On Feb. 5, the African American Student Union and supporting sponsors provided the Georgia Tech Black History Month Lecture with Melissa V. Harris-Perry as the keynote speaker. Harris-Perry is an author, professor, speaker on African American politics and host of her own show, “Melissa Harris-Perry Weekend News.”

Harris-Perry was invited to speak in order to hold a lecture and conversation on the significant influences that African Americans have made on society in our country, and, while she spoke about these points, she commented on political, social and economic progress in terms of African American history and continued to maintain democracy in our government.

“To live in a democracy is to have the right to govern, not simply to be governed, which is simply to say that it does in fact matter what bodies can occupy the spaces of governing. These bodies matter even if as we try to pull apart the idea of substantive and descriptive representation. I’m going to make a claim that to live in a democracy is to have the right to govern not to be governed, to rule not just to be ruled, to be heard not silenced and this is the key idea,” Harris-Perry said.

The keynote speaker also commented on the struggles that African American, as well as other minorities, have experienced and have inherited in terms of equality and freedoms in our country.  For democracy, Harris-Perry explains that while some groups may succeed in government, they do not have total control and that opposing groups have the right to struggle for what they believe is right. She applies this to historical efforts toward freedom.

“Once we have the underpinning that the winners in democracy don’t get to take everything, I want to acknowledge that securing these rights in this nation has required struggle,” Harris-Perry  said. “That may be what democracy is meant to be but what it has been is a series of struggle, and that these struggles are real and that are embodied. There is a struggle for freedom in this country.”

The African American Student Union, the Office of Institute Diversity and other supporting sponsors wanted a speaker who could engage the campus in thoughts over historical and societal progress and reflect on Tech’s goal to be an advocate on diversity.

“This is a first in that we can put the stamp of the Institute upon this event and support it in the future as one of the important conversations that we continue to have about building an inclusive and excellent community at Georgia Tech,” said Archie Ervin, Vice President for Institute Diversity. “I think its fair to say at this point in the history of our society that most people acknowledge that African Americans have made significant contributions to the social economic, and political fabric of this country that we know.”

As member of the African American Student Union, Maya Carrasqullo believed that the Black History Month Lecture became a huge success with Harris-Perry as a speaker, and she believes that, as the keynote speaker, she could present ideas that emphasized the messages of Black History Month because Harris-Perry has shown unique and respected views in African American politics.

“I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would come to fruition as it has. There was a tremendous amount of support and excitement generated by this initiative and obviously for good reason,” Carrasquillo said. “With all of her accomplishments and contributions toward addressing issues in contemporary black America there is no other person better suited to have as our first campus wide Black History Month speaker.”

On Jan. 23, the Roe Stamps Turf Field was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Numerous faculty and students, such as President Peterson, SGA officers and CRC faculty, who pushed for construction of the new fields attended the event.

In comparison to the old field, the new turf field comes with numerous eco-friendly upgrades, and during the event, the draining system was a point of improvement that the President’s Cabinet commented on. Steve Swant explained how the new drainage system prevents rainwater from going into the sewer system as waste water.

“We have a storm water retention system under this. Beneath is a series of corrugated steel pipes which are collecting the rainwater from the field as well as the adjoining area, holding it, percolating it into the groundwater, and running it off in a measured fashion down through the basin where it will be collected elsewhere and used for other purposes.” said Steve Swant, Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance.

Swant commented that the retained water could be reused in a number of useful purposes on campus, which would be a common action on campus, yet a unique circumstance in the city of Atlanta.

“It’s a common practice for us now to try and build in at the minimum a storm water retention,” Swant said. “That would be a short term holding of water until you let it loose or like a cistern where we can reuse it for flushing toilets, irrigation or other such purposes”

The field includes safety improvements as well. Through continued use, the field had developed damages, and according to SGA, a new field was necessary.

“It’s a big deal of safety. The old field was getting to the point where it was no longer safe and simple repairs were not doing the job anymore,” said SGA Graduate President, Arren Washington. “Being able to bring in a synthetic turf as well as the lighting fixtures that would benefits players and patrons of the field was very important for us.”

Even though Tech, paid a big portion for turf fields, SGA contributed a large sum to help with the construction of the new field. Nick Picon, SGA Undergraduate President, felt that students deserved this recreational area and that their input was worth it.

“This field is used almost twenty four hours a day by students, so it was an important thing for us to fund and we had the money to it and were happy to see itncome to fruition,” said Picon. “We provided five hundred thousand dollars to the project over all, and that was a significant chunk. There were concerns, but we ran the numbers we figured we could do it. It was something that we wanted to support.”

While the attendees remained at the ceremony shortly due to the cold weather, many cabinet members thanked and congratulated each other, and the President Peterson commented on how the field was worth the wait despite the delays in construction.

“This is kind of a team effort to the institute. Student support that we received for the project was hugely important in allowing us to do it right and to do all of the things that we wanted to do,” said President Bud Peterson. “I know it was a bit of an inconvenience for the students to have the field down for a while. The weather did not help us much, but the inconvenience that the students experienced last semester will pay off for the students in the future, so I think that paying for it is a great thing.”

On Jan. 13, 2014, the fourth annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, a commemoration of MLK through a variety of educational and inspirational programs and community service opportunities, began with its Coming Together to Fulfill the Dream opening celebration inside the student ballroom. At the event, multiple speakers and performances were present to celebrate the dream of MLK and to address the importance of overshadowing diversity with unity.

Overall, the entire celebration involves more events for the month of January that extends from speeches, entertainment, tours and remembrance.

“The purpose of the MLK events is to commemorate the continuing dream and vision of Dr. King and help propagate the dream, which is highly applicable to our society today, across Tech and the Atlanta community,” said Co-Chair MLK Celebration Anuraag Bahl.

After the opening event, the celebration continued with a Hotel Rwanda movie premiere, which displayed the true story of a hotel manager, Paul Rusesabagina, who housed thousands of victims of the Rwanda genocide, and followed the day after with a speech from the Rwandan ambassador, Eugène-Richard Gasana, who spoke about his experiences with Rwanda, the legacy of MLK, and the significance of unity.

“King was beaten, abused and yet maintained a personal commitment to nonviolence as the most profound force for social change in the face of political oppression,” Gasana said. “Today, please hear on human dignity to call to us to take care of our brothers and sisters. It is all of our business because human lives, freedom, and justice are being threatened in this process.”

The ambassador explained and called on various means to improve the society and culture that we live in.

He then called on the audience and society to reach out to those in need and peacefully work together to overcome oppression and injustices.

“The solutions are not easy to find but we do have some principles to guide us in this conflict and troubled times.” Gasana said. “Principles to value all human life, principles of treating our brothers with compassion, and principles of showing generosity to those who oppose and oppress in hope of converting enemies into allies. One important landmark on the road to justice and equality is how we treat the poor and the vulnerable among us.”

The MLK celebration will continue this month with other events, such as the FOCUS Program for prospective minority graduate students, the National MLK Holiday Observance event for community service projects, the Sunday Supper: A Community Conversation & Meal to reflect on MLK and a Civil Rights Tour in Memphis, Tennessee.

Some events have limited spots, so students and other attendees are expected to register online for some events.

On Jan. 1, 2014, OIT-PS, which handles the service of mass printing, in collaboration with  the Student Government Association (SGA) made the decision to limit the amount of printing on the central-ps to 1,200 pages. They also expanded the existing free allocation on printing for departmental areas, such as the computer clusters. These decisions were made based on printing usage in the past and the effects of the previous printing allowances.

“The decisions were made based on data collected by OIT-PS over a two year period and in collaboration with SGA,” said SGA Director or Information Technology Kevin Guebert. “This data pointed to a small minority of students benefiting from the current policies, so recommendations were made to expand the benefits to a bigger majority of the student population. In addition, it is hoped that the limitations will encourage students to use the service for what it’s intended which is educational oriented material required for their current field of study.”

Another major factor in these decisions were the serious offences that students used the central-ps services for. Many students have tried to abuse the mass printing service for material that goes against policy.

“There were a number of abuses of the central-print service of the years and this weighed into the decision to limit central-ps,” Guebert said. “Abuses included but were not limited to printing of note paper, inappropriate books, sexually oriented material, political flyers and blank paper. With the decision to limit the resource, the hope is that this waste will be reduced or eliminated.”

Guebert also believes that further policies should be made to prevent the abuses of the printing services.

“A policy should be developed to cover attempts to print copyrighted material and cover the appropriate use of this resource,” Guebert said. “Students have been found printing copyrighted textbooks through central-ps, a major violation.”

The funding for the printing allocations will not be hindered as a result, and due to the limitations on central-ps, funds are more likely to shift over to printing in departmental areas if any money is left over.

“We expect funding to continue as it has in the past. OIT is just adjusting the service to benefit a larger number of students,” Guebert said. “What is saved at central-ps will be shifted to departmental expenses. However, should departmental expenses exceed projected amounts, there could be an adjustments in the service to address any excessive costs.”

Policies are likely to change in future years based on information and potential implications on printing in central-ps and departmental areas.

On Nov. 6, SGA hosted its annual Campus Safety Walk to address safety concerns around campus. Every year, SGA brings together staff from Facilities, GTPD and other campus organizations and divisions to discuss concerns with potential safety issues on campus.

“Campus Safety Walk is an event to help facilities and administration identify safety concerns, along with the student. The students can also have discussion with them directly, and administrators actually take serious action when the walk is done. It’s a great way to make them aware of what the students think,” said Pragya Saboo, Chair of Planning and Capital Development Committee at Tech.

During the Safety Walk, different students and staff members focused on tangible and visible threats to campus safety including malfunctioning street lights, emergency blue light phones, signs with scraped off letters and pathways or sidewalks for walking around campus.

“I think what’s really great about this is that we have all of these different departments here at once, and we can raise up different problems,” said Lucy Tucker, Executive Vice President of SGA. “It kind of falls to whoever is responsible, and then the students can discuss it as well and collaborate in terms of solving campus issues.”

The Campus Safety Walk, however, tends to focus solely on issues seen along the walk’s route, not on other campus crime concerns, such as theft of property from dorms and in campus buildings.

One common point of concern during the walk was the number of unlit streetlights around campus and the lack of streetlights in areas where students typically walk. During the event, Saboo addressed areas around the Burger Bowl.

“This part of West seems to be pretty dark and even with the Burger Bowl, it is not very well lit,” Saboo said. “At night there are a lot of students playing and typically a number of people want to cross the fields or street to go back to their dorms. It belongs to the city and I know we can’t do much about it, but I actually wondered if we could install more lights around it.”

Some walkways and sidewalks, such as those around Ferst Dr., were broken and uneven from tree roots. Discussion also touched on the “Short Cuts Cause Ruts” signs, and whether additional pathways should be constructed in those areas.

“There’s really only one way to get into the Burger Bowl, and some students actually walk onto the field from paths down the hill,” said Madhukar Mayakonda, a first-year EE major. “I just thought it would be useful to have stairs that could actually extend from the sidewalks down to the Burger Bowl.”

Vandalism on campus signs was pointed out, as well.

“The tradition of stealing the T’s is one thing, but scraping T’s and other letters off of signs is vandalism. It takes money, which could have been directed to students, to replace the letters scraped off,” said President B.P. “Bud” Peterson. “We’ve seen a lot of progress with our saving the T campaign, and with much of student support, things are getting better.”

Saboo believes that SGA’s Campus Safety walk is a great way for students to reach out to faculty and staff over safety concerns over how faculty can accommodate to what students need to have a safer experience at Tech.

“We really want students to interact differently with administrators so that they get the chance to have that discussion,” Saboo said. “It’s different because administrators usually walk during the day while students walk around twenty four seven, so it’s a good chance for students to show concerns.”

On Oct. 24, the Georgia Tech Student Foundation celebrated their endowment reaching $1,000,000.

For years, the Student Foundation has supported Tech and many different student organizations by giving grants and allocations to various organizations and projects with the intent of enhancing the campus and Tech community.

“The Georgia Tech Student Foundation is a student organization which is housed in the student alumni association. It was founded in 1986 by J. Erskine Love, who wanted to teach students the value of philanthropy, giving back and making an impact on Georgia Tech, and that goes with the student foundation’s motto of moving forward by giving back,” said Laura Giglio, Student Organizations Manager and Tech alumna.

During the commemoration event, the Student Foundation reflected on the years of investment work, and the organization thanked alumni and current undergraduate members for their efforts that made the milestone possible to reach.

“This event focused on celebrating the success of GTSF and thanking all of our current and past members for their hard work and dedication,” said Nick Keith, Chief Financial Advisor of GTSF. “Ever since the $100,000 gift to found GTSF in 1986, the investment branch of GTSF has had their eye on the seven-figure, million dollar mark. It is a very satisfying achievement to be part of an organization that has experienced so much success while giving money back to the GT community.”

While faculty advisors assist the students with multiple needs for accomplishing their goals as an organization, undergraduates alone have been able to successfully invest through the stock market and manage philanthropy at Tech. They have gone on from a strong foundation set before them to expand their efforts and successes every year.

“The students run it and get to decide where the money is invested,” Giglio said. “Everything is very student driven and I think the caliber of students that Georgia Tech has and their drive to learn how to be successful in that area is what really contributes. Our student foundation has actually gained national recognition based on how well the students do.”

While these savings were gathered over the Student Foundation’s existence, it has offered almost as much in funds and grants in the process, and the amount given back continues to grow year after year.

“GTSF helps students found new initiatives by funding ideas through the early stages of development,” Keith said. “As such, GTSF has given back over $700,000 since 1987 to fund the start-up of many student organizations in existence on campus today. We believe that the money plays a key role in the success of young initiatives because we are investing in the amazing ideas and capabilities of our students at Georgia Tech.”

Despite the years of savings that the student foundation has accumulated, the entire organization is continually reaching to add to these numbers in the years to come.

GTSF still emphasizes their goals to reach out to student groups and offer funds to novel projects and organizations.

“GTSF is here to provide funds to students who otherwise would not be able to afford founding their new idea,” Keith said. “If any student is interested in receiving funding in the spring semester, we welcome them to contact us and apply for allocations. There are also many ways to get involved with GTSF if a student is passionate in supporting our mission.”

On Oct. 21, Atlanta, and more specifically Tech’s Campus Recreation Center (CRC), was selected as one of two finalists to host the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Diving.

“From a major event standpoint, we are one two final locations for the 2016 United States Diving Olympics trials,” said Michael Edwards, Director of Campus Recreation. “After a site visit by the selection committee, we were brought down to the final two, and there will be another meeting by the selection committee on Nov. 11. David [Williams] and Sarah [Warner] were the driving force behind it. They were the people who put everything together, and they should get the credit.”

Atlanta’s success, as a potential location for the 2016 Olympic Trials, can be attributed to the collaboration among entities both at Tech and the Atlanta community. Many influences, such as businesses, sports groups and reputable individuals have given support to make Tech a venue for the Olympic Trials.

“Overall, the success was a team effort throughout. It was a team effort in terms of the Georgia Tech community and the Atlanta community as well,” said David Williams, Associate Director of Aquatics & Member Services. “We had the Atlanta Sports council, Coca Cola, AT&T and then support from former Olympians and divers.”

Edwards believes that Tech stands out from Indianapolis due to its vast support and past involvement in the Olympics, and if the selection committee favors the qualities of Atlanta as a venue, Tech’s CRC could be chosen as the place to choose the next U.S. Olympic divers.

“I think the advantage that we have is the twentieth anniversary of Atlanta’s hosting of the ‘96 Olympic Games, so I think that we have a big legacy aspect that we can reach into,” Williams said. “We can probably reach a broader audience than they can in Indianapolis due to the fact that we can reach our other venue partners from ‘96. Our partners are second to none.”

To make the CRC a venue for the Diving Olympic Trials, effort and support is needed to make the necessary preparations and meet expectations. The selection committee intends to keep the athletes, spectators and vendors in mind.

“Its got to be a venue of Olympic proportions. For any athlete, the Olympics is the pinnacle of your sport,” Edwards said. “They’ve got to select a venue that can do anything, and its not just the venue. The city, institute and staff involved have to support. Also, facilities must be able to hold up to the technical demands.”

The other finalist city is Indianapolis, while other competitors in the selection process included Minneapolis, Tuscon and Greensboro, N.C.

In its sixth year of existence, the Office of Solid Waste Management & Recycling’s (OSWMR) Game Day Recycling Program, a collective effort to make recycling convenient on home game days, surpassed its 100th ton of recycled garbage and achieved their largest collection of recyclable material in a year.

Much of the progress can be attributed to the growth of the program over the years. The recycling effort expands more and more each year.

“Every year, we have added a new element to the program. For the first year, we were small, and then we added cardboard recycling, composting, or picking up around the stadium,” said Cindy Jackson, associate director of OSWMR and founder of the Game Day Recycling Program. Every year, we’ve added something to the program to expand it.”

The recycling efforts of the program reach out to anyone attending the game, and a lot of the program’s success stems from the student volunteers who take different responsibilities during game day and encourage participants to recycle their garbage.

OSWMR staff help with distributing recycling receptacles around the stadium for collection the next day while volunteers set out to help with distributing the signature blue bags to tailgaters around the stadium for disposal of plastics, glass and aluminum.

“We depend a lot on student volunteers. We have the tailgaters who meet at the student commons and give blue bags to all of the tailgaters,” Jackson said. “The other part includes the Green Greeters that stand in front of the stadium with props to instruct visitors because we only need clean recyclable materials.”

Participation and volunteering is highly encouraged in the program in order to collect the most recyclables as possible.

Participants become eligible to be highlighted during the game as Green Tailgater of the game on the video board in Bobby Dodd stadium. OSWMR is always out paying attention to fans recycling habits looking for those fans that go above and beyond.

This is even more important given that the program barely missed the 100 ton mark at the end of last season.

“We really were so close. At the end of last season, we were just a few hundred pounds short,” said Maria Linderoth, Campus Recycling Coordinator. “We think about how we could have saved certain loads that got rejected, gotten a little more cardboard out of the stadium or collected garbage at the Greek houses. Any number of little pieces would have pushed us over.”

Many students admire Tech’s motivation to be a green campus and are surprised that such efforts are made during home game days.

“I think it’s really cool that a bunch of people keep recycling on their minds even when the game is going on,” said Samay Jhunjhunwalla, a senior year IE major. “We know that on game days people are drinking, having fun and hanging out with friend but they don’t really have the environment in mind. It’s great that there’s a group of people looking out for the environment.”

“During the first game, we are going to hit our 100 ton mark first game. It is a milestone for us, but our goal is to increase the amount of recycling and decrease the amount of waste that we have to landfill,” Jackson said. “Even though we do all of this recycling, there’s still a lot of garbage on this campus after football games that has to be land filled.”

On Sept. 26, Grant Field at Bobby Dodd Stadium will reach its 100th Anniversary, and will also host Tech’s nationally televised game with Virginia Tech as a centerpiece to the centennial celebration.

For Tech, Grant Field’s 100th Anniversary stands as a hallmark to its rich culture and history as a nationally recognized university, and the Athletic Department intends to celebrate through the Sept. 26 game, merchandise and continuous recognition throughout the football season.

“Georgia Tech embraces its tradition and history like no other school. Our students—most of whom were born after Georgia Tech’s 1990 national championship—are extremely football knowledgeable and they are quick to learn and embrace our football and athletics history,” said Dean Buchan, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations.

The main celebration on Sept. 26 will be held to commemorate Grant Field’s anniversary, and the athletic department intends to make the following game a day to remember.

“The night of the Virginia Tech game, Yellow Jacket Alley (around 5 p.m.) will be a great place to be. It will be fantastic to have our All-Americans lead our current team down YJA for a very important ACC game,” Buchan said. “All of the pre-game festivities on Callaway Plaza should have an extra buzz that night. It should be a lot of fun.”

While Tech’s entire football season will pay tribute the field’s centennial mark, Tech will also recognize Grant Field’s historical milestone through a logo and merchandise for game day visitors.

“A logo is already in place. You’ll see this logo painted on the field this season and the players will wear the logo on the backs of their helmets,” Buchan said.

Many students are impressed by the history behind Grant Field and its historical influence on Tech over the years.

“It obviously symbolizes our institution, its rich history, excellence in football and academics overall,” said Huns Kreuk, a fourth-year EE major, “As a student, I’m really proud to be here and witness cool things like this.”

Also, Tech’s history appears to inspire a number of visitors and new students who have arrived on campus.

“I think its really cool how Georgia Tech has so much history behind it,” said Camille Felix, a first-year CM major. “As a freshman, I’m looking forward to the history that people can make here at Tech.”

Due to safety concerns and financial constraints, the Student Center has been planning to replace the hardwood floors of the GT Ballroom with new carpet.

Some organizations have objected in response to the sudden proposed changes being made to one of the most widely used spaces on the campus.

“It was time to replace it, in essence,” said Dr. Kim Harrington, Directory of the Student Center, “The goal all along was hardwood to hardwood, so the decision was actually made by finances…The cost to put carpet on the floor was less than half the cost of the hardwood solution.”

Sections of the hardwood floor have been warping and receiving small ruts that could pose potential dangers for people who are using the floor. Minor repairs have been made to floors in the past, but currently, the floor needs to be replaced.

“There’s about four to five hundred events held in the Ballroom, and what we had to do was look at all of those events,” Harrington said. “There’s lectures, comedians, fashion shows, dances, ceremonies…We had to look at all of those events to meet their needs and still keep a safe environment.”

To gain support for a new hardwood floor, the GT Dance Association (GTDA) has created an online petition for the Dean of Students. In addition, many GTDA members have contributed to the discussion of the Ballroom’s future.

“The student body was never informed in due process of the construction and students would have returned in the fall semester to a ballroom filled with carpet and no hardwood floors. This issue greatly concerned us,” said Emily Keen, GTDA President. “So we decided to create an online petition to let Georgia Tech students and alumni make their voices known.”

SGA has expressed concern for the Ballroom floor as well, and with the GTDA, Nicholas Picon, SGA President, negotiated a delay of the carpet installment in order to reach better accommodations for the student body.

“SGA is planning on bringing together leaders of all the affected organizations to meet with our administrators to provide an organized opportunity for them to voice their concerns and ideas on the project,” Picon said.

One accommodation that is planned so far includes the past location of the Buzzcard Center in the Student Center which will receive hardwood floors according to Harrington who explained that the Student Center was a strong proponent of this space being made for student use.

While the GTDA and SGA are aware of the accommodations that can been provided, they wished to postpone the carpeting of the ballroom until a new solution could be found.

“The 1500 square foot offer will greatly decrease the visibility of our club and not allow any of the other student organizations previously mentioned to have their events because it is simply too small of a space. “, Keen said. “Additionally, we’ve researched mobile dance floors, and they are not easy things to install.”

Currently, the Student Center has delayed the carpeting of the Ballroom, and further discussion is planned for its future.