane triple-option offense towards
GRAHAM LEWIS in increasing Tech’s notoriety, a in the minds of elite high school known for traveling well and Collins energized system will be
CONTRIBUTING WRITER necessity in the modern college athletes. Clemson is a recent two-time na- assisted by this move. This oppor-
football era. Primetime games such as these tional champion whose campus is tunity will give Collins a stage on
Tech football received some A move such as this can only are hard to find in college football. less than two hours from Atlanta. which to show the country Tech’s
exciting new last week as it was be good for recruiting. By itself, This move by Tech to utilize its Needless to say, both programs new program. Where the Jackets
announced that Tech will play an Tech playing in the Benz will not proximity to one of the top stadi- will bring significant contingents fall behind many football power-
annual home game at Mercedes- be the reason any recruit decides ums in the world to challenge top- to Atlanta. But given that those houses is its dearth of “sidewalk
Benz Stadium from 2020 to 2024. to commit, but it is what the team ranked opponents is nothing short schools would have likely packed fans” — individuals who support
The series will start with Notre is able to do with the opportunity of extraordinary. The game is a their alumni into Bobby Dodd as a college football team without
Dame in 2020, Clemson in 2022, that matters. The games against great marketing opportunity for well, the tradeoff is worthwhile. any direct alumni connection.
and Notre Dame in 2024. Tech’s Notre Dame and Clemson are go- Tech. If Tech can stay competi- A valiant losing effort would still With these games, Tech can ad-
opponents in 2021 and 2023 are ing to be games against two pre- tive with its opponents and show sell tickets, draw television view- vertise its brand to fans all over
still to be determined. An impor- mier teams in a premier venue. the country its new brand, look ers and position Tech as a nation- the United States, and perhaps a
tant thing worth noting is that The stage could not be any big- for better recruits, attendance and ally relevant program to a degree few pick up Tech fandom. More
all five games will be available for ger. While nobody expects Tech viewership. that broadcasts on Raycom simply viewers, a better venue and top-
season ticket holders. In fact, ev- to win — unless Tech makes a gi- One real concern is that in cannot offer. tier opponents will put Tech on
eryone who has season tickets will ant leap forward by 2023 or 2024 making this decision, Tech is es- The transition away from the spotlight, the question is: how
get complimentary priority park- — it is the competitiveness that sentially sacrificing five home Tech’s archaic place with a mun- will they respond?
ing and seating.
This move marks a turn in
Tech football. Playing in such a
world-class venue will get Tech
more spotlight, a necessity when it
comes to recruiting. The notoriety
of the Benz might also help bring
in fans who do not usually come
to Tech games. With superior
facilities, cheap refreshments and
a good location, going to a Tech
game at the Benz will appeal to
more people than the usual home
games. The appeal of the Benz
will help Tech find its niche in
Atlanta sports culture, something
that simply was not going to hap-
pen during Johnson’s tenure. Yet
even in the Johnson era, when
Tech’s marketing efforts lagged
behind those of their rivals, play-
ing at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium
for the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game
brought significant dividends.
The game sold 75,107 tickets, well
above Bobby Dodd’s capacity.
Finding its place in Atlanta
will help Tech increase its reach
to fans and future recruits. This
opportunity is one of the reasons
Collins got his job. His charisma Photo courtesy of Austin Foote
and energy separated him from Tennessee staffers inspect the field before Tech’s 2017 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against the Volunteers. The game brought
the other qualified candidates. Tech its best attendance in Atlanta all season, and the Jackets are looking to recapture that magic with its new series.
// SPORTS technique • March 8, 2019• 19

JOSEPH FROM PAGE 20

had got in touch with one of her
former teammates because she
“was just worried about them be-
cause of [the Joseph situation].”
The news comes as Tech finds
itself on the cusp of NCAA Tour-
nament contention. Though the
team is ninth in the ACC, six of
the teams above them find them-
selves in the top 25 in the nation.
The Jackets have notched a num-
ber of signature wins this year,
including a ranked victory against
Georgia and a trouncing of No.
14 Syracuse in the Thrillerdome.
As the season came to a close, the
women were able to get some last
minute wins against Duke, Clem-
son and Virginia Tech to raise
their conference win rate. How-
ever, this glory was short lived, as
losses to ranked Miami and FSU
left the Jackets with a 7-9 confer-
ence record and 17-12 record over-
all going into the last game of the
season against UNC.
The blow of losing Pan and
Fletcher has been lessened by the
fact that the Jackets still have a
talented and deep starting lineup.
Freshman Elizabeth Balogun led
the Jackets in scoring with 14.8
PPG, followed closely by Pan with
12 PPG and freshman Elizabeth
Dixon with 11.0 PPG. Both Balo-
gun and Dixon were named ACC
All-Rookie honorees on Tuesday,
and Balogun was crowned ACC
Rookie of the Year on Wednes-
day, giving the Jackets their sec-
ond Rookie of the Year title in the
past three years. Fletcher has led
the team in assists with 74 — 10
higher than any other player on
the team. Sophomore Lorela Cu-
baj led the team defensively with
an average of 7.2 rebounds per
game and 30 blocks on the season.
Great utility players like junior
Chanin Scott and the season steal
leader freshman Lotta-Maj La-
htinen round out the Jackets line-
up. But the team will miss its two
veteran stars: Pan and Fletcher.
JOHN EDWARDS
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
When George Washington
warned us to “steer clear” of “alli-
ances,” he might have been warn-
ing us about the Atlanta Legends.
The team representing the 404
in the newly-formed Alliance of
American Football is designed to
serve as a sort of feeder for NFL
teams looking for undrafted tal-
ent, but in terms of fan experi-
ence, it might as well be a Pee-Wee
league team.
I bought tickets to the Legends’
home opener with low expecta-
tions — the tickets were just seven
dollars, and I was already famil-
iar with the strength of the team.
The Legends had, after all, been
blown out in an embarrassing
40-6 loss to the Orlando Apollos
in their inaugural game and had
faltered late against the San Diego
Fleet on the road in just the week
before. But even those low expec-
tations were quickly torpedoed,
from the moment I walked into
Georgia State Stadium, formerly
Turner Field. Ushers handed out
season schedules to fans, misprint-
ed to read that Atlanta would play
against itself on certain dates —
not once, but twice. The reason-
ably large crowd settled into their
seats as the starting lineups were
announced, but there were rounds
of boos as Matt Simms, who has,
to date, recorded a gaudy 6-2
interception-to-touchdown ratio,
was named the Legends’ starting
Former Tech quarterback Justin Thomas poses for a photo next to Coach Paul Johnson during
his final home game at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2016. Thomas now plays for the Atlanta Legends.
quarterback. They clamored for
Georgia alumnus Aaron Murray.
The amenities within the stadi-
um are not particularly good. The
pizza was notably bad. But I was
quickly reminded that the team
itself was even worse. Simms had
managed a handful of deep passes
successfully to reach the end of
the field, but after three tries, the
Legends failed to bury the ball
in the end-zone. Rather than opt
for easy points early in the game,
the Legends went for it on fourth
down, and were stopped again by
a stout Birmingham Iron defense.
This was the tale for most of
the game: the Legends would gain
some yardage and then squan-
der it away on a pointless or easy
turnover. By halftime, fans were
chanting for Murray — the sec-
ond string QB — to come out on
the field. It was a stark reminder of
how the team had been construct-
ed and then deconstructed: the
Legends had signed a plethora of
UGA and Tech talent, including
Murray and Tech legend Justin
Thomas, but scant any of it was
seeing the field.
Fans’ frustration with Simms
represents the fundamental flaw
with the Legends: Simms, like
much of the team, is neither good
nor local. Head coach Kevin
Coyle’s refusal to bench Simms
after yet another interception was
a slap in the face to fans, who
recognized that even if Murray
proved to be worse than Simms,
at the very least they would have
a hometown hero to cheer for, not
an anonymous NFL washout. The
Legends, as currently constructed,
have the ability to be bad and
Photo by Mark Russell Student Publications
anonymous or bad and locally in-
timate — and to the frustration
of fans, they are choosing to the
former.
On the road last weekend, af-
ter Simms was injured, Murray
stepped up and led the Legends
to their first win in their history,
picking up a close 14-11 win over
the Arizona hotshots. That kind
of win represents what the fan ex-
perience for the Legends can be.
I refuse to believe that a team of
Georgia-affiliated talent can be as
bad as the Legends have been in
previous weeks, and furthermore,
even if they are that bad, at the
very least, fans can root for home-
town heroes as underdogs. The
Legends need to recognize what
their fanbase needs and appeal to
it — otherwise, they might not be
long for this city.

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Sports
Joseph, Pan, Fletcher sit out as tournament nears
JOHN EDWARDS AND
JAKE HLAVATY
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR AND
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
What had been a sterling sea-
son for Tech women’s basketball
could now easily cause the pro-
gram to collapse in on itself. Head
coach MaChelle Joseph being
placed on leave by Tech athletics
for unspecified reasons has had
wide-ranging impacts through-
out and threatens the stability of
a program that had appeared to
finally be in the running for the
NCAA Tournament.
On February 27, in a brief press
release, Tech athletics announced
that Joseph had been placed on
leave from the team, but declined
to comment further on the mat-
ter. The move was unexpected, as
there had been no indications of
issues involving Tech’s women’s
basketball team and the program
was enjoying its best season since
2013-2014. Instead, Tech was left
without its head coach for its last
two games of the regular season,
and Joseph’s absence appears
ready to continue through the
ACC tournament, which began
after the Technique’s press time.
The next day, Joseph fired back
through her lawyer. In a state-
ment by Lisa J. Banks, Joseph’s
Men’s basketball ends home slate with win
ROHAN KANSARA
STAFF WRITER
As the men’s basketball season
dwindles to an end, there is a lot
to look back on this rollercoaster
of a season. Despite a relatively
strong first half of the season, in-
cluding a hot 4-1 start, the team
cooled down to a 4-11 second-half
finish. Though strength of sched-
ule certainly contributed to this
stark difference in results, a lack of
consistency in personnel may have
been a bigger issue for the Jackets
down the stretch.
Most teams typically develop
team chemistry throughout the
season as the players battle in
more games together, allowing
overall team efficiency to improve
over time. On the other hand,
Tech’s lineup was in constant flux
the entire season as Coach Josh
Pastner sought out the perfect
complimentary starting five. Not
a single player on the Jackets ros-
ter started in every game this year,
which is telling of the experimen-
tal nature of the entire season. The
disparity in roster consistency be-
tween many other teams and Tech
hurt Tech’s ability to continually
develop teamwork on the same
level as their competitors, which
may have been a contributing fac-
tor to the less successful latter half
of the season.
Analyzing the season in a little
more detail, some players clearly
made strides as both individual
athletes and teammates. One such
player was sophomore standout
Jose Alvarado. With prolific scor-
SPORTS EDITOR:
Harsha Sridhar
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR:
John Edwards
sports@nique.net
lawyer, Banks asserted that Tech
“has failed to provide any expla-
nation to Coach Joseph” as to the
reasons for her being placed on
leave, and claimed that the move
represented “retaliation… for rais-
ing concerns about gender equity
issues in the [Tech] Athletic De-
Tech’s starting five huddle at the start of a game against Alabama State. Kierra Fletcher (center)
and Francesca Pan (right of center) have left the team indefinitely after Coach Joseph’s leave.
er Josh Okogie having graduated
from the team last season to play
for the Minnesota Timberwolves,
someone on the team had to step
up to fill that void. While Alvarado
was not necessarily able to match
Okogie’s 18.2 points per game av-
erage from the 2017-18 season, he
was able to assume his bigger role
on the team and become the lead-
ing scorer during just his second
year on the team. In addition to
scoring the most points, he also
was the leader in assists and steals.
Given his impressive sophomore
campaign, Alvarado will likely
remain a significant contributor
to the team during the rest of his
tenure at Tech.
Another standout was junior
James Banks III. Like Alvarado,
there was a specific player whose
production Banks was tasked with
replacing: standout center Ben
Lammers. Banks stepped up to
that task admirably, providing the
sort of athletic, physical presence
that the Jackets needed in many of
their wins. On top of being the re-
bounds and blocks leader, the big
man’s presence and impact on the
court was apparent in his ability
to score as well. Through the nu-
merous roster variations the team
cycled through this year, Banks
was one of the constants who an-
chored the team with his play in
the paint. Heading into his final
season on the team, Banks should
continue his role as a rock for the
rest of the team to lean on.
Finishing off the season, the
Jackets are currently ranked tenth
in the ACC. The 5-12 conference
record, though initially unap-
Tech football announces a five-year
Mercedes-Benz Stadium.418
partment.” Banks is no stranger
to high-profile cases; she and her
firm had previously been retained
by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford for
legal matters pertaining to Ford’s
testimony that Brett Kavanaugh,
now a Supreme Court Justice,
had sexually assaulted her. The
Point guard Jose Alvarado looks to make a pass during a home contest against Pittsburgh.
The Pitt game was one of the few games Tech was able to win over the conference slate.
pealing, does not paint the entire
picture of the Jackets season. The
ACC is absolutely stacked with
talent; the conference is home
to three of the top four and five
of the top fifteen teams nation-
ally. Tech at least still enjoyed a
positive win-loss record over non-
ACC teams. Even though this sea-
son may not have been a resound-
ing success for the Jackets, there is
still a silver lining. A vast majority
A Second Home
series of home games at
Kavanaugh hearings made na-
tional news for weeks on end and
Ford found herself at the center of
much of the discussion.
Joseph was not the only Tech
personnel noticeably absent at
Tech’s road game against Mi-
ami later that day. Junior Franc-
Photo courtesy of Danny Karnik
of the team will be returning next
year, as only Sylvester Ogbonda,
Brandon Alston and Abdoulaye
Gueye will be graduating this
spring. To their credit, Ogbonda
showed athletic flashes, Alston has
been a useful backcourt contribu-
tor and Gueye has made massive
strides year-over-year from raw
talent to capable ACC starter.
But the return of all other play-
ers means that the progress made
technique
Friday,
20
March 8, 2019
esca Pan and sophomore Kierra
Fletcher were not with the team
as the Jackets lost 69-56, and their
absence continued into Tech’s fi-
nal game of the regular season, a
64-55 drubbing at the hands of
Florida State on Sunday. Mark Si-
mon, the assistant coach who had
been serving as Tech’s head coach
during Joseph’s absence, told the
Associated Press on Tuesday that
Pan and Fletcher had left the
team at the same time that Joseph
had been placed on leave. “It was
a personal decision on their part
and that’s about it.” Simon refused
to comment on Joseph’s absence.
It is currently unknown if the
two, Tech’s second and fourth
best scorers this season by points
per game, will be present for the
ACC Tournament.
Further departures have
hounded the program in the
past two weeks. On Sunday, it
emerged that former captain and
graduate assistant Antonia Peres-
son had been fired by the program
for failing to following guidelines
by Tech’s Athletic Department
regarding communicating with
players in the wake of Joseph being
placed on leave. “They told us that
we could not have private conver-
sations with student-athletes, and
I did,” Peresson said, courtesy of
AJC.com. Peresson admitted she
See JOSEPH, page 19
Photo by Taylor Gray Student Publications
this season in narrowing down a
perfect starting roster and appro-
priate scheme that fits the players’
skills will translate to next year’s
season. Especially considering the
fact that a lack of continuity was a
contributing factor to this season’s
woes, hopefully the high retention
of players going into next season
will diminish the time it takes for
the Jackets to put together a more
competitive effort in 2020.