Talk:Georgia Tech traditions

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[edit] Model

I used Cornelliana as a model for this page. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 03:30, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] White and Gold

ramblinwreck.cstv.com refers to Ramblin' Wreck as a fight song of the Institute. I had thought that White and Gold had "official" fight song status, but I can't find anything on it one way or the other. Does anybody have a source for that? Since the song arose from the school colors, the colors at least need to get some coverage here. —C.Fred (talk) 07:40, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

I was under the impression that both songs were the fight song sort of like the Wreck and Buzz are both the mascot. One of those weird twin icon ideas. - Excaliburhorn
That works. For some reason, I was thinking that somewhere (FASET?) I learned that W&G was official. (Aside #1: The school I got my papers from has two songs: one is officially the "Fight Song," and the other,"The Red and White Song," has unofficial standing.) (Aside #2: NCAA Football, at least as of the 2006 version for PS2, has both Ramblin' Wreck and W&G. What annoys me mildly is that they flip the order: Ramblin' Wreck plays right after the touchdown, and W&G plays after the PAT. Plus, I'm playing as Tech, so I've got Reggie and Calvin making them get played several times a game. ;) ) —C.Fred (talk) 18:55, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Swarm

Article states the Swarm was founded in 2000. I graduated in 2000 and I remember it from far earlier. I think my Freshman room mate even joined it sophmore year (1997-1998). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 167.181.12.201 (talk) 16:22, 3 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Stumpy's Bear

How old and archaic do we wanna go with some of these traditions? 'Cause there's still Stumpy's Bear to explain:

“ Stumpy's Bear weighed 400 pounds and went by the name Bruin. The bear was a gift to the team after the 1929 Rose Bowl victory over California. Stumpy was a football player on the Tech football team. The bear used to wander campus, and made his winter residence under the east stands of the stadium. The bear drank beer and Coke. Dean of Students Emeritus George C. Griffin described the bear as "as smart as most Tech students with all the bad habits of modern youth. ”

That's per the Reck Club website. Interesting but about the same pertenance as Sideways. - user:Excaliburhorn Jan 4, 2007 8:00PM EST

I think that's a little too old/unknown/archaic; I doubt that many Tech students have heard of that one. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 02:04, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
Upon second thought, if someone wrote up a good paragraph, I wouldn't mind including it. Shouldn't exclude him just because he's not buried next to Tech Tower. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 01:01, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

The unsourced Budweiser bit:

The song originated as a more politically correct replacement for the playing of Dixie after the 3rd quarter in football games.[citation needed] The first version came about around 1967-1971 during Bud Carson's tenure as head football coach. The lyrics began as Bud Carson but changed back to Bud...weiser after Carson was fired.
The playing of the Budweiser Song came under attack in 1984 when the Stroh Brewery Company, a major sponsor for Georgia Tech at the time, heard about the frequent playing of the Budweiser Song. Stroh's made the band play their own Stroh's jingle instead. The band was attacked mercilessly by unhappy Budweiser bobbers who threw bottles, garbage, and even frisbees in to the band every time the Stroh's jingle was played. The band removed the jingle from their repertoire but was never allowed to officially play the Budweiser song ever again. Now, Buzz conducts the band as they unofficially play the song every football and home basketball game.

—Disavian (talk/contribs) 23:03, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The new T Tradition?

I'm not sure if this is correct, but when I was living on west campus last year I recall some letters being scratched off everywhere. I'm a little bit of an airhead so I never really paid attention to what letter it was. Anyone know if it was in fact t? Could someone take pictures or something? I think that's kind of neat information about tech continuing it's tradition currently in different ways. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.92.148.66 (talk) 09:04, 16 January 2007 (UTC).

I know what you're talking about, but I think a lot, if not most, students consider it annoying vandalism more than a tradition. Then again, I feel that it's a reaction by students to the administration's discouragement of the practice. So, I suppose you could say students will steal any T... and given that they/we can't have The One T... —Disavian (talk/contribs) 14:16, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
Also, there's this picture from a recent football game. Perhaps we could throw that in there? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 14:16, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

I've never added to this before, but as a Tech student, I love seeing stolen T's around campus. It is definitely a way to carry on the tradition in a different, less risky form. Most of the students I know would agree with me. And just to clarify on the picture mentioned above, there were rumors that Georgia Tech students stole the T from NC STATE during the away football game. The T actually fell during the game, a happy coincidence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mvela3 (talk • contribs) 19:41, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Find references!

To impress upon you the need to find references for our traditions, I'd like do direct your attention to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Cornelliana. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 20:54, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Have a look at this 'Nique article I found; it's mostly about stealing the T: Presidential opinions change over time and here's a North Avenue Review article about Tech jargon: NAR: The Tech Dictionary —Disavian (talk/contribs) 00:11, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Here's a nique article on jargon: You certainly won't find these in Webster's... —Disavian (talk/contribs) 05:44, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Budweiser Song

The story of the song as currently told does not correlate with what I've heard. Namely, Budweiser/AB was a sponsor of the band in the 60s, that's why the band started playing the song, and the tradition stuck. No sources, other than recollection of an alum ('69, IM...which hopefully doesn't completely discredit him :) ), but it at least means further digging is in order. —C.Fred (talk) 23:18, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

I was wondering about that myself. I know that they play it, but I had no idea it was a substitute for Dixie. Perhaps we should ask whoever added that for their source. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 23:57, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
That would be this edit by Excaliburhorn. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 23:59, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, I think there are several different reasons as to why we started playing it (I didn't put that Bud originally sponsored us 'cause that wasn't included in the info I had about the Budweiser song). I've heard a "Bud Man" conducted it when we first started playing it in the 60's. The problem originates in finding accurate sources for this stuff. The Technique (on the net) is pretty much limited to 80's-present history. Anything this old is gonna require some non-digital sources. And you'd be surprised how many goofy stories I've heard about the Budweiser Song from some non-digital sources.
The thing I've noticed about stuff like this is that people don't think it is really novel or deserving of explanation during its origination so in thirty years there's no real documentation or sourcing about it (at least so goes my experience searching old Techniques and Blueprints for info/pics). This week I'll search for some citations and accurate dates for the Bud song and other traditions (off campus at the moment).-Excaliburhorn 20:33, 3-23-07 (UTC)

Reviving an old discussion and tossing in a little tidbit about what I know that I can't source, I was told that back in the days where they still sold beer in most college football stadiums, it was played to signal the end of beer sales (which occurs at the end of the 3rd quarter). Even after beer sales stopped, the tradition stuck. The choice of the song might have something to do with a Budweiser sponsorship at some point, as suggested above, but that I don't know. There's also the thing about licensing and such that means that the school/band does not/cannot officially sanction its performance. Thus why it is always "directed" by Buzz. And of course, the Institute's attempts in recent years to convince incoming freshman that the lyrics are actually "When you say 'Buzz is wiser'..." don't get me started on that one. :) Give the somewhat "shady" background of this tradition, I don't know how much of this is actually backed by more than just oral tradition. LaMenta3 14:40, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Climbing

Any idea where you'd find a reference on this one? I'd never heard of it before I read it on here... —Disavian (talk/contribs) 06:52, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Are you referring to climbing the Tech Tower, the Campanile, or the Coliseum? —Gintar77 09:38, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
I'm referring to the sentence that was at the end of the "Stealing the T" section (until recently) that said:
“ Stealing the T is sometimes also called climbing. ”
While I'm thinking of it, I probably meant to ask about "Triple Play" and not "Climbing." Have you heard of that one before? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 17:19, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
I don't think stealing the T is referred to as "climbing" unless that's some sort of goofy codeword. Climbing is just the weird pseudotradition that kids do all over campus. For some reason people like climbing the weird shaped engineering buildings (MRDC II, Van Leer, etc.). Excaliburhorn 15:34 3-26-07 (UTC)
I remember something vaguely familiar about achieving some combination of Tech pranks. It's been so long though, I can't remember. In any case, I couldn't find any attribution for the "Triple Play" outside of other unsourced wikis. —Gintar77 07:38, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Anyone object it it being deleted, then? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 14:59, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
I take that as a no. *zaps it* —Disavian (talk/contribs) 00:18, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pi Mile Road Race

Should we include the Pi Mile on this page? It's been around for 35 years, so it's a pretty long-standing tradition. —Gintar77 09:29, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like a good idea-- I had no idea it had been around so long. There seem to be a lot of google results for it, so it should be easy to reference. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 17:15, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
I added it to the todo list. Feel free to write something up on it. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 19:18, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
Nicely written. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 15:05, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Thanks! :-) —Gintar77 15:36, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GA Review

The two main issues with this article preventing GA status are: (1) lack of a significant lead section, and (b) lack of sufficient citations. The article could really use some more descriptive text at the beginning to introduce the reader to the topic. Currently, it opens with just one brief sentence and an oddly-placed image. There are also several 'citation needed' tags which need to be resolved before GA status is granted.

Editors might want to review the good article criteria for more suggestions on improving the article. Cheers! Dr. Cash 01:43, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

I figured this would happen. There's a lot of sifting that needs to be done to find some citations. Excaliburhorn 22:00, 9-Apr-2007 (UTC)
I was hopeful that what we had was enough for GA status, although I agree that the lead is kind of short. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 02:21, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
In hindsight, there are a lot of citations (~50). That's definitely enough compared to what needs citation. I guess not yet. Excaliburhorn 22:35, 9-Apr-2007 (UTC)
Well, we just need to work on the lead and resubmit it, whether or not we've filled those three or so fact tags. It's a long article, and the amount of fact tags is more indicative of our thoroughness than a lack of citations. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 04:50, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
After a bit of work, I've gotten it up to ~60 refs. There are also the ones in the to do list that I haven't added yet. Care to take a shot at expanding the lead? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 06:38, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
I also beefed up the lead and renominated it. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 01:26, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

The lead looks much better, but could still use a decent copyedit, as some of the main topics discussed there seem to run into each other; for example, it's talking about the Tech T being stolen, and then goes into the whistle, but it's kind of an awkward change of topics there. Then, the lead changes into talking about the UGa rivalry. This could be a bit smoother. Maybe it just needs some paragraph breaks? Maybe rephrasing some of the stuff a bit better?

With regard to citations, the article is very well cited, I have no objections with that. My concern with not promoting it to GA status are specifically the 'citation needed' tags. There are three of these in the 'budweiser song' section. Good articles should not have these tags; address those three and I'm fine with the citation requirement.

I've placed it 'on hold' for right now, as I think these issues can be addressed fairly quickly. I'll probably revisit this in another two days or so and reassess. Dr. Cash 19:12, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Would it be acceptable if we hid the unsourced content in the Budweiser song section until sources could be found in order to get the GA? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 19:44, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
Do it. I'm struggling finding sources anywhere. I'm seeing if the band have any info in their archives. For now, we could move it to discussion and save it for later with Stumpy the Bear. Excaliburhorn 17:06, 11-Apr-2007 (UTC)

Article looks good. GA passed. Your assessment on removing the Budweiser song part for now is good; it's not really essential to the article, but if you can find a reference, then add it in. Dr. Cash 19:57, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Budweiser Song Temporary Home

[edit] Budweiser Song

Main article: Here Comes the King

At every football game and every home basketball game, the fans of Georgia Tech perform an unusual dance at the end of the 3rd quarter in football and during the second to last television timeout of basketball.[1] The dance is a simple bobbing motion which alternates every other person and it is performed to the tune of an old Budweiser jingle. The Georgia Tech additional lyrics are as follows:

Go Georgia Tech!
Go Georgia Tech!
Go Georgia Tech!
When you say Bud...weiser, you've said it all!

The song originated as a more politically correct replacement for the playing of Dixie after the 3rd quarter in football games.[citation needed] The first version came about around 1967-1971 during Bud Carson's tenure as head football coach. The lyrics began as Bud Carson but changed back to Bud...weiser after Carson was fired.[citation needed]

The playing of the Budweiser Song came under attack in 1984 when the Stroh Brewery Company, a major sponsor for Georgia Tech at the time, heard about the frequent playing of the Budweiser Song. Stroh's made the band play their own Stroh's jingle instead. The band was attacked mercilessly by unhappy Budweiser bobbers who threw bottles, garbage, and even frisbees in to the band every time the Stroh's jingle was played. The band removed the jingle from their repertoire but was never allowed to officially play the Budweiser song ever again. Now, Buzz conducts the band as they unofficially play the song every football and home basketball game.[citation needed]

-Excaliburhorn 19:02, 10-Apr-2007 (UTC)

[edit] Other Traditions

We've still got a few traditions that we can look into. Most notably landmarks on campus such as the War Memorials and Skiles Mickey Mouse clock. We also have traditions such as the term Yellow Jackets, Stumpy's Bear, finals screaming & streaking, the GT logo itself, Yellow Jacket Alley at Football Games, Shirttail parades (dead tradition), and a few more. The big ones are the Yellow Jackets and the GT logo. It would be interesting to figure both of those ones out. I'm pretty sure the first Yellow Jackets reference was to Tech students at Auburn-UGA game. The first reference to insects came about when we were playing Clemson in Heisman's years. An ad for the game had a tiger getting stung while messing with a bee hive. The GT logo is a little more tricky. I think it came about in the 60-70's and was designed by football player. It wasn't on the helmets until 1967 see here. I'll dig up what I can. --Excaliburhorn 01:29, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

We've already got a ref for Yellow Jacket alley, see the todo list. I also remember reading something about Stumpy's Bear... —Disavian (talk/contribs) 05:04, 21 May 2007 (UTC)
Ref for stumpy's bear: Edwards, Pat. "Ramblins - Stumpy's bear, Sideways the dog remembered in Tech history", The Technique, 1998-01-23. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.  —Disavian (talk/contribs) 03:35, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

I see it says that the freshmen still have to wear their RAT caps?? Mine didnt even make it home from FASET and no one every made mention of the fact that I didnt have it on. I'm wondering where this information came from because I dont think I saw more than 10 of these caps the whole time I was there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.92.198.220 (talk • contribs) 15:29, 7 June 2007

That's why the article says that RAT caps are only worn by a few freshmen but strictly enforced by the Band. In the '60's RAT caps were required and your head was forcibly shaven if you didn't have one on. --Excaliburhorn 21:21, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Clyde Robbins

I first realized something was amiss when I saw no reference to Clyde walks. I then noticed no Clyde chains or Clyde bumps. Finally, I realized there's not even an article on Clyde Robbins! (He was rumored amongst the students to have a large amount of his funds invested in brick factories.) Maybe when I have some time, I'll try to rectify this. If one of y'all wants to beat me to it, have at it! Ben Hocking (talk|contribs) 21:22, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Here's another article from the Technique on the man and his creations. Ben Hocking (talk|contribs) 21:24, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Suggested Breakdown

Perhaps we could break down the Titles moreso into Traditions, Legends, and Landmarks? What do y'all think? --Excaliburhorn 21:40, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

Adding new addition soon: Decorating or Vandalism? I'm thinking decorating carries a less negative tone. Stealing the whistle/T are obvious but there're lots of other items like the ROTC Naval cannon used to get painted, the Skiles clock converted into a Disney homage, the AMC was painted pink once, someone painted a GT on the side of Stone Mountain, decorating Olympic flame at Ferst Center, etc.. I'm gathering sources and trying to list the more notable practices such as painting the cannon and the Mickey Mouse clock.
Also, need to gather pics of War Memorials on campus for landmarks.
Also, GT band section is really short and can be much better. It's a pretty big tradition and there's a lot of history to cite. --Excaliburhorn 18:40, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
Sounds like a reasonable division... we definitely need to work on resectioning it a bit. —Disavian (talk/contribs) 22:39, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mash On The Gas

An anon (User:12.184.170.5) added the following:

“ Derrek Moore, Georgia Tech's Team Chaplain gave a pre-game speech before the Maryland game at Grant Field in 2006 in which he urged the football team to come out and "Mash On The Gas Again." The term related to the victory Tech had over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg the week before. Mash On The Gas was quickly adopted by the 2006 team as a motto for the rest of the year. The term has survived and can now be heard from Tech students and fans as the Ramblin' Wreck drives out of the tunnel to lead the team onto the field. ”

Is it true; if so, is it a tradition? If so, are there references for it? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 18:12, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

A tradition is not made in one season. Let's wait and see imho.--Excaliburhorn 21:59, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

I've heard people say it quite a bit as a hardcore tailgater. I've also seen people wearing yellow Mash On The Gas t-shirts. And I think there is a Tech Blog with the same title. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.232.10.248 (talk) 17:25, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Winners of homecoming competitions

As there is currently a bit of edit-warring going on about this, a talk page discussion is warranted. I seem to recall in the past a decision not to indiscriminately include the winners of homecoming competitions. Specifically, I think it was in regard to the Freshman Cake Race. Winners are only mentioned or listed if they are or became notable in some other context, such as Sam Nunn. Otherwise, this article will become an absolute mess where every past and current winner of homecoming competitions will come on and try to add their name or organization just to be on here. Completely unnecessary. LaMenta3 20:20, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

There would be seventy five years of Wreck parade winners, ninety plus years of cake race winners, forty or so years of mini 500 winners. That's a lot of research and I'm sure there will be holes where Techniques/Blueprints didn't print winners. It would be a daunting task that is not worth the net result.--Excaliburhorn 21:03, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Ghost of Lyman Hall

The following unsourced content was added to Lyman Hall and this article; do we have any "sources" for this?

“ Georgia Tech has a single ghost roaming campus, that of the second president of the Institute, Lyman Hall. Hall's ghost can be seen on "The Hill" or old section of campus. As he died while still serving, it is said that he seems to not realize that he is no longer president. He patrols around the Swann Building (a former dormitory) as well as around the Lyman Hall Building and other buildings that he helped to erect. Hall is commonly seen walking through the arch in the bottom floor of the Lyman Hall building and subsequently disappearing. Hall was known for being a strict disciplinarian as he suspended the Senior Class of 1901 for returning to campus a day late from Christmas Break. The "Insubordinate Seniors" were held for an extra 6 weeks in the fall of 1901 and did not graduate until November 1901. Legend has it that this legacy persists to this day as he makes sure that students are behaving appropriately and are in their dorms by "curfew" although a curfew has not existed on Tech's campus for decades. He is most often seen during finals week ensuring that students are properly preparing for their exams as they make their way too and from the library. ”

—Disavian (talk/contribs) 02:32, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

I've never heard of the ghost but I've heard of the insubordinate seniors.--Excaliburhorn 02:50, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

The old DramaTech building (the Hempstead Church) had a ghost, but the building has been torn down. Schim (talk) 21:35, 2 June 2008 (UTC)Schim

[edit] Bull dog club

Bull dog club. I think that article is vandalism. I don't believe it existed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.155.56.3 (talk • contribs) 11:57, 7 February 2008

It looks pretty thoroughly sourced to me. —C.Fred (talk) 17:43, 7 February 2008 (UTC)
Keep in mind that uga didn't start caling themselves Bulldogs until 1920, 10 years after the club was founded. You can check out the first Bull Dog Club in the 1911 Blueprint at http://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/14409. --Excaliburhorn (talk) 21:11, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] The Hill

A nice addition to "The Hill" would be the practice of sledding downhill on snow days (traditionally using trays borrowed from the Student Center cafeteria). I am sure there were photos of this in the Nique. Also, the related practice of declaring a snow day based upon whether the shuttle bus could make it up the Hill.Schim (talk) 21:39, 2 June 2008 (UTC)Schim