The Republican and Democratic National Conventions took place last week in North Carolina and the week prior in Wisconsin, respectively. At the Republican National Convention (RNC), incumbent President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination along with Vice President Mike Pence. At the Democratic Convention (DNC), Joe Biden accepted his nomination together with running mate Kamala Harris.

Both conventions saw changes in their typical format as a result of social distancing precautions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At the DNC, the first day began with speeches by Former First Lady Michelle Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders, wherein they each condemned Trump’s presidency and his response to the pandemic.

On the second day, Biden was officially nominated, and Georgia’s own Stacey Abrams delivered a speech calling for change and unity. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter spoke as well, lauding Biden’s experience and calm demeanor.

On the third day of the convention, Senator Kamala Harris urged people to vote in her address, and former President Barack Obama spoke about Biden’s success as his Vice President and Trump’s negative track record. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged voters in the Democratic Party to unite against Trump despite their differences.

In addition, activists against gun violence and supporters of climate change spoke in favor of legislation to address these issues. Finally, on the last day of the DNC, Biden officially accepted the Democratic nomination for the presidency, calling 2020 a “life-changing election” in his acceptance speech.
Tributes on the final night honored Biden’s late son, Beau Biden, and the late Representative John Lewis.

In the following week, the first day of the RNC saw Republican speakers praise Trump’s coronavirus response and call Democrats “radicalized.” South Carolina Senator Tim Scott headlined, and he aggressively spoke down about Biden’s record on policing.

On the second day, First Lady Melania Trump spoke from the White House Rose Garden about her experience as an immigrant in America, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke from Jerusalem in a move that many claim is a possible violation of the Hatch Act which limits certain political activities of federal employees.

For the third day, Mike Pence spoke from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland about heroes such as military service members, first responders and medical professionals.

He also claimed that Biden wants to defund the police. That same day, counselor to Trump Kellyanne Conway spoke on women’s empowerment, saying “for many of us, ‘women’s empowerment’ is not just a slogan.”

On the final day of the RNC, advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, touted her father as the “people’s president,” a tireless leader and a champion for the middle class. He also officially accepted the Republican nomination for president and delivered a speech which included a pitch to black voters and a promise to be “tough on China” if elected.

During Trump’s speech, protests took place outside the White House in opposition to his speech and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Overall, conventions demonstrated the sweeping changes being made in the political landscape as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

As November nears, these two events are just the first of many where adjustments must be made, resulting in an ever-shifting race.

Four years ago I made a decision on a whim to try out journaling, not knowing then that it would later become a decision I thank my past self for on a daily basis. I didn’t quite realize how important journaling had become to me and my mental health until I returned home in March due to the pandemic.

At first, it was a struggle to motivate myself to journal- it felt so self-indulgent and purposeless in a global crisis. But as it has become a larger part of my life, I’ve realized the quiet power of such a simple habit.

There’s something so genuinely remarkable about being able to capture who you are at a moment in time. Even if no one else hears about my thoughts during the day, at least I can validate those emotions, get them out of my brain and into the universe, simply by writing them.

I give them a physical and tangible form that allows them to exist. My journals tell me that I am a product of all these experiences and emotions and failures and success and even if no one else knows that, at least I do.

There are two main reasons I journal. One is to document moments in my life. My journals contain photos, old ticket stubs, birthday cards, maps from travels, to-do lists, old candy wrappers, lists of songs I like and as of lately, updates about how COVID-19 has changed my daily life.

Some days I write one or two lines that list everything I did that day, but there are also days I ramble for pages about an assignment that’s stressing me out, or a certain experience I want to remember in the future or a dream I had.

To have a space where there are no rules, no end goal and no potential to be graded is so needed, especially for students who often base their self-worth on academic success.

The second reason I journal is to grow and accept. There’s mistakes I’ve made, fears I’ve had and challenges I’ve faced that seem to have repeated themselves over and over again in the past few years. I’ve begun to be more reflective on why I act and think the way I do and how to improve (or accept!) aspects of myself I often critique.

There is so much flexibility with journaling and I would encourage everyone to try, in some form, to express themselves and their own story on a regular basis. It doesn’t even have to be in words.

While I would argue that my simplistic use of pen and paper is the easiest method, it could be a digital journal in a Word document, an art journal or even on apps that provide daily prompts.

If you are looking for scientific evidence there are actual benefits to this, there have been countless studies proving the long-lasting benefits journaling daily has on both physical and mental health.

Consistent journaling can reduce stress and its physical effects, such as high blood pressure. It can be a therapeutic activity for those who have experienced trauma in their lives. It can boost your immune system and help improve your emotional well-being and clarity.

I know journaling is not for everyone and there are even days I skip it because I don’t feel the need to. It is entriely alright to not write everyday. We are going through a pandemic after all. What is important is to record the moments that you think will be interesting to read in the future. You have the opportunity to write about history through your eyes. It may not be the best way to reflect and grow for some, but I would urge everyone to at least try it out and see how you like it.

Sometimes the benefits of journaling are only fully realized when looking back on how you perceived yourself in the past so that you can be better equipped for the future. Now could be the perfect time to start.
It takes as little as ten or fifteen minutes a day to take advantage of these benefits.

Journaling has helped me immensely recently and although I might not know who you are reading this, I’ve got a feeling it could help you too.

It’s very easy to watch the other humans on the bus and think that they are sad, screen-addicted aliens.

Each one is fixed on their phone, the white light bleaching them until they’re like dead fish on a reef. It’s easy to scare yourself.

What are they looking at? Why won’t they meet your eyes for a fleeting connection? Why do they fill the car with a lumpy kind of deadness?

It’s easy, if you put down your phone and observe, to feel like you know something they don’t. They look hopelessly consumed, and you can’t help but feel a smidge superior. But you too have probably been one of those sardines in a can.

At some point in your life, you’ve made a habit of ignoring your neighbors.
Over the last few years, I’ve noticed the slow but relentless fusion of phones to people – the five year-old watching Netflix at the playground, the roommate not answering your questions because she’s texting a stranger she’ll never meet. Me, lulling myself into a social media daze instead of waking up with the sun.

I’m sure we’ve all heard this one before, but our phones are an escape. It’s easier to turn away from real life and into the colorful, funny lives of our friends and strangers. Phones don’t force us to confront our issues 24/7. In the best phone daze, we don’t have to think at all. We can also present false versions of ourselves. We can feel good about our aspirations, and even give the impression that we’ve fully embodied them, without ever doing the work to actually reach them. It looks great on the outside and feels bad on
the inside.

Hear me out: get a flip phone. I know it sounds silly and extreme. Last year, when I first explored the flip phone trend, I thought I’d only last a week or two and then give up.

I was fully prepared to jump back into the smartphone world, refreshed but secretly relieved. The reality was different. Eight months later, I still love not having an iPhone.

It’s hard to slow down and not process anything for a while. Slowing down is not a bad thing. We live with devices that make everything immediately accessible, but this can get unhealthy, as it did for me.

Taking a long, and maybe permanent, break from smartphones is rejuvenating.

Make a list of reasons for why you’re hesitant to get a flip phone, and then figure out solutions to those problems.

There is likely a way around each of your concerns (taxis still exist, for example. Or you can get Uber on your computer).

And there’s another bonus: you can blame your flakiness on your new hot pink Motorola Razr. You will be the coolest person.

As the Jackets prep for their home opener on Saturday against 21st-ranked UCF, fans can anticipate being the first to see the new and improved Bobby Dodd Stadium. Over the offseason, the Institute completed several updates to both the stadium facilities and Grant Field, which together promise to provide a significantly improved experience for the 11,000 people who will be allowed to watch Saturday’s game in person. The on-field renovations will also create a more modern look for Tech’s nationally televised home games, of which there are several this season, including Saturday’s contest with the UCF Knights.

The renovations began in May when the Institute began to remove Grant Field’s natural grass, which had been in place since 1994, and install a brand-new artificial turf. The product is named Legion NXT and is produced by Shaw Sports Turf, the new surface allows the stadium to be used for multiple purposes beyond football games, including concerts and other campus events, both of the athletic and non-athletic variety. This ability to host other events will increase the value of the field while also decreasing field maintenance costs, as artificial turf requires less attention than natural grass. Shaw Sports Turf products are also used by the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL.

The state-of-the-art turf surface will carry a new paint scheme with several graphics and other visuals that are in line with the rebranding of Tech football that launched a couple years ago. This rebrand has been largely focused around reclaiming the rich history of Tech football and tying the Institute’s image to the city of Atlanta, and these emphases are both reflected in the design of the field. Both 25-yard lines feature an “ATL” emblazoned opposite the ACC logo, with the iconic Tech Tower “T” in gold between the “A” and “L”. Both sidelines also feature a “404” on the sideline, a reference to the Atlanta area code.

Four trophies are also painted under both goalposts, representing the Institute’s four national championships. Both end zones will read “GEORGIA TECH” against new background colors – gold lettering on Navy Blue for the south, and white lettering on Tech Gold for the north.

Off the field, several changes were also made to the stadium to enhance the game experience. New lighting and sound systems were installed, and the signs around the stadium were also given a rebrand, including a new sign installed on the Wardlaw Building at the south side of the stadium.

The stadium refresh is another step in the effort to build the brand of the Tech football program which began when Coach Geoff Collins first came to the school almost two years ago. Bobby Dodd is the oldest stadium in college football, and as such, an upgrade was needed to keep up with the standards that Collins is trying to promote.

This increased focus on the image and reputation of the Institute, touting its location in the heart of Atlanta and its history, is already beginning to produce evidence that Tech football is on the rise. Collins’ first full recruiting class was ranked 24th in the country by Rivals.com, the first time since 2007 that the Jackets have appeared in the top 25. The anticipation surrounding the class was validated in the season opener, when the headliner of the class, four-star quarterback Jeff Sims, played a pivotal role in the Jackets’ victory over Florida State. Sims made several mistakes along the way, which would be expected, but also showed great potential as a starter in his first college football in a hostile environment.

The new stadium look will only benefit the Institute as they host several nationally televised games against some of the elite schools in the nation, such as Notre Dame and Clemson. Tech’s administration has shown a willingness to invest in the rebranding effort, and fans have reason to be excited about the future of the program, on and off the field.

An introduction to a series on being Black at Tech

Nearly 60 years ago Malcolm X said “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” After all this time this sentiment still rings true. While white America sees Black men as dangerous and as a threat to society, it often doesn’t see Black women at all. Over the course of this series, I will reflect on my personal experiences at Tech as a Black woman. It is no secret that Tech and the majority of its students are fairly progressive, but in no way is this campus a utopia for its Black students. My experiences at Tech are in no way indicative of every Black experience at this institution.

I often find myself thinking back to 2016 when Trump said that he could walk down 5th avenue, shoot someone and not lose any votes. Although this statement is hyperbolic in nature, he’s right. As a Black woman at Tech, there are days when I feel as though I could walk through campus wearing nothing but a smile and still go unnoticed. There are times that I am noticed, and only recognized for my complexion.

During my first year at Tech on campus, I was asked on two separate occasions whether I was a student or not. I asked my white peers if this had ever happened to them and it had not. One of the times it happened I was with two other friends that were not white. I was walking slightly ahead of them and only I was asked if I was a student as we entered the library.

Instances like these confirmed my imposter syndrome and all but solidified what I thought to be true. I didn’t belong here. I was a transfer student and a liberal arts major. I had already chosen ‘the black sheep’ of majors at a STEM school and would face great belittlement because of it. I didn’t want my non-Black peers to think I wasn’t smart enough to get in the traditional way or that any academic success I had was due to being in an ‘easy’ major.

When I admitted to being a transfer student from Georgia State and an LMC major, I noticed their silent sighs of relief. It felt as though my confession stroked their confirmation bias, that Black students couldn’t get in to Tech on their own merit and that I had affirmative action to thank for my admittance. Although that nagging voice will always make me question my being here, I have come a long way since then. I soon realized that I should be celebrating my differences and embracing them. Over the past two years I have found my place at Tech while keeping a few key things in mind. It is not Black student’s job to educate our non-Black peers on the Black experience and it is definitely not our responsibility to speak for our race as a whole.

I have taken courses on Blackness and been the only Black student in the room. Remove the pressure off yourself to be the sole voice of Blackness. Speak up if you want to and not because you feel like you have to. Another thing to remember, which seems cliche to say is, do not let anyone put you in a box. In every on-campus organization I have ever been apart of, there is usually no more than a few Black members.

As a Black person involved in many on-campus organization, it seems as though you are not allowed to be mediocre. You are expected to fill a role that has already been decided for you.

Are you going to be the funny one? The athletic one? The Michelle? The Barack? I am here to tell you that you are more than allowed to be average. You will be labeled as one thing or another regardless of whether you want to be or not, so you might as well be who you want.

As an editor at the Technique, I have finally found an organization that let’s me be my true, authentic-self. This organization is one of the few clubs where I am free to celebrate my Blackness, but not be defined by it. This publication wants to uplift a diverse array of voices and be a platform for expressing Black struggles, but also Black achievement and success.

We as Black scholars, are needed at Tech. We are integral to the heart of the institution. We are not a quota number, a box to check off or a burden. Although we are few, we are stronger than we know. I hope to bring awareness to sensitive topics impacting Black students while also starting a dialogue with non-BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color) on how to make Tech a more inclusive and welcoming place for all.

This column will also act as an outlet for Black students to submit their stories or essays.

The recent events surrounding TikTok read like a dramatic, three-part saga: its initial ban by the Trump administration, its acquisition by Oracle and Walmart, and now the uncertain state that it remains in. But substantially fewer people know about the other Chinese social media giant, WeChat, that has also been vying for the attention of US national security talks and a barrage of executive orders. If Tiktok is the slicker, better-looking younger brother, then WeChat is the older, more self-possessed sibling, with less notoriety but a broader audience at home. The New York Times called WeChat China’s true “Powerhouse App,” and for good reason. WeChat, owned by Chinese company Tencent, boasts over a billion users worldwide and over 3 million active monthly users in the US. It is the equivalent of Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, and Apple Pay rolled into one omnipresent service —and that’s an understatement of its utility in mainland China. Its mobile payment function has rendered credit cards and cash obsolete there, even normalizing street vendors selling meat and produce through virtual transactions.

I’m no national security expert, but it seems to me that there are several things wrong with the national measures being taken to eventually ban the app. While there is truth to WeChat promoting Chinese propaganda and its uses for social control, the premise of the ban — that WeChat is a national security threat because it collects data from Americans for the Chinese government and promotes fake news – is hypocritical. The idea that there be limits on free speech to “protect people’s privacy” is paternalistic and draconian, and assumes that users are so dim that they cannot discern for themselves what information deserves merit (notably not a stance taken by US social media networks).

The truth is that collecting and storing people’s data and spreading misinformation may very well be the intent of the Chinese government, but WeChat was modeled on the tactics and practices of Silicon Valley. To unilaterally declare a ban without acknowledging the role of tech giants like Facebook and Twitter in spreading serious misinformation does not project strength — one only has to look at the role Facebook played in the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar. It also makes little sense that an app with relatively small reach among U.S. residents would be considered a higher-priority action item than domestic terrorism incited by white supremacists, which the Department of Homeland Security recently called “the gravest terror threat” to our nation, encouraged by Russia.

This is not an attempt to distract from the very real problems posed by the Chinese government with a “what-aboutism” pivot to Russia. This opinion merely highlights the fact we are hardly in a position to accuse foreign social media networks as perpetrators of fake news. This action is emblematic of an administration that is too arrogant to publicly engage with our own problems of election meddling from foreign governments and privacy concerns from domestic companies in a constructive way.

It is an easy way to seem ‘tough on China’ in an election and pandemic year, without actually employing the high-level diplomacy and forethought that we have come to associate with the “leader of the free world.”

It is also deeply concerning for the immigrants and expatriates of the Chinese diaspora, who have relied on WeChat to maintain contact with friends and family across the world. Banning WeChat would also dissolve the countless smaller communities that Chinese American families have formed locally. It is also unclear, but possible, that Apple and Alphabet Inc. would be crippled by a partial US ban. According to Bloomberg, Apple relies on China for a fifth of its sales and a large portion of its manufacturing, and a ban of WeChat on Apple products would make them useless to Chinese consumers. Shang-Jin Wei, a Professor of Economics at Columbia University, has suggested that the US could order Tencent to “stop sending push notifications or advertisements to users registered with a U.S. phone number, or who are traveling in the U.S.,” or issuing a pop-up warning from the US government to anyone downloading the app.

At any rate, it seems that if we continue along this path, we are embracing isolationism at the expense of exhaustively vetting creative diplomatic and economic options.

The College of Computing (CoC) Virtual Career Fair got off to a rocky start this past Wednesday, Aug. 19, as hundreds of students flooded the fair to sign up for opportunities to speak with recruiters.

The CoC chose Career Fair Plus, a mobile and web application, for conducting this fall’s career fair. Companies that have registered for the fair can offer virtual meeting times for students to talk with recruiters and submit their resumes. Students were allowed to begin registering for these time slots on Aug. 19, nearly a month before the fair is slated to take place on Sep. 16.

Students were met with a variety of issues as soon as registration opened. Career Fair Plus suffered from high latency problems, with students reporting long loading times for companies’ lists of available time slots. Many students who were able to see the companies’ availability reported that the app could take as much as 5 minutes to respond to their attempts to register for a slot. The extremely high volume of students using the platform meant that popular companies such as MongoDB or Bank of America ran out of available slots within a short time after registration opened. Additionally, the Career Fair Plus platform only allowed students to create accounts and to register for time slots with recruiters via the mobile application. The list of companies attending the virtual fair could be seen on the web interface, but registration and account creation weren’t possible through the web app. Some students tried for as long as 40 minutes to sign up for slots without success, due to either lack of availability or issues with the platform.

Christen Steele, Director of Computing Career Services at the CoC, has been in communication with students regarding the virtual career fair for several weeks. In a conversation with the Technique, Steele emphasized that the CoC was attentive to students’ issues with the Career Fair Plus platform. She urged students to report any performance issues to the platform directly in order for improvements to be pushed out faster. Steele also noted that while she is optimistic about companies adding more time slots in the time leading up to the fair, recruiters’ availability is ultimately out of the hands of the Institute.

The computing industry has traditionally been one of the most robust job markets, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused layoffs and hiring freezes even in the computing sector. Steele acknowledged that students may be feeling a sense of uncertainty and apprehension as they begin their job search. She noted that students may have to adjust their expectations for what jobs may be available, but that there is still plenty of opportunity for students of all years. She cited insurance and health care as two sectors in particular which could provide opportunities for students. Her recommendation for all students who are looking for a job or internship this fall: “Apply, apply, apply!”

The all majors career fair, hosted by the Tech Career Center is set to happen virtually this year as well.

The 2020 fall all-majors career fair is scheduled to happen only a couple days after the CoC career fair, on Sept. 21 and 22. The normally in-person event is the largest career fair in the South.

Students interested in participating in the all-majors career fair can find more information on the Career Center website: career.gatech.edu/all-majors-virtual-career-fair.

Bipartisanship may be uncommon in the political landscape this election year, but for criminal justice reform, two Georgia state legislators worked together to improve the lives of millions with unanimous support in the General Assembly.

At the Sept. 30 Impact Speaker Series, a virtual panel discussed the Second Chance expungement bill, Senate Bill 288 (SB 288), which Governor Brian Kemp signed on Aug. 5. It will take effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

The speakers included Senator Tonya Anderson (D), who represents Senate District 43; Representative Houston Gaines (R), who represents House District 117; Lisa McGahan, the policy director of the Georgia Justice Project (GJP); and Doug Ammar, the executive director of GJP.

Ammar explains that the criminal justice system is broken into three stages: pre-conviction, including policing, arrest and prosecution; incarceration; and re-entry, including correctional control.

“Georgia, unfortunately, has been the winner of the highest number of people per capita under correctional control for a number of years now,” said Ammar.

“One in 18 Georgians are under correctional control. That means jail, prison, probation or parole.”

Ammar estimates 40,000 people are currently in jail awaiting trial for either a felony or misdemeanor, 54,000 people are currently serving time in the prison system and another 400,000 people are under correctional control.

“You still have a criminal record whether you’ve been convicted or even not convicted,” said Ammar.

Ammar relates this to one of the motivating factors behind the bill.

“In Georgia, people who have been through the system or touched the system in any way from the very tip … all the way through, that number in Georgia is 4.3 million, so 40% of Georgians essentially have a criminal record.”

SB 288 is an expungement bill which offers Georgians with criminal records the opportunity to restrict and seal certain misdemeanor convictions four year after completing their sentence.

This removes barriers from employment and housing.

Senator Anderson’s conversations with her constituents played a large role in her inspiration for the bill.

“I realized talking to people being impacted by the fact that they can’t vote, by the fact that they don’t have a job, just kind of getting personal with them, and it sparked me to try to push for some meaningful legislation around criminal justice reform to allow people to get their lives back,” said Anderson.

Similarly, Representative Gaines saw a need for this legislation in Georgia.

“I just felt like it was the right thing to do at the right time for our state,” said Gaines.

“We made some significant progress on criminal justice reform, but I felt like this was an area where we really need to make some more progress.”

Anderson first brought the bill to her Democrat colleagues.

“I went to my leadership and I said ‘This is the bill I want,’ got signatures and I was going to turn the bill in and then I said ‘You know what, I didn’t even ask my Republican colleagues, would they support it,’ and I did,” said Anderson. “I asked two Republican colleagues, they supported it and I submitted my bill.”

Anderson emphasizes the value of building relationships and using them to pass legislation, even with people she had no prior experience with.

“When Representative Houston Gaines introduced it in the House, I didn’t know him,” said Anderson.

“I had never met him before. We met in the hallway. To me, it didn’t matter.”

“I wanted to make sure that this bill is going to impact all of Georgia.”

In March, the bill was introduced and passed the Senate, but the General Assembly took a recess soon thereafter.

“We came back in June and a lot happened between March and June that shifted the mindset and opened the eyes of America concerning racial equality and the criminal justice system.”

“So, as we reconvened at the end of June, I think it was a moment for people to say ‘You know, it’s high time that we move on this legislation to start something that could change the trajectory in Georgia,’” said Anderson.

The panelists discussed how systemic racism has created a criminal justice system that perpetuates disproportionate rates of Black people being convicted with more severe sentences.

There was also a large focus upon the issue of more Black people being incarcerated than white people.

“When this country pushed forward the war on crime, the war on drugs, starting in the beginning of the 80s, … [it] led to this gross disparity of incarceration in this country has, vis-a-vi basically every other country in the world,” said Ammar.

“There’s a similar deeper disparity, if you will, for folk of color who are being arrested, convicted and incarcerated.”

“The unleashing of those … mandatory minimums for instance, is a good example of how we’ve created the mass incarceration numbers in this country.”

While the Black population makes up 32% of the state population, it has been almost two times this number in the Georgia prison system both historically and currently.

Anderson mentions the school-to-prison pipeline.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, this occurs when youth of color, low-income economic classes or with disabilities enter the juvenile justice system due to factors like strict public school disciplinary policies.

“There are longer sentences, there are sometimes over-policing, there are just small things that get people caught up in the system from a tail-light to a wrong left turn or no blinker,” said Anderson.

The focus of SB 288 is on criminal justice, but more work must be done in all areas.

“It is not just about racism. It’s about systemic racism, because it’s not just in the criminal justice system. It’s in education, it’s in economics, it’s just a systemic issue and so we have to go deep,” said Anderson.

Ammar, who has been involved at GJP since 1986, explains that while the challenges of working for change can be frustrating at times, it can also be rewarding.

“I think in the criminal justice work, especially, it’s such a hard arena that you’ve got to have the long view,” said Ammar.

“You’ve got to be willing to put in the time, these are not going to be quick hits and you’re out.”

After much hard work between Anderson and Gaines, SB 288’s passage will impact 4.3 million Georgians.

“One of the things I’m most proud of this piece of legislation for is that it was bipartisan and it was unanimous passage in both chambers,” said Gaines.

Gaines and Anderson both have ideas for future topics to work together on.

“There’s more work we got to do to continue to make sure that Georgians have a second chance,” said Gaines.

“But I can’t overstate how important I think getting this piece of legislation through, getting our foot in the door, because we were one of only nine states that didn’t have something like this.”

Moving forward, Gaines mentions considering offenses not included in SB 228, automatic seals for people once their restriction has been processed and examining the Citizen’s Arrest Statute.

Anderson mentions shortening probation time and ending felony disenfranchisement and unnecessary jail detention for people awaiting trial for low-level offenses.

There are many ways for students to get involved in the legislative process.

“I would encourage students to have those conversations with their legislators, get to know them,” said Gaines. “If you have ideas, research this issue of criminal justice reform, come up with an idea and bring it to Senator Anderson or myself. Go find your local legislator from home.”

Anderson agrees.

“Create an opportunity and start attending council meetings, county commissioner meetings just to see what the process is, how things happen,” said Anderson, who also encourages students to intern at the Georgia State Capitol.

On a final note, the panelists call on youth and students to make a difference.

“College campuses are where conversations are supposed to happen, ideas are supposed to be brought forward, and I would just encourage students to take these conversations back to your student organizations and your student groups,” said Gaines.

Ammar encourages us to think about where we have power and to get close to people who are different from us.

“I think at the heart of racism in this country is an otherness that we as a culture have embraced or has been part of making people other,” said Ammar.

“And I believe that one of the best ways to break through these internal and external barriers that are created, that we have in ourselves, that are in our culture, is to get close to people.”

A recording of the event can be found at the Georgia Tech ISLI YouTube channel.

The Impact Speaker Series is hosted by the Institute for Leadership and Social Impact on Wednesday nights from 5-6 p.m.

The Fall 2020 focus is on race, social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion.

The next event is on Oct. 14 featuring Vivian Greentree, the head of Global Corporate Citizenship at Fiserv Cares Foundation.

Members of the Tech community and the general public are welcome to attend.

McCamish Pavilion is gearing up to serve as a student staffed voting site this election year. Early voting will be held at the location Oct. 21-23, and will be open on Election Day, Nov. 3, for voters assigned to the precinct.

Samuel Ellis, third-year INTA and current undergraduate SGA Vice President of External Affairs, played a part in ensuring an on-campus polling location would be a reality during this election year after the Student Center’s facilities went offline this summer.

“I came to this realization, the moment we destroyed the student center of, ‘oh god where is our early elections polling place going to be?’ And as soon as I started asking questions about that, I realized there were already incredible allies working in that area” said Ellis.

One of those allies was Eric Reveno, Tech’s assistant men’s basketball coach, who pushed the #AllVoteNoPlay initiative to make election day a day off for student-athletes across the country.

“He’s the reason that we’ve been able to work with the team around the NCAA schedule,” said Ellis. “Five to seven days between early voting, election day, December runoff, January runoff and anything else that might pop up is a really big ask of time commitment from a facility as dedicated as McCamish Pavilion, which is ultimately governed by athletics and NCAA guidelines. Coach Reveno being on top of that was a game changer for us.”

The collaboration to make this is all happen also included other employees within the athletics department, as well as Institute Communications.

“Institute relations are the ones really doing a lot of the groundwork with Fulton County. Rachel Miller, who is our Director of External Engagement and Lynn Durham who is the Vice President of Institute Relations have been doing just incredible actual groundwork in terms of working with the county, meeting with people to make sure that McCamish is up to code for what we’re going to be doing with it,” said Ellis.

Ellis, who has worked previous elections at polling locations in Fulton County served as a student advisor over the process and spearheaded the idea of a student staffed general election location.

“I’m following a model set by Evan Malbrough, he was basically the external affairs officer at Georgia State last year, and he is an incredible activist in the polling community, and in the Atlanta community in general” said Ellis.

Malbrough’s plan stressed the importance of a student staffed polling location for many reasons, including a push for representation of younger voters at the polls.

“It’s important to have student staffers because when you’re a nineteen, twenty-something year old person voting for the first time and you go in and you’re just looking at seventy and eighty year olds working the polls, it doesn’t feel like democracy is for you,” said Ellis. “We also want students, so that you feel safe, you feel comfortable and you’re represented when you go to the polling place.”

Ellis also touched on the importance of the younger generation stepping up this election season to volunteer at the polls due to COVID-19 concerns.

“It’s especially important right now because if you have geriatric coworkers, they’re one of the highest risk groups for COVID death. When I worked the run-off earlier this year, I had a co-worker collapse on the floor and had to be transported to the ER, because her hips gave out,” said Ellis. “

“That’s why we need students, because 16 hours on your feet is a tough job and in the context of COVID-19 it’s not acceptable to be putting such high risk folks at a greater risk. Democracy is a thing worth dying for, but not in this context.”

After months of hard work and advocacy from various members of the Tech community, Tech has not only secured McCamish Pavilion as an on-campus polling location, but it will also be one of the first ever fully student staffed general election polling locations on Nov. 3.

The upcoming 2020 election will be prove to be an important one for not only the country but the state of Georgia as well. Ellis touched on how vital it is for students to participate this year.

“You have to vote. This is the most consequential election of our lives. And that is because, for a very rare time in Georgia history, you’re not just voting for the Presidency, but you’re voting for both of our senate seats as well. Since Senate seats are on a staggered six year term, that doesn’t happen, and there is more at stake this Georgia election than ever before,” said Ellis.

“It’s so important because we have this incredible beautiful democracy, but it’s fragile. And I have seen firsthand how fragile it is when it’s being held up by the backs of 70 year old women working at the poll place.”

This fall, alongside cornhole and volleyball, Jackets have been busy playing eIntramurals, a sport category very apt for Tech.

This season, Call of Duty (CoD), Mario Kart, FIFA, League of Legends, NBA 2K, Overwatch, Rocket League, Smash Bros, and Valorant are offered via IMLeagues.

Students are responsible for buying their own equipment and setting up games.

Interestingly, most of the teams competing are fraternities with the occasional recreational club or sorority.

Nikola Porto, a second-year PHYS/EE major, is captain of Phi Sigma Kappa’s Call of Duty team.

Porto also serves as the VP of intramurals for Phi Sig and is Technique’s informant about the world of eSports at Tech.

As opposed to methodically scheduled games, Porto says that “there is instead a Discord server made with all the captains of the teams, and it’s up to them to be proactive and ask other captains to schedule games.”

Porto expressed the difficulty of lacking a single organizing force.

“This honestly makes it kinda hard, and at least in the league I’m in, there are very few teams that actually [contact each other].”

The makeup of the team depends on the game.

According to Porto, a game like CoD is mostly played by fraternities, but others are more evenly made up of frats and non-frats.

In addition to team eSports, there are solo sports such as Smash Bros and Rocket League in which one person competes against other solo players.

Usually, there are between one and six players on any team.

Because of the disappointingly inactive nature of the eIntramurals Discord, Phi Sig has only played one match of CoD’s console game.

“The atmosphere is pretty chilled out. A lot of people are confused about the rules, and there are no referees, so there’s a lot of time spent at the beginning of each match trying to figure everything out and communicating over voice chat with the other team about how they want to play.”

While the domain of eSports is admittedly incomparable to the athleticism of traditional sports, it has been an excellent pastime for students during COVID-19.

“I think one thing I enjoy is that I can do it in my room as opposed to having to put on certain clothes to go to the CRC,” says Porto.

“I will say that it sucks that for people to participate, they need to own a multi-hundred dollar console and the game itself.”

This financial burden on students makes the formation of teams difficult and favors people sharing the expense. This explains the preponderance of Greek organizations over individual Tech students.

It seems that each team within one division attributes a very different level of gravity to each game.

“I’ve been playing a lot of CoD, so that’s my favorite right now, even though I only play casually. The people I’ve played so far in the leagues have not been all that casual,” says Porto.

When asked what he’d change about eIntramurals at Tech in the future, Porto says that he wishes “they’d actually create a schedule so we’d have scheduled matches from the start.”

“I just feel like it’d make the whole process a lot smoother and actually get games going rather making it up to the people to decide.”

“When there’s a set schedule people will make sure they’re free during that time.”

The lack of centralized referees and rules is a serious issue for eSports players.

Porto and his peers wish they had “people who know stuff about the game to make the rules because, at least for CoD, a lot of the rules are kinda dumb and then it’s more of an honor code decided between the two teams concerning what rules they want to follow.”

Porto does not claim to have a least favorite game and plans to play League of Legends in Phase 2, which begins on Oct.11.

It is worth at least checking eIntamurals out, even if only to see the questionable (but excellent) player names.