In 1969, the Mini 500 made its debut as a Homecoming activity.

However, this was not the first time students rode tricycles on Tech’s campus. The race actually comes from an old fraternity prank where pledges were forced to use tricycles to get around campus.

Today, the Mini 500 is seen more as a privilege, with only 51 teams (including Reck Club) allowed to participate.

This year, the event will take place on Friday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. at Peters Parking Deck.

Originally, the event had male teams complete 15 laps and female teams complete 10 laps. This has been changed so everyone now completes eight laps.

Teams of seven (four racers and three pit crew members) compete to see who can complete the laps the fastest (determined by a chip timing system).

There is also an award for the best tricycle decorated in Tech spirit (worth three points in homecoming competition).

The biggest thing with this event is to follow all of the rules. Some rules may be obvious, but many result in your team being disqualified.

No part of the originally red Radio Flyer tricycle should be visible.

There are specific modifications that are and are not allowed. One of the most important of these is that teams must replace the original tricycle wheels.

The Radio Flyer tricycles are originally rated for up to 49 pounds. According to the rules however, the replacement wheels cannot exceed the original wheel diameter by more than one inch.

It is important to make other modifications to the tricycle, specifically to the seat. The seats are very fragile and should be reinforced.

Even simply wrapping and securing a towel around the seat will help. New this year, the tricycles all have bells on the
handlebar.

The tricycles were distributed to teams on Sept. 27 with plenty of guidance on how to modify them and stay within the
regulations.

The more serious violations fall under being a danger to yourself or others. This includes alcohol and drinking. If any team member is visibly intoxicated or if a race judge sees alcohol, that team is immediately disqualified.

A trickier but equally serious subset of this rule involves smashing a tricycle during the race. Any time a team’s trike falls apart past the point of being rideable, the crowd inevitably shouts encouragement for the rider to smash the trike.

Both this rule violation along with alcohol infractions result in a two year ban of the team’s organization from the event.

Beyond following the rules, it is important that everyone have fun, spectators and participants alike.

Even though it is October, Georgia has yet to realize Fall has arrived, so make sure to bring water and stay hydrated.

Replacing your wheels and making other modifications to the trike are also key in order to prevent it from falling apart.

Past years have shown it is easier to go up hills backwards and it is best to rotate riders after each lap. Each team is required to make three wheel rotations, recorded by race judges and only allowed in the team’s pit area.

The Mini 500 is an exciting and entertaining Homecoming event and not one to miss. Be sure to join Buzz, President Peterson and his wife and the Ramblin’ Reck Club next Friday to watch (or race).

Walton Out

With Miami’s exciting win against Florida State came some disappointing news: Leading rusher Mark Walton would undergo season-ending surgery on his ankle. Prior to his injury, Walton accounted for 54 percent of the Canes’ rushing yards with 428 yards (with a whopping 7.6 yards per carry) and three rushing touchdowns. Walton’s absence in the upcoming game with the Jackets could limit the versatility of the Miami offense, but RB Travis Homer, who appears primed to receive the majority of touches in Walton’s absence, has actually outperformed Walton in terms of yards per carry this season.

If Miami opts to focus more on the passing game, the Jackets’ defense might play more Cover 3 and Cover 4 to limit the passing game. Indeed, quarterback Malik Rosier has found success in the air thus far, averaging 272.5 YPG. Regardless of the focus of Miami’s offense, Tech’s secondary will need to be on their game to limit Miami’s offensive production.

Miami’s offense is by no means ruined by the loss of Walton, but it is certainly a bad blow to a team that has had a few close calls thus far. Walton’s loss might prove decisive come Saturday.

Richt Rules

While Tech and Miami are tied in their all-time matchups at 11-11, Miami soundly beat Tech 35-21 and 38-21 in their last two matchups. Canes head coach Mark Richt, who served as UGA head coach from 2001-2015, has years of experience against the Jackets’ triple option.

While the unconventional triple option can perplex opposing defenses, Richt’s experience against it can serve as a boon to the Miami front seven. Richt also has a history of success against the Jackets with a 16-2 career record as a head coach. Although Tech has historically struggled against Richt’s squads, the Jackets have fought the odds before and come out on top, having beaten Richt as recently as 2014.

But as Tech’s early season contests have shown, even having ample time to prepare for the triple option is no guarantee of success. Tennessee, despite having an entire summer to prepare, still gave up 41 points to Tech, and Tech has averaged 36.5 points per game. Miami will have had only a week to prepare for the option, so Miami’s defense will be in for a rigorous test. Miami will need to keep the ball out of the offense’s hands to avoid the death march.

Battle for 1st

Miami and Tech both currently sit atop the ACC Coastal division with 2-0 records in conference play. This game will decide which team will take control of the ACC Coastal division. The last time the Jackets won the ACC Coastal division was 2014, when they lost to Florida State in the ACC Championship game.

There is more at stake than first place for Tech, though: Winning this game could mean becoming ranked. The Jackets currently sit just outside the AP ranked poll, at No. 26 in the AP poll and No. 27 in the Coaches poll. Beating the No. 11 ranked team can catapult the Jackets into the fringes of the CFB playoff picture.

With a win on Saturday, Tech could become ranked for the first time since Sept. 26, 2015, when Tech was ranked No. 20 in the country before losing to an unranked Duke team.

A Miami win would cement their status as the Coastal favorites — Miami’s remaining ACC schedule features only one ranked opponent in Virginia Tech, ranked No. 15, and there is little reason to doubt that a win over Georgia Tech could send them to the ACC title game. Both teams have plenty riding on this game.

Top Tier Defense

While Tech’s offense has shown to be potent through its three-game win streak, it has yet to be challenged by a formidable defense. Both Pitt and UNC rank towards the bottom of the ACC in points allowed per game; beating up on bad defenses doesn’t ensure that the Jackets can perform as they have recently against a better unit. That challenge is coming this Saturday: Miami’s defense has proven to be among the top in the conference and perhaps even the nation. The Hurricanes are allowing just 17 points per game, good for No. 17 in the country. Miami’s defense usually performs well against Tech’s triple option due to their strong defensive line.

That being said, their defense is relatively young and much of their current defensive players’ knowledge of the Tech offense comes strictly from tape, not game time — so inexperience could be an important factor going into Saturday. For players facing the triple option for the first time, the discipline necessary to foil various reads can be difficult to sustain.The Jackets need to find rhythm in the passing game to balance the ground game and meet Miami’s stout defense with an even more impressive offense.

Keys to Victory

For Tech, the key to winning will be coming out strong from the start of the game. Though it can be tough for a team to get going on the road, Tech needs to score early and stop Miami, as the Hurricanes have struggled on both sides of the ball in the first half of games so far this season. Time of possession will also be key for Tech – if Tech can eat up the clock as effectively as it did against UNC, the Jackets will limit Miami’s opportunities to score and give their defense plenty of rest. If Tech can secure an early lead to act as a cushion against any halftime adjustments Miami makes to score in the second half, they can bring home the win.

As for Miami, the key to winning is forcing turnovers. Given that their offensive production could be limited with the questions facing the Hurricanes’ ground game, forcing fumbles and interceptions will not only stop Tech from scoring, but also provide the Miami offense with favorable field position to put points on the board. As Tech has struggled to secure the ball in their games so far, the Miami defense has a chance to control the pace of the game by focusing on the ball and forcing turnovers.

On her debut album, Ethiopian-American recording artist and industry newcomer, Kelela shows the world how to make an R&B record that mixes genres. The album is light on the lyricism but never loses its rhythm and blues identity.

“Take Me Apart” arrives after years of Kelela toiling and succeeding in the underground
hip-hop and alternative R&B scene. Her first mixtape “Cut 4 Me” was released in 2013, and her first EP “Hallucinogen” was released in 2015.

In 2016, she collaborated with other industry heavyweights, who contributed significantly to her career as a burgeoning R&B star. Two critically acclaimed albums from last year, Danny Brown’s “Atrocity Exhibition” and Solange’s “A Seat at the Table,” contain features from Kelela.

Gorillaz’s first official studio album in seven years, “Humanz,” also benefits from a feature credit from the talented vocalist. Now, Kelea has succeeded in bringing all of her musical impressions and influences together to offer a
debut album that sounds like a stark redefinition of the entire genre of R&B.

At a time when rhythm and blues is being recreated in several different ways by several different artists every year, the success of “Take Me Apart” lies in the fact that Kelela carves out room for herself in this crowded space by making an album that truly sounds like no other.

While bands, like The Internet and St. Beauty, contribute to a more alternative side of R&B and SZA and Jhené Aiko contribute to a slow, entrancing side, Kelela exists elsewhere. With “Take Me Apart,” Kelela places herself on the side of R&B that is heavily influenced by electronic music, and the genre is much better for it.

Multiple songs on the album sound like they came from the same studio sessions that yielded “Submission,” Kelela’s contribution to Gorillaz’s album. The more powerful songs of the album, coupled with excellent production and layered vocal work, begin to sound like the songs of the three Haim sisters instead of a single R&B vocalist.

The album’s standouts are less standouts than they are standard cross-sections of an excellently crafted debut release. “Enough” features simple lyrics, but the explosive sounds and interplay between the hook’s lyrics and instrumentation create a song that keeps the listener on their toes.

The album’s title track, along with “LMK,” create the same feeling in the same way: concentrated lyrical phrases coupled with pleasant production ultimately make an entire album that never gets boring to the listener in the way that some R&B records do.

While songwriting credits are split between a couple of different writers per song, the album’s production mainstay is Ariel Rechtshaid. This industry veteran got his big break in 2007 after producing “Hey There Delilah” for the Plain White T’s, and he won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for producing Usher’s song “Climax” in 2013.

Rechshaid’s frequent collaborators include Vampire Weekend, Solange, Adele and HAIM — not surprising when listening to the instrumentation behind each song on “Take Me Apart.”

In 2017, one apparent trend is the endless blending of musical genres. When successful, these unexpected unions are surprising and satisfying. With “Take Me Apart,” Kelela put her immense talent and refined ear for genre-mixing on display, resulting in an R&B album that merits being played again and again.

Although few tend to see it, there is beauty in mundanity. People are so predisposed to find the flaws in their realities and, more so, in the realities of others. They judge and grumble and criticize because they “deserve” better or because it simply feels good to be better than someone else.

In his newest feature, “The Florida Project,” director Sean Baker attempts to counter this trend. Set in a gaudily painted purple motel outside of Disney World, called “The Magic Kingdom,” the film follows six-year old Moonee, played by Brooklynn Prince in her debut role, as she finds adventure in all corners of her roadside wonderland.

To most viewers, there would be absolutely nothing magical about the decrepit Magic Kingdom motel, and Baker acknowledges this fact by introducing various tourists throughout the movie who revile the thought of staying at the purple motel.

Still, to Moonee and her brash 20-something mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite), the motel is home. Behind Baker’s lush, vibrant camera, viewers have no reason to doubt them. The film follows Moonee and her gaggle of errant children from around the motel as they wander the strip malls on the outskirts of Disney World in search of adventure.

In the midst of Moonee’s summertime reverie, viewers see the darker undercurrents of the poverty as Baker examines Halley through Moonee’s eyes. Viewers accompany Moonee and Halley through more sordid “adventures” as Halley loudly and rambunctiously panhandles and scams her way to making rent each week.

While Moonee has a blast, the audience is always vaguely aware of the difficulties that the free-spirited Halley must overcome to provide for her child on a daily basis. The movie seeks the audience’s empathy. It neither glorifies nor condemns the circumstances in which Moonee grows up but simply presents them as is.

The entire narrative is quite naturalistic and infectiously fun, despite the context. Without a soundtrack, the film’s scenes are punctuated only by children’s giggles as Moonee and her friends race to spit on neighbors’ cars, share an ice cream or even turn off the motel’s power out of curiosity.

Brooklynn Prince is magnificent as Moonee, making every precocious line of dialogue ooze charm and innocence, even when she is yelling curses at shop owners at the top her lungs. Willem Dafoe (“Platoon”) also appears as Bobby, the kindly but firm manager of the motel.

Despite all of Moonee’s misadventures and Halley’s often illicit and inflammatory activities, he never fails to insist that the duo are good people deep down. As a stable and sincere character to contrast Moonee and Halley, Bobby helps stave off viewers’ instinct to dismiss Halley and Moonee as unprincipled, uncouth members of America’s poor. His character fills in Moonee’s world as a constant caretaker and defender against the ills in the world beyond Moonee’s stretch of highway.

Baker shoots his film so that one cannot help but fall in love with Moonee’s budget paradise. Baker’s long, panoramic shots add a sense of grandeur and scale to chain restaurants and strip mall outlets as the kids amble along the bottom of the frame.

Amidst the mundanity, anxiety and uncertainty of her and her mother’s life, Moonee finds wonder. Many of the scenes in the film are repeated throughout to add to this sense of magic in routine, as viewers see Moonee find new ways to experience and enjoy every nook and cranny in her off-brand world.

Ultimately, “The Florida Project” is a human movie about human resilience, wonder, kindness and imagination. The film focuses on how people cope and how people always find a way. By the end of the film, as Halley’s misdeeds threaten to shatter the image of paradise that Moonee has found for herself, Baker courts the notion that Moonee’s illusory world is not enough to cope. However, that is all people have sometimes.

Moviegoers will be buoyed by the sheer force of life that this film imparts. The film reminds viewers that, despite the special place Disney World has in the hearts of many, people like Moonee are out there making their own way.

Joining “RoboCop,” “Lethal Weapon,” “The A-Team” and plenty of other shows, “MacGyver” resurfaced after its debut in the ‘80s in the form of a modernized reboot.

This classic TV show, about a government agent doing generic spy-like things while hacking together spare junk to save the world, aged surprisingly well. CBS began airing the show’s second season on Friday, Sept. 29.

Despite having a similar premise and episode structure, the reboot has made a rather large number of changes. The maintained episode structure begins with the most intense moment of a mission then proceeds to elaborate on a subsequent, far less interesting mission for the rest of the episode.

One of the most notable changes is that Angus MacGyver (Lucas Till, “X-Men: First Class”) now works with a regular team for each of his missions instead of having the occasional partner. This team is comprised of four people (and occasionally their boss) who each disregard reality in their own unique manner.

The costume designer can be excused due to the nature of the show. One can hardly blame television or movies for following the trend of treating technology in general and cracking in particular like black magic, but Jack Dalton (George Eads, “Young Justice”) has no such excuse.

Eads’s character seems to have been hit a few too many times between season one and two, and MacGyver’s trusted friend now serves as little more than a vehicle for further explanation. Jack’s contributions during missions are limited mostly to “Punch it” and “Punch it again.”

If it were not for season one and Eads’s other works, one would be left wondering if this were the fault of the script or the actor. The second episode of this season allows for a little more range, but the episode still boils down to violence without thought.

By far, the best resistance to logic comes from MacGyver himself, whose frequent voice-overs explain how he turns scraps into fully functional plot devices and other necessary gadgets. With the right mindset, it can even be quite humorous to watch MacGyver’s joyous — yet usually entirely unnecessary — dismantling of smartphones.

This phone obsession is back in full force for season two. In the first episode, MacGyver finds it necessary to take the cover off of a phone in order to hide it and its camera in a cloth ball, which would have worked just as well with an intact phone.

Once viewers get used to ignoring the voices in their heads that scream about the lunacy of it all, the show is borderline decent. The first season’s overarching plot, centered on Nikki Carpenter (Tracy Spiridakos, “Revolution”) and Patricia Thornton (Sandrine Holt, “Mr. Robot”), was interesting while it lasted but ended long before the season did.

The show could now benefit greatly from some main plot to tie together the extraordinarily modular episodes. At this point, the episodes could probably be reordered without too much
inconsistency.

With the assassin escaping at the end of the first season, one would logically assume that the second season’s overarching plot would be focused on Murdoc (David Dastmalchian, “Ant-Man”), a madman particularly interested in MacGyver’s tendency to defy defeat against all odds.

Instead, the first episode briefly explores MacGyver’s missing father before proceeding as though an assassin were not on the loose. Based on a henchman’s ill-advised one-liner, the missing father and escaped assassin could be related. However, this connection may simply be speculation due to the show’s lack of narrative coherence.

The second season is currently scheduled for 22 episodes, and amusingly the show displays no signs of remorse for its artistic views of the laws of physics and common sense.

Ever since I can remember, I have had anxiety. After it started affecting my daily life, I began therapy.

It was no miracle cure, but having an outlet, having an objective listener, a listener who provided me with strategies to cope with my angst, provided room for me to deal with my anxiety in a healthy manner.

After arriving at Georgia Tech, I thought I had a handle on my anxiety. I was wrong.

For a semester I was miserable — overthinking everything, stressing about things from friends to finals, but this was not normal stress. It kept me from smiling; it kept me from studying.

I knew then that I had to seek help again, so I went to the Georgia Tech Counseling Center.

Upon visiting, I had my initial consultation with a therapist, informing her that I wanted to have individual therapy because I knew it worked for me. I came back a week later to find a list of five off-campus therapists, and I told her that I did not have a car, so it would be nearly impossible to see a therapist off campus. She replied to me with nothing — no reassurance whatsoever.

I left the counseling center feeling defeated. Thinking I had no other choice but to deal with my anxiety on my own, that is what I did for another year, and I was miserable.

Returning a year later, they persuaded me to try group therapy before I could have individual counseling. I reluctantly agreed, knowing that this was my only option. I stuck with group counseling for a semester and agreed to go back the following Fall, so I informed the head counselor. He assured me he would contact me when the semester started up again, but two months later, I have received no contact, which is a story for another time.

In the time that I was enrolled in group therapy, fueled by my anger, I took matters into my own hands to try and fix the issues that the counseling center had:  the main one being that students were allowed only sixteen individual counseling sessions per calendar year, which means that students would not even be able to attend therapy twice a month.

I emailed to meet with President Bud Peterson, and I received an email back saying that he was too busy.

Something as important as mental health is something that the president should want to hear about. His secretary replied with the same answer, so I met with the Dean of Students, John Stein, who oversees the counseling
center.

Armed with confidence and a presentation in hand, I was hopeful that upon speaking to a staff member with power, that some positive change would be delivered soon, but instead, after my suggestion of the reallocation of monetary funds to benefit the counseling center and trying to hire licensed volunteer therapists, he informed me that the school had recently hired more counselors, but obviously this was not enough, right? He informed me that there was not enough space. He informed me that the sixteen sessions were put in place because new patients could not be seen otherwise. He informed me that this would all be risky because of the liability that came with it.

Liability comes with anything worthwhile, though.

I left feeling defeated, but I went to speak with the head of the counseling center, telling him of my poor experience at the counseling center.

Bottom line: nothing improved. In fact, now, instead of even receiving sixteen individual counseling sessions (which they try to discourage) per year, students can receive only sixteen sessions for their entire time at the Institute.

Two years ago, I optimistically visited the counseling center to get help. Twenty-three months ago, I left the counseling center feeling discouraged. Ten months ago, I tried to speak with Mr. Bud Peterson about the poor mental health resources at Tech and ways to improve it. Nine months ago, Mr. Stein said nothing to reassure me after I met with him. A few weeks ago, a student on campus was shot, which quite possibly could have been hindered if they had received help for their mental health issues.

Is a death on campus what it takes to bring about change? Why does change have to happen after it’s too late?

If we had had better mental health programs, maybe the recent death on campus could have been prevented.

The Institute needs to start spending money on things that matter. Let’s start spending money to better Georgia Tech’s counseling services.

Correction: Scout Schultz was incorrectly referred to using ‘he/him’ pronouns in the original letter. Schultz used ‘they/them’ pronouns.

More than two years ago, I came to Tech as an undergraduate freshman. I am an international student, and this would be the first time that I would be spend an extended amount of time in a country other than my own.

Having previously travelled around Europe, I had certain ideas about the culture of the “West.” It was safe, predictable and liberal, in stark opposition to the conservatively Muslim culture of my native Pakistan, a state in perpetual political turmoil.

It goes without saying that in my time here I have realized that things are more nuanced than that. The United States is a country deeply divided and the truth is there was never a time when it was not like this.

Perhaps most revealing is what happened during the last presidential election: Trump won.

The day after the election, many of us, including myself, who live inside liberal echo chambers, tried to work out how we had gotten to this point. Everything I had ever seen in my Facebook newsfeed had been anti-Trump, so how could we find ourselves here? What happened? Hillary Clinton even wrote a book about it.

Nearly a year after his election, an unlikely target of confusion and grief has emerged from the ashes: Facebook.

Since the days following the elections, Facebook has been blamed as the conveyor of fake news. With the ongoing investigation into the Russian government’s efforts to influence the election, special counsel Robert Mueller asked for details on Russian ad purchases on the website. Since then, Zuckerberg has vowed to hire 1000 more ad reviewers for the website. But there’s little that Facebook can do to combat false news articles that are read and shared by ordinary Americans. Regardless of where those news stories originate, it is the kind of content users wish to see.

Our feeds are designed to be echo chambers. It relies on our responses and “likes” to show us the kind of content we want to see. This does not bode well in terms of access to information and unbiased reporting, but we need to see Facebook for what it is: a social media platform and, in a way, a reflection of the bigger world. It thrives on user-generated content. Whether it’s on our phone or offline, we look for information that reaffirms what we want to believe is true. And in either case, we know that not everything we see and hear is true.

But the facts do not matter anymore. If you want proof of that, just take a look at Washington, D.C.’s offerings of “alternative facts.” Facebook had nothing to do with it.

There is talk of the social media giant verifying the news stories that are shared, and
removing those that are false. As it officially stands, Facebook does not allow advertisers to run ads that link to stories that have been marked false by third-party fact-checking organisations.

However, giving moderators too much power over content that is uploaded onto the platform raises further questions about censorship and free speech.

The social media giant has published an article titled “Tips to Spot False News,” including
advice like checking dates, watching for unusual formatting and using multiple news sources to verify stories. There is little, however, that they can do beyond advising caution.

Trump was voted in by ordinary Americans. Social media gives everyone a very loud voice, which is something that American politics has not had significant trouble with in the past.

By doing so, it deepens a divide that has existed in American society since its inception. An algorithm is not to blame for it.

Pushing social media platforms to police content shared by users for accuracy would not address the root of the problem: people will believe what they want to believe.

Inevitably, right after we release admission decisions, I’ll be walking around campus or in a meeting and someone will say, “I would not want your job.”

This is normally because they’ve just heard from someone in their neighborhood who is upset about not being admitted and they begin to imagine that type of vitriol and anger at ten or 100 fold. And, like all of us, there are times (usually after someone confronts me at the gym or my kids’ school) where I’ve got that momentary thought that a trade sounds pretty good.

But then I realize they do not see what I see. They see the people and hear the stories of the students and families who were not admitted; they hear the frustration and disappointment and confusion. I want you to know that I see you.

Most of you enter Tech basically knowing me as “the email guy” or perhaps vaguely from your admission letter or a talk at your high school or open house program. Maybe while on campus you’ve seen my name or picture on a Daily Digest feed.

But remember some of those agonizing days and nights in high school when you were working on your admission essays and crafting your short answer responses or figuring out if you should list French Club or Beta Club first on your application? Yeah, I read those.

Each year our staff reads every single one of the applications we receive. As an admitted student your application was read at least two or three times. And it’s not at all uncommon for four or even five people to review it. I want you to know that I know you.

In the media and on websites and in most communities, the story quickly becomes “average” GPAs or median SAT/ACT scores or some other quick metric like the number of AP/IB courses a student has taken. On powerpoint slides and graphics we create “class profiles” that categorize into major or college or geography or ethnicity or gender.

But the truth is that when we are deliberating over which students to offer admission to, our discussions surround the ways you have impacted those around you in high school — your family, your friends, your teammates, your fellow co-workers or club members or researchers.

We are not focused on comma splices or italics in your essays, but instead view your writing as a series of promises and commitments of what you will do when you arrive on campus.

Our process is not perfect. I’ll be the first to attest that each year there are literally thousands of great students we do not offer admission to that would “do well here.” But our decision to admit you was not a mistake. We did not miscode your application. You were chosen. You were invited. I want you to know that I believe in you.

And that leads me to today. After fourteen years at Tech, this is my first open letter to The Technique. It comes after the most painful and dark few weeks of my professional career. Our community is wounded. Our community is grieving. Our community. The community that you have been invited into because of who you are as an individual, but even more importantly who you are in your ability to impact, empathize, listen, heal, and encourage others. I want you to know that I trust you.     

I see the year ahead being a challenging one for all of us. Not for many of the reasons that have been written about and discussed to this point, but because by and large you all work quickly. You are by nature fast, driven, type A. You are grinders and workers. You will cram and make deadlines. You will sacrifice sleep to achieve. But I have found that Progress and Service are slow; community is longitudinal; trust is built over time.

We are not going to solve these problems over night or even over a series of nights. There is no formula to memorize or theory to apply. The year ahead will demand us slowing down. It will require a commitment to community; grace in grief; patience amidst passion; and above all else love. I want you to know I love you.

In a sloppy showing, Tech football managed to overcome shoddy ball-handling and trounced Pitt 35-17 on Saturday. Opening ACC play, the Jackets were favored going into this matchup against a reeling Pitt team, whose lone victory thus far this season came in an overtime victory against FCS Youngstown State. Giving up four turnovers to one of the worst teams in the ACC was not a good look for the Jackets at all, particularly for a team whose option offense prizes ball-handling. That is just one of a number of takeaways after the game.

Defense, Defense, Defense

Tech’s defense finally showed up on Saturday, limiting the Panthers to only 17 points and preventing the Panthers from scoring on any fumbles. Given how important time of possession is to the triple option, it was helpful for the Jackets defense to get stops and keep the ball away from Pitt. Pitt averaged only 1:51 minutes per drive, whereas Tech averaged almost a minute longer, 2:41.

Tech’s strong defensive showing moved the team from one of the worst teams in the nation defensively towards the middle of the pack, a sign that the defense may finally be catching up to the offense. And the cycle is beneficial: longer drives for the offense give the defense more rest and improve its performance down the line, both within games and over the course of the season.

Butterfingers

Speaking of the offense, Tech’s scoring unit was hardly operating at peak efficiency Saturday. The Jackets gave up four fumbles to Pittsburgh, with B-back KirVonte Benson responsible for two of them. Despite this, the Jackets still scored 35 points, and the defense prevented Pitt from capitalizing off of any of the fumbles. The Jackets became the first FBS team to beat another FBS opponent while giving up four or more fumbles since University of Texas at El Paso gave up five fumbles en route to a win over North Texas in 2015. That may be enough against a stuggling Panthers team, but their level of carelessness with the football is untenable.

KirVonte the King

Despite the two fumbles, Benson had a career day against Pitt, racking up 196 yards and two touchdowns against the Panthers. The 196 yards were the most by a B-back in Paul Johnson’s tenure, and the 8th most by a Tech rusher since 2000. After losing both Marcus Marshall and Dedrick Mills at the B-Back position prior to the start of the season, Benson has locked down the position and excelled, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and registering 346 rushing yards. Unlike Mills, who lacked breakaway speed, Benson has shown the ability to turn on the jets while remaining exceedingly difficult to take down.

TaQuon for Heisman?

Junior QB TaQuon Marshall has cooled off slightly since his hot opener against Tennessee, but picked himself back up against Pitt, recording 112 rushing yards on 18 attempts, and averaging a season-best 6.2 yards per carry. Marshall’s 386 rushing yards for the season rank third among QB in the nation, behind Ahmad Bradshaw (Army, 439) and Zach Abbey (Navy, 471). Marshall’s passer rating of 206.2 is also third in the country among QBs with at least 20 pass attempts.

While Marshall, who received only a single Heisman vote in the first week of the season and none since, appears very far outside of the Heisman picture, his performance has been nothing short of exemplary for Tech. He lacks the national branding of Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley, but the production speaks for itself.

In a Rush

Tech now ranks No. 6 among FBS teams in rushing yards nationally, having registered 1181 yards in three games. Of the teams ahead of them, only Navy (1182 yards) has played in only three games, as the rest — Army, Tulsa, Alabama and Arizona — have played in four games.

Around the Conference

In a stunner Saturday, NC State defeated FSU 27-21, dashing FSU’s hopes of competing with Clemson in the Atlantic division of the ACC. Clemson has a clear path to the championship game, and as the consensus best team in the ACC, it is difficult to see them stumbling en route to the Championship Game. Meanwhile, the Coastal Division looks too close to call. Pitt, UVA and UNC look out of the picture already, but Duke, VT, Miami and GT all have a chance at facing off against Clemson in the postseason.

As in many years, there is no obvious titan blocking the Jackets from success in the Coastal and a berth in the conference championship game. Whether the team can correct its mistakes and capitalize on the advantages it has staked out over the first few games remains to be seen.

News outlets in Florida are usually the primary source Tech students have regarding hurricanes.  However, on Sept. 11 and 12, Hurricane Irma passed through Georgia. Although Atlanta was relatively free of major damage, the weather prediction that Atlanta would be hit by the eye of the storm panicked both Tech students and other Atlanta residents. For many, this was the first time that a hurricane became a real issue instead of some fantastical phenomenon because it was the first time many students were directly affected.

For Steven Paul, EE ‘04, hurricanes have always been captivating. Since he was a kid, he would track hurricane movements on his computer with his family. However, he did not envision himself as a storm chaser working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) back then.

“It is just kind of luck how I ended up here [at NOAA] though,” Paul admitted.

When the Warner Robins Air Force Base recruited him, Paul was a recent graduate. He found the listing while browsing and the job description for an electrical engineering position in the Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) with NOAA piqued his interest.

“I am fairly certain that the reputation of GT as an engineering school had a big part in getting me to the short list of candidates as they made their selection,”
Paul said.

Although part of his job description is storm chaser, Paul compares his typical day to “any other office job.”

“Our main mission is research to better understand the storms,” Paul said.

This means answering questions about how and why they form, strengthen and interact with the surrounding environment in order to better predict what hurricanes may do.

Paul’s job strays from the typical office work due to what he calls his “flight days.” On those days, Paul embarks for his flight on-site to the storm.

“We preflight the instruments and get the plane ready for the mission,” Paul said. “We then fly the mission, usually about 8 hours, have an hour or so post flight to shut everything down and copy data, then go into mandatory 12-hour crew rest to be ready for the next day’s flight.”

His job on the plane includes operating and maintaining equipment. He usually operates the Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling (AVAP) System.

“I drop scientific instruments, called dropsondes, into the storm,” Paul said. “These instruments have a parachute and float to the surface, transmitting data the entire way down. They collect pressure, humidity, temperature and wind speeds.”

This data is then relayed back and quality checked by a meteorologist and later used by forecasters, research scientists and weather models.

Earlier this week however, Paul has been running Tail Doppler Radar (TDR), which is a radar installed in the tail of his aircraft. The TDR produces vertical cross sections of the storm instead of the traditional radar images.

Recently, Paul has been having many “flight days.” He has had over five flights in a row for Hurricane Maria alone.

“Hurricanes get stronger as they pass over warmer water, so warmer oceans can lead to stronger storms,” Paul said. “It is unprecedented for three category 4 storms to make landfall in the US in one season. The latest flurry of strong storms in the Atlantic (Irma, Jose and Maria) is
also rare.”

For Paul, hurricanes are a daily reality. He purposely chooses to go into hurricanes for science. Luckily, for the danger connotation that storm-chasing has, he has yet to experience what he considers “bad” turbulence.