Rampway Online
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Once the yearbook of Georgia State University, Rampway Online, formerly known as The Rampway, formed in the late 1930s. It survived for six decades cataloguing the faces and memories that helped to shape the Georgia State University heritage. The annual memoir met its end in 1998 as a result of a conscious decision to pursue new directions in the convergence of technology and media.
From the ashes of the yearbook came Georgia State University’s first and only online media group. The new Rampway Online, led by Manav Tanneeru, officially took its place in cyberspace on March 20, 2000, and now continues the tradition of shaping the face of community at Georgia State.
The pioneers that have followed him include Bob Eells, G. Carson Kennedy, Steven Ricard, Matt Tanner, Joe Winter, and current director Allison Young. As the yearbook, Rampway brought students and groups together merely through words and pictures. Today, however, Rampway has expanded that mission to bring them together by providing a place for them to share everything from those original purposes to ideas, experiences, events, as well as audio and video musings of all sorts and kinds.
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[edit] Organization History
In 2002, the organization's office was relocated to the 4th floor of the University Center from the 2nd floor during renovations for a new University Career Services center. During the transition, the organization was temporarily housed in the 3rd floor of the Student Center.
During the 2005-2006 publication year, the organization went to bimonthly updates rather than weekly due to the shortage of content and writers. Management asserted they wanted quality over quantity.
Each year, the template of the site changes to reflect the new leadership.
[edit] Controversy
The site housed message boards from 2001-2002 that hosted a series of heated discussions about campus life, university politics and bashing of student leaders. One SGA official, Brian Frederick was charged with violations of the Student Code of Conduct due to his postings about women on the boards. The charges were later dismissed resulting with a letter of reprimand on Frederick's academic files. As a result of on going battles with other student leaders including failed SGA presidential candidate Jack Jersawitz and then Night Senator/SGA VP of Public Relations Dominique Huff, the boards were shut down for what was supposed to be a temporary basis. The boards as of date never reopened. In 2003, Joe Winter assumed the position of Rampway director and told readers that he had no intent of reviving the message boards.
Former director Matt Tanner had frequently banned conservative students from posting on the board which was called out by several of the above mentioned that also led the boards demise.
Rampway and the Signal (campus newspaper) at one point used to have an on-going feud going on alleging poor journalistic quality on the end of the other. Some editors of both publications often refused to let student writers write for both at the same time. Often times, when a writer got mad with management of one outlet, they would quickly move to the other thus taking their articles with them. At one point, Signal and Rampway were supposed to work together as one unit but talks between the editors often led to conflict thus eliminating the deal. The Signal decided in 2001 to get its own website rather than dealing with Rampway staff.
In Fall 2005, the Vindicator published an article making derogaratory comments about SGA officials tha happened to be African-American calling for charges to be brought against the editors and organization as a whole. The charges were later dropped citing free press and free speech. The editor assured readers that the Vindicator would be sent back to obscurity as they previously were. To date, the identity of the Vindicator has never been relesed.
[edit] Trivia
The Rampway, Georgia State University’s former yearbook, was previously named The Gateway.
Several student leaders at one point worked for Rampway as paid staff or volunteer writers including SGA officials, a Miss Georgia State winner and members of the Spotlight Programs Board.
Most of Rampway's readership comes from outside of the Georgia State community and they are recognzied as one of the few online only collegiate publications.
Rampway was the first media group to have an online presence. The Signal followed suit in Summer 2001.
