The 2022 Video Music Awards (VMAs) took place on Aug. 28. It was a night of wins for chart-toppers and for artists on the rise. Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish took home awards for Best Artist and Best Song, respectively, and it was Dove Cameron who got a spot alongside industry titans as the Best New Artist winner. 

Musicians from every genre commanded the red carpet in fantastical fashion as well as classic silhouettes. 

However, the artist who came in big was singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who won the award for Music Video of the Year for her 10-minute “All Too Well” short film and announced the release of her 10th studio album, “Midnights,” which is set to release Oct. 21 of this year. 

Swift took the red carpet by storm sporting a sleek bun, with her iconic blonde bangs brushed to the side. From the black winged liner to her bold red lips, her look on the carpet was quintessentially “Taylor.” Silver jewel strings draped into a stunning sleeveless halter gown left celebrities and Twitter alike in awe. 

Swift is known to hint at future projects through her fashion and this dress was chock-full of ambiguous meaning. Fans pointed out that Swift’s Oscar de la Renta dress bore some resemblance to iconic moments in Taylor Swift history from the dazzling gown she wore at the 2009 VMAs when Kayne West famously interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech to her “Look What You Made Me Do” music video where Swift, her neck draped with diamonds, sat in a bathtub full of the precious stones. 

In fact, many thought she was hinting at the re-record of her sixth studio album, “Reputation,” since her former label sold the masters to talent manager Scooter Braun. The nod to the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video from her “Reputation” album was enough for fans to speculate about the next Taylor’s Version to look out for in the coming weeks.

Although audiences can still expect Swift’s re-recordings, the announcement that stole the show was the release of her new album “Midnights,” which Swift announced during her acceptance speech for one of three VMAs she won that night. 

However, the exact details of her upcoming album are still unclear. In an Aug. 29 Instagram post, Swift described the album as “the stories of 13 sleepless nights.” But, there has yet to be a confirmed track-list or genre. 

The singer frequently uses cover art to hint at the ambience of the soundtrack and will even change her clothing and social media presence to curate a specific and consistent mood. 

Darkness and snakes set the tone for the electropop and R&B album in “Reputation,” whereas autumnal colors and French braids manifested in folk-pop album “evermore.”

So far, Swift has released four different album covers, united by muted colors and wood paneling. What does this mean for “Midnights”? Look no further than Tech expert on all things Taylor Swift, @gttaylorswiftsociety on Instagram for the answer to this question. 

“I’m really hoping that [Midnights] is a Fleetwood Mac, 70s pop rock type vibe,” says the Tech Taylor Swift Society, “just based off the cover art so far that’s what I’m getting.” 

As for the society’s feelings towards the new album: “I am super excited!” Tech Swifties can look forward to Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album available to stream on Friday, Oct. 21 at midnight sharp.

Midday shadows cast across the floor of Crosland Tower, shining through the multi-colored glass to paint the floor magenta, teal, crimson and gold. 

I took a seat on the tall cedar staircase, coffee in hand, gearing myself up to read textbook chapters for the next few hours.

I looked around at the diverse body of students staggered on the wood planks, admiring how people from a myriad of backgrounds all found solace in the same fine academic institution. No matter who one is or where they are from, there is a family for them at Tech. Everyday I encounter someone that makes me think more deeply about the world in which we live. 

That day in Crosland Tower, it was the person to my left, who had taken their shoes off, revealing their bare feet and untrimmed toenails. 

Feet are an issue I have grappled with my whole life. 

For many years I gave my mind the most credit for getting me places, but the truth is, my feet have taken me more places than my generally vacant mind.

At the same time, however, feet are the single most hideous body part. 

If there is anything I have learned from being a child of the internet, it’s to sacrifice anything for the aesthetic. 

Including body parts. Perhaps I was looking for an excuse to further procrastinate my readings, but I could not neglect the piggies in my periphery. 

Are feet the unsung heroes of transit, or should they be sequestered in the name of beauty? 

I contemplated this question for several seconds, allowing my gaze to defocus from my peer’s wiggling toes so I could divert my attention to solving the greatest philosophical question of the century. 

Now, to fully address this conundrum, I needed to consider my other interactions with “dogs,” or rather, “Dawgs,” of whom the entire campus manifests an eternal damnation of for approximately three months annually.

I most recently encountered a pack of Dawgs while walking into Tech Square following the game at  the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

They conquered frat row on electric scooters like a pathetic, albeit eco-conscious, gang. 

They came to a screeching halt next to Kappa Alpha in matching golf shirts and khaki shorts to greet a Tech student who seemed embarrassed to be in their presence. 

Every sentence that left their mouths contained a word that cannot be uttered on daytime television. 

Then, armed with their explicit vocabulary and cans of Natural Light, I shed a single tear as they scooted away into the night. At that moment, I realized dogs and Dawgs are one in the same. 

They both smell bad, they both show up in places uninvited and they both bark. 

A UGA fan or a foot jump scare are equally frightening. Sure, our lovely campus is united by our distaste for a certain school up North. Sure, feet bring us from point A to point B. Nevertheless, they are both deeply upsetting and in the face of such evils we must remain strong. 

I returned to my international affairs textbook,

knowing that my professor would be disappointed that I did not address this issue from a neorealist standpoint. 

My mind was once again at peace with the exception of my caffeine-induced anxiety. 

I turned to the student with their feet out to thank them for expanding my mind to new perspectives. 

However, they had turned their concentration from homework to eating a granola bar, allowing the crumbs to precipitate from their mouth onto their feet. 

I ultimately decided not to express my gratitude directly to them, and to instead give them space to take the time to properly feed their dogs.

Going to college for the first time is a beacon for unsolicited advice. 

One piece of such advice was to “stay open-minded and flexible” followed by a disclaimer that open-mindedness was not to be applied to imbibing. 

Regardless, I latched onto the wisdom of my elders and decided to attend any Week of Welcome events that sparked my curiosity or interest. 

It was this attitude that landed me in the Howey Physics building, sitting before two adults wearing condom costumes.

The name of the game was “Condom Bingo,” a Week of Welcome event that the Tech Guidebook described as, “a fun, educational game that will focus on sexual health.” I wandered the halls of the building for a bit before stumbling into a lecture hall full of students, eagerly discussing the specifics of the highly anticipated event.

“Will we use condoms as bingo chips?”

 “Does the winner get crowned ‘King Condom?’”

 “Why are they playing ‘Stir Fry’ by Migos?”

As the gloriously autotuned voice of Quavo echoed through the lecture hall like a gospel hymn through a chapel, I took a seat and basked the lyrical genius of the Atlanta-based trio: “In the kitchen, wrist twistin’ like a stir fry.”

From the front of the lecture hall, the woman dressed as a Magnum XL condom welcomed the assembled students.

I would later find out that Magnum XL condom was Richelle Fields, a health educator from Tech’s Health Initiatives department. 

She, alongside her Trojan counterpart, Jess Ponder, also a health educator, placed bingo cards featuring sexual wellness terms before us. 

They explained the rules and reminded us to remain mature in the face of words like “vagina” and “pubic lice” (they did not ride the Stinger wearing condom costumes just for us to giggle at biology). 

Magnum XL or Trojan read the definition of one of the terms on our bingo sheets, and we had to mark the correct word. 

The first person to get six in a row was eligible to win a variety of prizes, courtesy of the Georgia Tech Health Initiatives department. 

Armed with my raspberry Mr. Sketch scented marker and all the courage I could muster, the games commenced.

The next 50 minutes were a whirlwind of vocabulary, hygiene kits and markers squeaking across printer paper. 

We discussed the services Tech Health Initiatives provided and how to access these services (third floor of the Stamps Health building). 

The event came to its zenith when Mangum XL and Trojan announced that they had gift bags for all the attendees. 

Upon hearing the word “gifts,” students swarmed the fireproof lab table at the front of the hall, grasping at white bags in a clear Sterilite container. A boy sitting behind me successfully grabbed four condoms (three banana, one strawberry). 

By the time I reached Magnum XL and Trojan, they were condomless, but I did get a bumper sticker with an image of a condom and the words “JUST WEAR IT” in the style of the Nike slogan. 

Although I left the building more educated than when I entered, it felt anti-climactic to leave without any of the titular swag from the event.

This was easily remedied with the edu-ma-cation I received at Condom Bingo. After a quick trip to Stamps Health Services, next door to the CRC, I easily obtained my own tropical fruit condoms from a bowl guarded by a cardboard cutout of Buzz.