Editor’s Note: This Letter to the Editor is in response to a Technique consensus. The rideshare bill offered unlimited $1 rides from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. seven days a week in the immediate Tech area. The three rides for $1 mentioned below are for commuters, cover a larger area and are only a flat discount. The pilot was not meant to limit students to those three rides.

Two weeks ago, the Graduate Student Senate (GSS) failed a RideShare bill, which would’ve spent $100,000 of Student Activity Fees (SAF) to fund a 6-8 week pilot that would subsidize students to take three $1 UberPool rides. GSS recognizes and shares in the struggles of Tech’s transportation services. However, contrary to the Technique’s editorial opinion that graduate senators were “playing politics,” GSS acted in the best interests of the student body by failing the bill.

First, and foremost, GSS did not consider the RideShare bill a responsible use of SAF. GSS was concerned using fees paid by both undergraduate and graduate students to pay for institutional structural improvements that should be funded elsewhere would set a problematic precedent. The bill’s proponents could not answer what alternative fundraising efforts undertaken before seeking SAF funding. Despite proponents’ emotional appeals, there was a troubling lack of evidence the bill would actually improve Tech’s student community.

One of SGA’s core responsibilities is to properly vet and assess each bill it receives. GSS was eager to learn about the proposal, determine whether its intended goals were reachable, and help facilitate a responsible use of SAF. Yet, nearly all details of the bill were hidden behind a non-disclosure agreement, rendering GSS unable to fulfill its core obligation to Tech students. Except for initial involvement in creating a boundary map last September, Graduate SGA was never consulted in the planning of this program. Bill proponents claimed most of the proposal was composed less than a week before the bill was introduced, but that it must also be passed immediately. It’s unfortunate the Technique chose to accuse senators of “playing politics,” rather than acknowledge GSS was not adequately included in drafting a proposal with major implications for graduate students — who represent 47 percent of the student body. It is irresponsible for SGA to approve a funding request without due diligence and whose details are obscured behind so thick a veil of secrecy.

Neither GSS nor UHR were given an assessment of how Stingerette could be improved before substituting a free service for a questionable, for-profit rideshare partnership. No details were provided on alternatives considered or why rideshare is the sole or best option. Perhaps, this $100,000 might be sufficient to improve Stingerette, or pay drivers to revive the defunct GOTCHA-ride? Beyond this, siphoning students off of Stingerette could give the administration justification for abandoning or giving up on improving Stingerette. Without sufficient transparency or a review of the potential consequences of adopting a new program, GSS was not comfortable subsidizing a for-profit company we have little control over to expand its Atlanta market share.

While the issue of student safety was brought forth as one reason to support the pilot, there is no data-driven reason to believe a rideshare partnership would improve the safety, security, or comfort of Tech students. This is especially true as one’s rider experience is significantly shaped by gender, race, and perceived sexuality. Although the Technique argued a rideshare partnership could give students “an alternative to waiting outside,” students can already call a rideshare service if they wish. No data was provided on how many Tech students currently avoid using Uber or Lyft late night because of the cost, raising the question of how impactful the pilot would be.

Although the Technique argued the “Stingerette also has the authority to kick students out of vans for whatever reason drivers deem appropriate,” they failed to recognize rideshare drivers can also kick out, investigate, or ban riders who engage in offensive or inappropriate behavior. Stingerette drivers report riders to OSI when they are in violation of the student code of conduct, which all students ought to follow. Beyond this, the bill raised data security questions, such as “who would own data collected on students?” and “does the proposed rideshare company already have data they could provide at no or a lower cost to assess the impact of a rideshare program?”

On the argument for the pilot as a data collection mechanism, it was constructed in a way that forced excessive bias into the data, such as limiting the program to three rides per student. If the purpose of the pilot is to collect reliable and valid data for institutional groups, it must be constructed in scientifically rigorous manner, and paid for by the institute. It is wrong to use SAF to pay to collect data for the Institute. If the pilot was meant to assess if rideshare reduces Clery Act offenses, then it’d be foolish to cap the number of rides per student.

It’s a shame the Technique neither reported accurate details of the proposed bill, GSS deliberations, or reached out to any GSS members before making assumptions about “a number of student legislators.” It is presumptuous for a publication with an entirely undergraduate staff, which neither regularly attends GSS nor covers graduate issues, to claim to know graduate needs better than elected graduate senators. SGA is a representative democracy, and GSS embodies the voice of Tech’s 13,798 graduate students. Through individual and community outreach with the graduate student body, GSS found constituents overwhelmingly and definitively negative about this bill.

At first trailer watch, everything about “Baby Driver” is exciting. A young getaway driver and music enthusiast wants to escape his life of crime with the woman he loves, but eluding the untiring clutches of a world of crime proves to be quite a difficult endeavor, especially when your boss is a heartless crime kingpin employing equally heartless and trigger-happy criminals.

That’s only the plot. The real excitement that “Baby Driver” conjures is thanks entirely to the eccentric and over-the-top nature of the film’s director, writer and executive producer Edgar Wright. If that name does not look particularly familiar, he is a relatively young British director whose most notable work to date is a quirky comedy film trilogy named after a type of ice cream.

However, if you are a fan of the type of cinema that brands itself as eccentric, quirky and exaggerated, then Wright’s name should look familiar : he is the mastermind director behind 2010’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and the executive producer of 2015’s “Ant Man” (he would have received a director’s credit for the Marvel film, but citing creative differences, he left before filming began).

So what makes Wright’s latest film the cinematic equivalent of jumping off a cliff after shotgunning a Redbull? To begin, the film’s cast is absolutely stacked, and each actor delivers. Jamie Foxx (“Django Unchained”), Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”) and Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”) each have central roles in the film as Baby’s adversaries. Behind the hardened criminal exterior of each character lies a different type of latent insanity, each type cracking through as the movie barrels on. Within the film’s first 10 minutes is the car chase sequence of the year, allowing the film to put its right foot forward – or, more accurately, on the gas – as Baby shows why he is the best at what he does.

“Baby Driver” shines even in scenes where Ansel Elgort (“The Fault In Our Stars”) is not behind the wheel, as the film is still a pleasantly exciting stimulus to both eyes and ears. Baby is a walking manifestation of FL Studio, sampling snippets of short conversations and making beats with them using vintage recording equipment in his spare time.

Thanks to his ever-present iPods (multiple, for different moods and different days) to drown out the sound of his tinnitus, he skips and struts through the streets of Atlanta confidently. His movements are perfectly in sync with the impressively diverse soundtrack in the background of the movie.

These scenes, interwoven between the sharp wit of the dialogue and the adrenaline rush of the actions sequences, are the perfect visual and auditory confections to hold the movie together and give the movie its own unique flair. Impressively enough, the reason these scenes are so enjoyable is Ryan Heffington, the Grammy-nominated choreographer behind Sia’s music video for “Chandelier.” He was in charge of all the choreography for the film, and he too delivered in a truly stand-out way.

Should Wright continue to keep making movies using his trademark style and distributing them to an American audience, he will soon become one of those well-known, well-respected directors whose projects are identifiable from the first 5 minutes, similarly to how cinema aficionados everywhere have come to associate obsessively symmetrical scenes with Wes Anderson and 90 minute R-rated mixtures of improv comedy and cliché romance with Judd Apatow.

Between “Scott Pilgrim” and “Baby Driver,” Wright’s story niche seems to be an introspective hero with a heavy penchant for making music finding an assuming girl with whom he wants to spend forever with, but first he is forced to fight his way through villain after villain to earn the right to his carefree dream.

The actions sequences and gun standoffs could almost be described as cartoonish, and the final action scenes are comparable to a classic final boss battle. Ultimately, the meticulous construction of each spectacle provides a sensory overload coupled with an enjoyable, triumphant story.

Outside of the movie itself, a great deal of attention was also given to the film’s soundtrack. With 30 songs, the soundtrack is as long as the movie itself and veers in every possible stylistic direction. Paying homage to the hip-hop roots of Atlanta, the film was promoted with the soundtrack’s main single “Chase Me.” This psychedelic hip-hop track is by Danger Mouse, Run the Jewels and Big Boi – all veteran hip-hop acts who have at one point or another called Atlanta home.

Beyond this acoustic nod, the movie was both filmed in and takes place in downtown Atlanta, a refreshing change from Atlanta’s burgeoning film industry posing the city as California or New York. Using both film and music, Wright’s dedication to accurately reflecting the look, sound and even culture of Atlanta is another reason that “Baby Driver” succeeds.

It might seem like high praise, but “Baby Driver” is more than a movie. The comprehensive experience engages the whole mind and even allows one to relive the excitement after the credits have finished rolling. All things considered, it really is the perfect summertime blockbuster.

“Moonshine Freeze,” the fourth album from the British folk band This is the Kit, is one of those rare albums that defies categorization. Kate Stables, the band’s leader and sole songwriter, draws elements from nearly every genre, from ‘60s folk to ‘70s blues rock to ‘80s and ‘90s alternative.

The result of this kind of cut-and-paste songwriting, when applied song by song, typically produces an album that feels more like a disconnected series of covers. Such songwriting requires little creativity and a complete lack of direction, and its product is almost always less than the sum of its parts.

It takes brilliance, however, to fuse an array of genres into an album. Executed properly by Kate Stables, this songwriting style generates a beauty unlike that attainable by songwriters whose concern for the status quo exceeds their hunger for originality.

Dynamism is nothing new for This is the Kit. Aside from Stables, the group constantly rotates through different musicians, having no other permanent members. Still, never before has this group embraced so much at once.

The band’s previous three albums, while unique, are essentially folk albums. They all possess slight qualities that set them apart from the rest of the modern folk scene, but none of them would be shocking in a playlist with The Lumineers or Fleet Foxes.

“Moonshine Freeze,” however, is something entirely different. Not every song on the album is a radical break from the past, but the pivotal tracks are all completely different from anything the listener may have experienced before.

The first song lulls the listener into a sense of comfort and familiarity, delivering the type of slow, sleepy folk tune he is used to hearing from This is the Kit. With the arrival of the second track, however, those looking for more of the same will be disappointed to learn that Stables has no interest in rerecording her previous work.

This second song, “Hotter Colder,” is a startling juxtaposition of a ‘90s alternative music melody with a jazzy, ‘70s rock style drum beat that both demands the listener’s attention and leaves them hungering for more.

This quality makes it the ideal prelude to the album’s titular track. “Moonshine Freeze” is folk, alternative, synth-pop, blues rock and jazz all rolled up into one song. It incorporates synthesizers and horns to create a sound unlike anything This is the Kit – or anyone, for that matter – has produced before.

As the lead single, “Moonshine Freeze” serves as the beating heart for the work as a whole; it drives the album, providing plenty of energy for the ten other songs. One cannot help but feel that this song was written in advance, and the rest of the album was built around it.

While the album does contain some songs that are simple indie-folk tunes reminiscent of This is the Kit’s older work, the many songs that defy this simple pigeonholing stand out and give the album its lasting flavor.

“All Written Out in Numbers” combines what feels like a country, Johnny Cash-style melody with folk vocals and a complexity of arrangement and layering that is not characteristic of either genre. Similarly, “Empty No Teeth” juxtaposes folk style lyrics and vocals and a country style arrangement, which includes a fantastic banjo riff, with a driving rock and roll tempo and jazzy percussion.

This challenging but beautiful set of unique songs gives this album its ultimate character, and the work places itself firmly in the rare and great company of albums defined by their originality. While plenty of albums represent the perfection of their respective genres, few represent the introduction of a new one.

“Moonshine Freeze” demonstrates that Kate Stables concerns herself not with questions of what This is the Kit is but rather with the question of what she is able to do.

This time last year Mike Bobinski was still Athletic Director (AD) at Tech. In October, the Jackets welcomed Todd Stansbury as the 9th AD in program history. With his career full of athletic successes, there’s no doubt that he will do everything he sets out to do for Tech athletics. In fact, with almost a full year under his belt, Stansbury has already begun making his dreams for Tech athletics into realities.

A Jacket himself, Stansbury’s familiarity with Tech values and traditions has given fans and athletes peace of mind that Tech’s athletic program is in the right hands. He competed on the field at as a linebacker and in the classroom on campus.

Priorities number one and two of Stansbury’s four strategic priorities reflect a desire to breathe life and bring community back to Tech athletics. Priority number one is to define the Tech athletics brand; number two is to establish an internal culture.

Stansbury’s dedication to his priorities for Tech is reflected in his eagerness to make changes early in his time as athletic director. An Office of Brand and Office of Innovation have already been put in place.

Stansbury’s second point of his priorities originates from his first job in the Tech athletic department. His first experience came just a couple years after graduating from Tech. Dr. Homer Rice, AD at the time, invited Stansbury onto the staff as Assistant AD of Academics.

This experience has been reflected in Stansbury’s new time on the flats in his mentor’s old position. Under Stansbury there have been more resources put into the Total Person Program (TPP). The TPP, founded by Rice, is based on his belief that “excellence is a result of a balanced life that encompasses academic excellence, athletic achievement, and personal well-being.”

This reestablishes the internal culture that Stansbury experience as an athlete and as an Assistant AD and makes Tech more attractive to both recruits and their parents. With Tech considering what athletes will be doing five to ten years after graduation, athletes and their families can rest assured that they will be given the resources needed to succeed during their time at Tech and in the years after graduation.

Looking forward, there are a few big tests coming up for Stansbury. The new apparel deal will most likely be announced sometime later this year. As seen with the current deal, the apparel company that Tech decides on will have more impact on simply what Tech athletes wear on the field or court. If anyone is prepared for this, however, it is Stansbury. With his primary goal being defining the Tech athletics brand, this deal will help him shape his vision for Tech athletics for years to come.

Another test will be the continued changing of coaches across sports. At this time more and more coaching spots are filling with young, energized coaches that look to guide Tech long into the future. Older coaches like Danny Hall, who have seen a dip in results over the past few years, may be on the chopping block. Stansbury will face tough choices on whether to part with old members with a rich history at Tech, and an even tougher time filling the voids that they leave.

Tech athletics department is bigger than its athletes. Tech athletics is athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, fans, alumni, communication staff, managers, directors, and so much more. Stansbury understands that. He’s sees the big picture and dreams even bigger. Under Stansbury, the future of Tech athletics looks bright.

Last week, 27 startup companies, developed by Tech students, assembled in the Klaus Atrium for Product Day, an opportunity to display their innovative ideas to the public. The companies represent the Startup Launch component of Georgia Tech’s Create-X program, designed to promote entrepreneurial confidence in students.

This year, Startup Launch accepted 30 teams from the program after receiving 185 applications. After completing the application and interview process, the selected teams spend three months during the summer developing their ideas, and are provided with $20,000 in funds, legal counsel and mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs. Then, they share those ideas with the public at Product Day.

“It’s a great opportunity for the startups to show people their products – or where they’re headed – and it also acts as a good interim milestone leading up to Demo Day,” Create-X director Raghupathy Sivakumar explained. This year, the event enabled startup teams to showcase their products to over 400 curious visitors.

The products span many fields of interest: for example, Mandala Soundworks developed a product that records a guitar jam session and automatically generates the tablature; ShoutHealth is a platform designed to redirect non-acute patients from emergency rooms to community clinics; and iSimuVR is the first virtual reality arcade in the state of Georgia. These are just a few of the startups represented at Product Day, and many are already making a difference in the community.

One such example is StemPower, a program designed to encourage young girls to remain interested in STEM fields. “Once girls reach middle and high school, their interest in STEM drops tremendously. Our program is for fourth and fifth grade girls – right before they get into middle school,” said Kenzy Mina, third-year BME and cofounder of StemPower.

The company has been partnering with the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta for the past three semesters to encourage girls to pursue STEM fields; they are mentored by female Georgia Tech students and participate in activities, such as building their own circuits. So far, StemPower has impacted over 150 girls.

Specware is another startup hoping to make a positive impact. Their team created a watch that uses infrared lights to calculate an individual’s BAC. Cofounder and fourth-year EE Alexander Saad- Falcon explained how his team was encouraged by a study with GTPD that compared a Breathalyzer to their device: “We were finding a correlation of about 80- 90 percent. Using that, we applied to Create-X, went in for the interview, told them about the study, and pretty much immediately, we saw they were interested, because they saw we had something viable.”

In addition to infrared light technology, Specware watches are also equipped for pulse oximetry, and the team hopes to further enhance their product in the future.

“We’re also thinking about calculating things like blood glucose – something that will be useful for people who are diabetic,” Saad-Falcon said.

Many of the startups are constantly considering the future of their companies and adapting to the demands of the market. Tanya Sharma, a second-year CS major, believes in the importance of flexibility when developing an idea.

“Pivoting is always very important. You might have this one idea, but sometimes the customers don’t really care about a certain product. The most important thing about a successful startup is being able to change your mind,” said Sharma, cofounder of styling app LifeStyle.

Startup Launch teams receive professional feedback and advice as they try to improve their products; in addition to mentorship, teams are provided with legal counsel that is vital to navigating the business world. Pranov Duggasani, third-year CS and cofounder of subscription box platform Boxfynder, explained: “A lot of legal issues we face are just general company-type issues. What type of company should we become? How do we pay our taxes? Stuff that as students, we wouldn’t think to ask.”

In addition to helping teams learn about the legal aspects of a company, Startup Launch also provides assurance to students with new ideas. “The legal resources and the funds have been really helpful in giving us that leg up and the confidence to know that some entity other than yourself is rooting for you,” Duggasani said.

While Product Day is an opportunity for startups to showcase their progress, it is also important to note that each company began simply as an idea. Director Sivakumar encourages those interested in Startup Launch to be willing to share their ideas, even if they are not yet fully formed.

“A lot of the time, students think, ‘I have an idea, but I’ve not made much progress in terms of building the product, and so I’m not going to apply,’ and we don’t want students to think like that, because there is ample opportunity within the program to develop their idea and to build prototypes based on their idea. As long as they have an idea and they are a Georgia Tech student, they should consider applying,” Sivakumar said.

Startup Launch teams will continue to develop their products and pitch them at Demo Day on August 30th at the Fox Theatre. For more information about Create-X and its programs, visit www.create-x.gatech.

Sometimes when I’m feeling lazy or if it’s 90 degrees with 65% humidity out, I like to take the bus. This has usually backfired on me.

There is the occasional lucky happenstance when I arrive at the bus stop only moments before the bus pulls up. These few moments are surrounded by times where I pull out my phone and open the NextBus app to see one of two scenarios. Either the bus I wanted to catch has just passed or the app is showing no buses at all. I’m left to walk or wait the 20+ minutes until the next bus shows up (maybe).

I believe there are a handful of culprits here. First, there’s the problem of limited buses in the summer, which is understandable as there are less students and less traffic overall. But the temperatures are also hotter, and almost every day there’s a pop-up thunderstorm that often make walking to class inconvenient. Perhaps Tech could run smaller buses more frequently. Smaller buses better cater to the summer campus population while still offering a reprieve from the weather.

Or perhaps the problem is coming up with a bus app that works consistently — consistently being the key word here. Buses that mysteriously disappear and reappear. The dreaded “No Predictions” marker during normal operating hours. Buses bunching up and showing up at the same stop right after a previous bus. The problems not caused by fewer buses running seem to stem from the NextBus app itself.

Without proper transportation, many people have to walk from campus to the MARTA station as part of his or her daily commute. In scorching temperatures during the Atlanta summer, this is not only inconvenient, but dangerous. A working bus app would at least allow students and faculty to plan to stay in an air conditioned building until the bus is about to arrive.

It seems like an easy problem. Stick a GPS in each bus and update the signal while taking into account the average daily traffic patterns. A Georgia Tech student could build a better bus app. But even during the regular term when the bus app regularly shows buses and predictions, the estimated arrival times are always off.

This particular problem seems to plague MARTA as well, with incorrect wait times and predictions on Marta’s signs. Perhaps Atlanta is destined to be a city made for Uber and see public transport as an effective means of transportation fade into the past (assuming we’re not at that point already).

It’s also possible that the foundation of public transportation at Tech specifically is cracked. Since I was a freshman, the Transportation Fee has increased 5% while other fees like the ones for athletics, technology and recreation have stayed the same. With both undergrads and grad students paying this mandatory fee, PTS brings in about $2,125,000 a semester. According to their website, this accounts for 76% of their transportation revenue sources. Of the total revenue, 73% goes to the contracted buses and trolley services. A quick Google search shows a new bus costs around $400,000. It would seem that PTS’ revenue warrants better service or maybe better communication with drivers to avoid bus bunching and other workable solutions.

The bottom line is that there is an issue surrounding buses — an issue that is glaringly revealed in the summer. The purpose of having buses and trolleys running is for the ease of transportation of Tech students, faculty and staff. Whether it’s NextBus or Parking & Transportation, there is a failure in Tech’s transportation system that becomes a major inconvenience for people who depend on the bus system as a part of their daily lives.

At least for the time being, it seems the best solution is to try and memorize the bus pattern yourself and become your own bus predictor. Or just walk.

When someone says, “Hey, let’s get something to eat,” most would probably not think of eating in James Bond’s living room, but this is exactly what owner Doug Hines has achieved with his mid-century contemporary restaurant twist.

Just steps away from the 10th Street MARTA station, this unsuspecting building takes you by surprise. After taking your seat, you begin to soak in all the subtle details that make this restaurant the true heart of Bond.

Along with unique period fixtures, there are appropriate fabrics and accessories that encapsulate the mood. Hines’ attention to detail is evident with the strong oak bar, complete with reel-to-reel tape machine on the back wall and a separate living room for larger parties that sports a 10-foot wooden table with tall black villain’s chairs ready for your next secret convention.

The attention to the smallest details is second to none. Even the books that are scattered about have a slight connection to the subvert spy theme of the venue, such as travel or training volumes that 007 may have stocking the shelves of his own weekend getaway. The days of boring dining are behind you when you can go to the bathroom and find yourself instead standing in a weapons room with a wall of (fake) guns, and pictures of the eponymous international man of mystery himself.

If all that is not enough to hold your interest, the menu surely will, because here at The Consulate, half the menu rotates periodically. This part of the menu, called Visa, is chock full of delicacies from the selected host country du jour, tailored to an international spy stopping off for a quick bite en route to their latest mission. Of course, there is also the bankable consistency of the house menu, called Resident, with delicious options for the less globally adventurous types.

Some of the past menu items include Lumpia, Yona Ribs, The Diplomat (a delicious fish dish) and Moscow Stroganoff just to name a few. While some of these dishes may seem a little off-base from your normal fast food fare, you will not be let down by any dish you pick. Along with some of the more traditional features of the menu, including a killer burger, you can also order classic Sinatra-style cocktails to take you in a time machine back to the days when bar beverages were king.

A few of their most popular drinks include the American, the Scott, the Irish and Taylor Fladgate. Restaurant diners should have no problem finding the right drink to pair perfectly with any dish you choose. Without a trip to The Consulate, I can say with confidence you will be missing out on a great opportunity to take a step into your favorite spy’s living room to enjoy a bite and unwind in relative safety — or so they would have you believe. This is your mission, should you choose to accept it.

The term “devil’s advocate” originated in the Roman-Catholic Church as one who took a skeptic’s view toward the canonization of a candidate for sainthood. Today, the word and position have lost much of the weight and meaning they once carried.

The world needs more devil’s advocates, people who will take the less-argued side as a means of understanding or raising points that haven’t been raised. This problem stems from the fact that people are surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals, creating a problem with diversity of opinion.

The benefits for anyone playing the Devil’s Advocate are twofold: strengthening your own arguments and giving insight into how those who disagree with you think. By arguing from the opposite side of the one you truly agree with, you open the opportunity to spot inaccuracies or inconsistencies that may hold your argument down.

Additionally, the clarity that you gain on your own points can also be gained on those of your opposition.

While both benefits are compelling, playing devil’s advocate is easier said than done. Arguing from the opposition’s point of view requires effort and careful practice. Too often, people will only exacerbate misunderstandings.

Usually, when people play the role improperly, they exaggerate the worst qualities they see in the argument instead of the most cogent points, resulting in more animosity towards the opposition and a bigger gap in understanding. That’s why everyone should work on becoming a devil’s advocate in various situations so that they can get feedback on whether they’re doing it effectively.

A solid example of this is one of the professors I currently have in a management class. His goal as stated at the beginning of the class is, “to make it so that you don’t know my leaning on any issue.” He plays the devil’s advocate perfectly by first acknowl edging that the views he expresses are not necessarily how he truly feels, and by properly representing the core views expressed by possible dissenters.

For example, proponents of globalization argue that the loss in low-paying jobs incurred in a country can be offset by high-paying jobs that would enter the country due to other countries having larger incomes to spend on higher quality goods. A dissenter of globalization would argue that low-paying jobs must be preserved so jobs are not leaving the country.

Overall, playing the devil’s advocate should lead to more educated and empathetic arguments over important issues. By educating yourself on both sides of an issue, you open yourself to viewpoints you may not have considered while possibly steeling convictions you already had, leading to more productive debates and a better understanding of both (or multiple) perspectives.

In recent months, the battle over the appropriate fate for the Confederate statues and monuments peppering the Southeast has become the latest incarnation of the decades-old struggle over how one of America’s darkest periods should be remembered.

A new and controversial method for dealing with this painful chapter of history has emerged in New Orleans and St. Louis, where Confederate statues have been removed from public spaces, such as city parks and government buildings.

The controversy revolves around the nature and function of these statues; do they simply preserve history, or do they honor those who fought on the wrong side of history? No one wants to erase the memory of Robert E. Lee or Jefferson Davis. It is undesirable and impractical. Those who support the destruction of these monuments believe that in honoring the individuals they portray, they honor the causes for which they stood.

This argument is difficult to refute; few would argue that the statue of Jefferson Davis in front of the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery does nothing to defend and legitimize his views and actions. Such a statue is not appropriate for such a location, as an African-American Alabama state congressman should not have to walk by a statue honoring a man who led the bloodiest war in American history to keep his ancestors in bondage.

At the same time, such a statue should not be destroyed. It holds value as a work of art and a relic of history, a reminder at the very least of a time in which such statues were considered uncontroversial.

These monuments would serve their purpose — preserving the memory of a dark period of treachery and of the era of racist defiance of the truth which followed — more effectively and less offensively in a museum.

The statues in New Orleans and St. Louis should not have been cast aside; the destruction of art is never a good thing for a society or a culture. Rather, they should have been relocated to a more appropriate location.

As a side note, statues should not be removed from a park or public building without being replaced by another statue. The removal of a historical monument robs a space of a part of its atmosphere, and the cities of New Orleans and St. Louis would be wise to replace the removed statues with new ones of civil rights leaders or other activists. Such a measure would also erase the lingering aftertaste and memory of an offensive monument.

I should note that statues should be assessed on an individual basis. Not every statue of a Confederate veteran needs to be removed. Beside Jefferson Davis’ statue in front of the Alabama state capitol is a sculpture of John Allan Wyeth, a Confederate veteran whose most significant historical contributions are in the field of medicine, not in the defense of slavery. His statue need not be removed because it does not serve to honor his contributions to the Confederacy.

Additionally, certain locations are appropriate for confederate monuments. For instance, Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery is full of monuments to fallen Confederates both individually and collectively. Because these statues are located in a Confederate grave site, they serve not to honor the Confederacy as a concept but to honor the sacrifices made by its soldiers. They are simply an embodiment of the basic human right to a dignified burial.

Finally, because the point of not destroying Confederate monuments entirely is to preserve the history that they represent, I (somewhat sarcastically, but only somewhat) propose a new solution for Atlanta’s Confederate memorials: beside each Confederate statue should be erected a monument to William Sherman. Sherman did, after all, contribute more to what the city Atlanta has become than any member of the Confederacy.

during the first day of Fall classes, the sun over Tech and the city of Atlanta will begin to dim at 1:05 p.m. EDT. Over the course of an hour and a half, as the moon swoops in from the upper right to cut between Atlanta and the sun, the sun will morph into a crescent that will grow slimmer by the minute.

The sky will darken until the eclipse reaches its climax, when, at 2:36 p.m., 97 percent of the sun’s visible area will be blocked by the moon; close to a total eclipse, but not quite. That’s because Atlanta lies outside of the path of the moon’s umbra, the part of the moon’s shadow where the sun is completely blocked.

Instead, lying in the partial shadow of the penumbra, viewers at Tech will see a partial eclipse in which the sun will dim significantly but not be completely blocked. After reaching its darkest point at 2:36 p.m., the moon will slowly swing out of the sun’s way, restoring the interrupted afternoon sunshine at 4:01 p.m.

During the time of the eclipse, from 1 to 4 p.m., Tech will hold Celebrate Eclipse 2017 events at the Campanile, including livestream of the eclipse from the Georgia Tech Observatory, astronomy-themed music and snacks, hands-on activities, and more.

While looking at the sun during the partial eclipse, one should use appropriate eyewear that meets the ISO 12312-2 standard for safe sun-gazing—normal sunglasses won’t do the job. Tech will distribute solar-eclipse glasses throughout campus at noon before the eclipse.

The solar rays that are not blocked during the partial eclipse can still cause significant thermal and photochemical damage to your retinas.

The last eclipse to pass through the entire contiguous United States did so on June 8, 1918, and therefore this eclipse, already rare, will be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Those who want to catch a total eclipse in Georgia have drive up to the northeast corner of the state by early afternoon on the day of the eclipse. The largest city in Georgia to experience the total eclipse is Clayton, Georgia, where total eclipse begins at 2:35 p.m. and ends at 2:38 p.m., lasting merely six minutes as the umbra sweeps over at a speed of nearly 1500 miles per hour.

It’s not all fun and games though: the eclipse will cause a significant strain on the U.S. electrical grid as solar panels’ output drop and rise with the passage of the moon—a problem most acute in California, whose grid is powered 10 percent by solar energy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. To compensate, gas and power plants in California will have to ramp up output by over 6,000 megawatts over the course of an hour and a half, enough to power Los Angeles, according to a Quartz article published in May.

For those not in United States at the time of the eclipse, NASA will provide a livestream of the total eclipse from locations across the country, available on their website. You can also learn more about the eclipse by visiting Tech’s College of Sciences website.