Talk:Georgia Institute of Technology

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Contents

[edit] Institute or University

Based on the definition, I think "university" is an appropriate word to use here. As precedent, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology, and the Illinois Institute of Technology refer to themselves as universities on their article pages. MaxVeers 01:05, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

From Institute of technology: "[I]nstitutes of technology (as MIT and ETH Zurich) are considered universities when they have autonomy to offer Masters and Doctoral degrees and they are at the same time independent research institutions, being these conditions necessary to be formally considered a University." Georgia Tech meets these requirements. MaxVeers 00:29, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
According to Georgia Tech's PR page, "'Institute' is acceptable, but not 'university'." [3] VinnyR
Compelling evidence. I'm inclined to search the article and replace all uses of "university" with "institute". MaxVeers 04:38, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Research University

Since I've started working on the Georgia Tech Research Institute article, I've learned that GTRI has over 1,000 employees and a good bit over $100 million in research money. Also, I started the Nanotechnology Research Center article, as it's going to be constructed any day now. How can we work these two into the Georgia Tech article more prominently, where they belong? By the way, feel free to work on those articles :) --Disavian 17:55, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

Well, I added a section on GT Research, and expanded the bit about GTRI. Still needs work, though. --Disavian 18:38, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

I was told by a department chair that funding had dried up for the center and while plans were still on the table to build it, but it would be a while before any move was made to begin construction. This is of course not an official statement. It appears that the anonymous donation may have been withdrawn, and the page you link above reflects the fact that the private funding goal has not been reached (assuming they've kept up with the page.) --Breenius 04:00, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Feel free to edit Nanotechnology Research Center, then, especially if you can find some sources. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 22:14, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] paintball

I'm pretty sure that the sports section is covering mainly varsity sports. While we do have a "powerhouse" paintball club, I don't think it deserves special mention under sports anymore than our powerhouse club sports. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Wakowill (talk • contribs) 00:58, 4 May 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Advanced Academy of Georgia

Nowhere in the article does it say anything about Georgia Tech's connection with the University of West Georgia and the Advanced Academy of Georgia. Georgia Tech has a "deal" for Academy students where if they can graduate from the Academy with basically a 3.0 or better, they're "guaranteed" admission to Georgia Tech. I'll see if I can a link to where the Academy's website says this... Vancar 17:59, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Another T Issue

The article says that tradtionally the Eastern T is stolen because it faces the Downtown Connector. However, I have a picture of the northern T being missing. Also, while I-75/85 is east of the Tower, the Downtown Connector is more Northern. Is it just that last time the Northern T was stolen? If so I think this should be mentioned. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.61.62.70 (talk • contribs) 14:40, 30 July 2006 (UTC).

The way it was explained to me is that, if you get up there, three of the Ts are welded to the tower, but the fourth is attached only with bolts—so the Institute is basically conceding one of them to the students for easy removal and replacement. That's why there's one T that is traditionally stolen. Granted, my information is second-hand and over ten years old, but that may be the practical basis for the tradition. —C.Fred (talk) 15:06, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
It's kind of difficult to get reliable information on the way the T is fastened to the building, seeing as the institute doesn't want students to know, lest they get any ideas. :( —Disavian (talk/contribs) 20:37, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Which, of course, is why my comment only made it in here and not onto the main article page. —C.Fred (talk) 23:00, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Remember that time the spare T was stolen? Does that count, you think? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 14:08, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

There is a new Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets page that can filled out by all the info on here. Then, we can crop out the athletics info and put a link straight the actual athletics page. If someone could move things around, go ahead and do it. Thanks. Excaliburhorn 16:19, 21 Aug 2006 (UTC)

Agreed, this page is far too long. And who put the "famous alumni" back into the article? We have a sub-article for that specific purpose! >_< —Disavian (talk/contribs) 17:00, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Article Improvement Drive

There are several things that this article could use. Hopefully, some of you guys would like to help me on this. Once we've done everything we can think of, we should submit it for review. I'd like to see this become a good article and eventually a featured article.

  1. The history section is too short; the history from 1885 to now is extremely short. I'd like to have enough "history" to break that section out into a subarticle, such as History of Georgia Tech.
  2. The pop culture section also looks like a good canidate for a subarticle.
  3. The pop culture section article needs cleanup; at the moment it's a list-article hybrid.
  4. Other parts of the article could use subsections. Most of the "Athletics" section is (ideally) duplicated in Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and could be shortened.
  5. The "Organization" section is hideous. It should probably be broken up into subpages like this.
    1. I'm working on this; see my attempt at User:Disavian/Sandbox/Georgia Tech/Georgia Institute of Technology.
    2. Note that the subpages still need work. At the moment, I've only done the COA, and that's a stub.
    3. Finished making college stubs, now they need actual information. Come have a look! :)
    4. I've integrated this into the main article. Please expand the new articles on GT's Colleges:
      1. College of Architecture
      2. College of Management
      3. College of Liberal Arts
      4. College of Computing
      5. College of Engineering
      6. College of Sciences
  6. You can never have too many references.
  7. Look at featured articles such as Cornell University and Duke University for more ideas on how to improve this article. They're pleasing to read, aren't they?

—Disavian (talk/contribs) 16:13, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Also note that I've been compiling a list of GT-related articles (and ones I think should exist) at User:Disavian/Sandbox/Georgia Tech. Hopefully it'll help you. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 17:32, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] History Expansion

I found this on Patrick Hues Mell:

A final issue was the establishment of the School of Technology in the 1880s. Mell was a firm believer that it should be located at Athens with the University's main campus, like the Agricultural and Mechanical School. Despite Mell's arguments, the Georgia Institute of Technology (founded 1885) is today an entirely separate school located in Atlanta, and is the chief rival of the Athens university.

Perhaps this could be worked into the "history" section. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 18:11, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

The existing articles on the presidents are also decent sources of information. Speaking of those articles, some could use some serious attention. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 19:10, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

And by "some," I mean John Patrick Crecine. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 20:51, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

It looks like the "Traditions" section would look good as a subsection of "History." Thoughts? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 20:26, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I've been thinking traditions is a bit long and might do better truncated or as a separate subarticle. MaxVeers 19:56, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
"Traditions" and "History" would seem to go together rather well, and you're right, the "Traditions" section is a tad long. Also, the mini-list of GT presidents seems out of place. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 21:31, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
I just came across Cornelliana. It looks like a good template for what we might want to do with the "Traditions" section. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 02:26, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Should info about class rings be included in this article?Drsocc (talk) 00:02, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

I doubt it. It's not something normally mentioned in a school's wikipedia article. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 06:53, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
Is there a notable and verifiable tradition about the rings? I mean, the traditions about Texas A&M's rings are covered in that school's article, but that's a pretty well known - and well-documented - tradition. —C.Fred (talk) 16:35, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
I have no idea. I know that Tech has been giving class rings for quite some time (at least since the 1950s - I found a few articles through google about people being reunited with their long lost rings). I want to say that there is probably some history behind the ring (like the brass rat tradition at MIT) or like the Texas A&M tradition - but I just don't know. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Drsocc (talk • contribs) 17:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Commons Images

I came across a category of images in Wikimedia Commons, and promptly added them to Category:Georgia Institute of Technology. Feel free to use them in Georgia Institute of Technology and its sub-articles:

We have User:SCEhardt to thank for many of those. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 03:01, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

While they aren't directly Tech-related, these images are cool, too:

—Disavian (talk/contribs) 03:53, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

I've listed the orphan project-related images on the Image subpage of the wikiproject. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 20:17, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Current tasks for this article

I know nobody watches the to do list above, so this is the current to do list (somewhat expanded with appropriate links) for anyone who would like to help.

—Disavian (talk/contribs) 15:08, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] School Colors

Technically, the "old gold" determination was made recently, but the colors have always been WHITE and gold, not gold and white. So that needs to be changed. The order is very specific, and given to GT by Auburn and in our song "Up with the White and Gold" —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.174.171.101 (talk) 14:15, 28 December 2006 (UTC).

Technically, our school colors are white, gold, and navy blue. Back in the 1890's teams were required to have three colors and despite the very popular myth by many Techies, navy is an official color.reference uga's colors were red, black, and gold until they played us in football.reference After we whooped 'em, they changed gold to white.--Excaliburhorn 03:32, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Shaft

Older versions of the page involve discussions of the shaft in the traditions section. Whoever did away with that either worked for administration or has never been withen a mile of The Institute. Please make sure the shaft (defined as a student's perception of being treated unfairly and embodied by the falac-shaped shafting device camponile) is mentioned in the traditions section as it was for over a year untill someone took way too many liberties with the section.--67.170.94.146 01:34, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

That's been moved to a subpage. Tech has too many traditions to list them all on the main article. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 01:56, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
Thank you, I didn't realize. The subpage was a good idea.--67.170.94.146 07:45, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
No harm, no foul :) If you'd like to add something to the summary, or adjust it to a form that you think better summarizes all of the traditions we have, feel free. I'm the one that broke it out into a separate article, and I didn't spend too long on the summary. Also, feel free to edit the traditions subpage, I'm sure it could use some eyes :) —Disavian (talk/contribs) 08:53, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
I am a current student at Tech and am now in my fourth year and I have never heard of the shaft. Although the camponile is pretty phallic looking (pretty symbolic considering the damn near 70-30 split men to women) is The Shaft really notable? I feel like I would have picked up on that as a tradition. Notability?

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Drsocc (talk • contribs) 18:56, 8 March 2007 (UTC).

The Shaft is a notable topic. I heard it since my freshman year. It has a dual meaning about how Georgia Tech "shafts" people due to the hard courseload primarily (when I was there, I would think it's the same now still) and how sometimes there would be administrative challenges. Arnabdas 15:27, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

I am a student at Tech now, and everyone I know is quite aware of 'the shaft' and its meaning. We usually use the term for academic references, like when I had 4 exams in 2 days. That's getting the shaft! OUCH! Dannery4 (talk) 05:40, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] GA review

Good article, well written. It is broad and addresses all major issues, but the section on academics should be expanded. The fair use images have a convincing rationale, some of the Creative Commons images have and unclear comment and need to be checked again. But the images are tagged Creative Commons so I do not see this as an obstacle to pass the article.--Grace E. Dougle 22:02, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

What kind of comment do you expect on CC images? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 04:45, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
On Image:TechTowerSign.jpg there is a comment: This image, which was originally posted to Flickr, has not yet been reviewed by an administrator or trusted user to confirm that the above license is valid. Note that the FlickrLickr bot automatically verifies licenses of uploaded files; a change of license on Flickr does not automatically imply a copyright violation. See Category:Flickr review needed for further instructions. It needs to be verified somehow. This comment might be a problem at featured articles. That comment is on several other cc-images in this article.--Grace E. Dougle 09:17, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Student Life

The way the student life section is glossed over is almost ridiculous. Its well known throughout the school that the rigorous environment at Tech causes alot of stress in many students' lives. This atmosphere of love-hate with the school is just as much of a tradition at the school as the Wreck. It definitely should be mentioned in the article more. Also, "well-attended" is just a lie when it is used to describe our athletics at Tech. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.61.123.12 (talk • contribs).

I agree that the section has some problems with unreferenced material. However, adding more unreferenced material is not the solution. I have removed some of the most blatantly problematic material - the section probably needs to be fully rewritten at some point. -SCEhardT 20:22, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
Perhaps this will help with the student life section:
—Disavian (talk/contribs) 02:01, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

There definitely is a love-hate relationship and I feel it should be mentioned. This section was blatantly written as if it was copied straight out of a brochure. It is much better now, but if someone wants to add the love-hate relationship in NPOV I think it is worth it. Arnabdas 15:29, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

By the way, the vandalism I was referring to in that edit summary referred to this edit, and I wasn't accusing you of vandalizing. I tried to clean up a bit of the NPOV after you left the tag, but your edits have certainly helped there. :) —Disavian (talk/contribs) 16:07, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for clearing that up. Arnabdas 17:35, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA comment

For the article to maintain its GA status, the copyrighted images need detailed fair use rationales. Look to other passed GA/FAs for examples. Let me know on my talk page if you have any questions. --Nehrams2020 06:38, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Done. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 08:37, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Band image

From the archive: [4]. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 22:08, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Burdell

I understand that there are too many traditions to list on the main page, but you HAVE to mention George P. Burdell!! Nearly a month doesn't go by that I don't come across a reference to him and I now live in TX! (He's the example sign in on the computerized system at my doctor's office for Pete's sake!). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.16.125.93 (talk • contribs) 10:01, 4 July 2007

Well, I wouldn't be totally opposed to including some prose about him; try copying and adapting some of the lead of Georgia Tech traditions and/or George P. Burdell for a well-written summary of him. My main concern is that we'll get too much text in that section, while he's adequately covered in other articles. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 00:54, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nicknames

The teams are referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. An individual student is a Ramblin Wreck. The 1930 Model A is a Ramblin' Wreck. There isn't really a situation where you'd say Ramblin' Wrecks unless referring to a bunch of students. That's weird sounding and very very uncommon. --Excaliburhorn 00:46, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Glee Club

Ok, the Glee Club page states that they were founded in 1906. If someone wants to correct this in the article, and fix the cross reference, that would be great. Also, the current wording makes it sound as if the Glee Club does not exist anymore. The Chorale and Chamber Choir are separate groups. Also, would it be reasonable to start a page for the Glee Club? Centrisian 18:41, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I suppose an article on the Glee Club would be a nice addition. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 19:51, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
When I get home, I'll look up the Glee Club in Engineering the New South, as it's more reliable than a newspaper article or the Glee Club's website. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 19:54, 30 October 2007 (UTC)
Sorry for the delay, but you're right, it was founded in 1906. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 05:16, 8 November 2007 (UTC)


Would it be okay to start a page on choral directors at Tech? I mean, the current director has some sort of fame about him, with pieces of music that he has written being known over the world, and the previous directors also had some fame, even getting the Glee Club into the USO shows and on the the (I think) Ed McMahon Show. I was thinking of starting with our current director, Jerry Ulrich, and going backwards chronologically. Let me know if this seems acceptable. Centrisian 04:21, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

We're currently working on something to that effect with the GT Band, but instead of just a list of directors, it intertwines information about the previous directors with the history and accomplishments of the organization. As the Glee Club is the oldest student org at Tech, it should certainly have an article about it, and you're more than welcome to start it. We're still working on a draft of the band article in my user sandbox if you want to take a look at it for ideas for formatting and organizing the Glee Club article. You can find it here. LaMenta3 07:04, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] contradiction about first female students

OK, so under the "Early History" heading, the article says that the first female student was admitted around 1920. However, 2 paragraphs later it says the first female students were admitted in '52. I did a quick Google search of 'first female student georgia tech' and all of the .gatech.edu links had the first female students in '52. I then did a search for 'annie t wise,' and these confirmed the earlier date, but they were not gatech.edu sites. Anyone have any info on this?? Dannery4 (talk) 05:36, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Good catch! I've tried to clarify. This page explains. -SCEhardT 07:21, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] M-Train

Would something about taking the "M-Train" be appropriate here? Maybe under student traditions, as its a tradition for students to drop out of engineering and switch to management. Ndenison (talk) 03:19, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't dispute it's a tradition. (As the equation goes, \lim_{GPA \to 0}EE = IM .) But is it verifiable? —C.Fred (talk) 03:26, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
Maybe this is the only credible source we have. Ndenison (talk) 06:04, 4 May 2008 (UTC)