I dedicate this to my fellow humans. Do not fear the growing zombie horde. They may be more than one hundred strong, but we have an army of three hundred, all imbued with the will to live. I myself have found my own will standing strong. The zombies are no match for us.

Today, my own academic adventures took me without incidence around campus, finally ending in the CULC. Caution to all survivors, the middle of campus is the most dangerous area. However, it is there that I joined fellow humans in terrorizing zombies and securing safe routes for survivors to travel. With a group of six others, I took to the streets. Our mission: to secure paths of return for our group of survivors. One group marched to North Ave; it seems they made it. I led the second group, a gang of two plus me, venturing into the zombie-infested Skiles. There we played a demented game of hide-and-seek with a blundering group of zombies and successfully rescued a fellow survivor.

Now a group of four, we felt secure in a trek to west campus for the haven of my own dorm. Our path was not without incident, for we did come across another set of three zombies. Four on three are never good odds when zombies are in the mix, but my companions and I dispatched them with haste. Finally, I was dropped off in my own dorm, with my three brothers travelling together to their own dorm. An eventful day, today will cement itself as a hard-fought battle for humans. Though our numbers may be falling, our spirits stand tall. Tomorrow will be a new day as us humans will begin to mount our resistance to the zombie horde.

The Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) received its Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) certification on Aug. 3.

“This accreditation represents our commitment to excellence,” said the Georgia Tech Police Chief Teresa Crocker. In order to receive this accreditation, GTPD had to meet 480 CALEA standards.

“[Important standards include] use of force, code of conduct, vehicle pursuits,” said Lieutenant Mark Beebe, Accreditation Manager of the Department Standards Unit.

Policies implemented this year range from benefits for personnel to procedures for Interviews and Interrogations. All reforms have been created between 2009 and March of this year.

“There’s certainly more accountability and efficiency,” said Officer Eric Jan of the Department Standards Unit. Because of the many criteria that had to be met, GTPD is better equipped to protect the campus and serve this community.

License plate readers are an example of new technology being used by the force to check for stolen vehicles with the databases of the Department of Revenue and the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC).

“We had to develop polices for the use of it,” said Officer Beebe. Because the force tries to use the latest technologies in campus safety, these polices describe both possibilities and limits to usage.

“I think … it sets us at a standard where we hire… people of excellence and we bring people in [to] do a job that’s considered above what you would probably get at most police departments,” Chief Crocker added.

Out of the 59 CALEA certified police departments, three have been certified under Chief Crocker’s watch while she was Chief of Police at East Carolina University, and Deputy Chief at North Carolina State University. Crocker wants to emphasize that the accolade is the result of an exhaustive and expansive group effort between the ten departments in charge of everything from game day safety to IT.

“Police officers don’t particularly like change… and so I think that …you have to get them involved in helping write these policies…so we need that institutional knowledge,” she said. There was especially a challenge in meeting all 480 standards because CALEA did not explicity state how to meet them, just that the standards needed to be met.

In the next three years, the Police Department hopes to continue improving its service to the community through gaining more certifications.

“We also want to get accreditation with the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administration… and we also want to get accredited through the state certification processs…and then come back around to CALEA in the next three years,” Chief Crocker said, since CALEA certification is valid for only three years. “We believe… that we will continue to progress.”

The series finale of USA Network’s show Burn Notice aired yesterday, Sept. 12. Its dedicated audience will now undoubtedly have to search for another show to fill the time previously dedicated each week to Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan). Perhaps the best choice for those recently set adrift is Graceland; USA Network has not been subtle about the fact that these two shows are of the same genre and cater to a similar demographic.

Since the start of Burn Notice’s sixth season, there have been countless advertisements for Graceland during commercial breaks, and once the seventh and final season started, the network decided to air Graceland’s first season immediately after Burn Notice episodes.

The similarity between these two shows, however, goes far beyond simply having the highly-trained main character and his friends seek justice without resorting to calling the police. The whole premise of Burn Notice is that the main character, Michael Westen was framed for crimes he knew nothing about, subsequently losing his job as a spy for the Central Intelligence Agency.

This leads to seven seasons worth of Westen and his friends tracking down exactly who committed the crimes, figuring out who framed him and attempting to get his job back: a task he is not entirely sure he wants to accomplish. All of this is done while the team avoids the police, CIA, FBI and the occasional criminal.

In its first season, Graceland started its plot along much the same line. While the main character, undercover FBI agent Mike Warren (Aaron Tveit, Les Misérables), has not personally been accused of a crime, his training officer has, and it is Warren’s job to figure out if his training officer is guilty, as well as why he would have committed the crimes to begin with. His goal is already similar to the goals of the Burn Notice protagonists.

Just as Westen needs to avoid the detection of the government, Warren must not get caught by other undercover agents, which includes his friends, or by the criminals with whom he is undercover.

Such similar plots and the way Graceland was advertised should be enough for those who liked Burn Notice to at least try the new show. This, however, is not where the similarities end. Both protagonists are called Mike, and their last names are similar: Westen and Warren.

The writers tried to give both Mikes a complicated relationship, but ended up creating a subplot of little value to the rest of the show. In Burn Notice, Westen is in love with another main character who occasionally loves him and occasionally pretends not to love him; her reliability is never particularly affected by this. Warren, on the other hand, has a girlfriend who does not know anything about him and seems to serve only as a way in which to show how stressed and conflicted Warren is about his life of secrecy. Neither relationship has much bearing on the overall plot.

Action and undercover missions might not be enthralling for everyone, but aside from the unnecessary love-life subplot, both TV shows are worth watching for at least one episode. Although Graceland is a shameless carbon copy of Burn Notice, it is still a good show in its own right, and since Burn Notice has just ended while Graceland is in its first season, USA Network had the right idea of attempting to convert the former’s fans into the latter’s viewers.

The Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC) accepted a Collegiate Panhellenic Excellence Award from the National Panhellenic Conference earlier last month.

“It was an award that took us by surprise in a humbling way but was definitely something that whenever I reflect back on all the hard work that the CPC has done over the years was well deserved,” said Tanner Marcantel, Assistant Dean and Director of Greek Affairs.

To receive this prestigious award, CPC had to meet seven out of seven criteria, including recruitment, panhellenic structure, communication with National Panhellenic Council (NPC) area advisor, judicial procedures, Panhellenic programming, academics and Panhellenic community impact and relations.

“The CPC received the Excellence Award by programming with a purpose and encouraging efforts the nine sororities already have in place. Also, we focused on leadership development,” said Caroline Freeman, CPC President.

The Collegiate Panhellenic Excellence Award shows how CPC has taken strides in the past year to do everything they can to aid and benefit the entire Tech community. Through various events and programs around campus and in the community, the CPC maintains a visible presence of outreach.

“We love partnering with other organizations on campus whether it’s sponsoring other organizations or doing a program together. We take the CPC seriously because we are one of the most visible bodies of women at Tech,” Freeman said.

The CPC hopes to use Collegiate Panhellenic Excellence Award as a standard to maintain and a platform to grow off of in future years.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re stopping here. The award is more of an encouragement leading us towards the picture of what we can be and continue to strive for,” Freeman said. “Each executive CPC member is already in the process of looking at what the community could look like five years out.”

However, this wasn’t the first time that CPC has received national awards.

“In the past our Panhellenic Council has been awarded for specific functional areas like an excellence and risk management award, but this year they were one of fourteen out of six-hundred CPCs to get an overall excellence award for their efforts,” Marcantel said.

The CPC represents all nine Tech sororities and each sorority has at least one delegate represented in the overall governing body. The CPC, however, cannot dictate what actions are taken by each sorority internally.

“There are ten unanimous agreements that all twenty-six national sororities have voted to abide by over the years so it is CPC’s role to make sure all of the local groups are abiding by those ten unanimous agreements in order to make sure the community is collaborating,” Marcantel said.

The council strives to influence women around campus in a positive way through events and programming aimed at reaching as many people as possible.

“I think our Panhellenic here at Tech is reflected with a Georgia Tech spirit of not being satisfied with the status quo and constantly looking to improve the process or performance. Now overall operations are functioning at a much better level and that’s being recognized,” Marcantel said.

Last weekend the Jackets women’s volleyball team took its talent out west to Albuquerque, N.M. to compete in the Lobo Classic. The team was up against three unfamiliar opponents in Idaho State, UC Riverside and New Mexico, all of whom created matchups never before seen in the history of the program. After the opening weekend of the season at the Georgia Tech Invitational, the Jackets came into the Lobo Classic with high expectations sporting a 2-1 record.

Tech’s first match on Friday afternoon against the Idaho State Bengals was a highly contested one. Though the Jackets lost three straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-20) the scoreboard isn’t necessarily indicative of how closely the teams were matched as the first and second sets were relatively even until the home stretches when Idaho State managed to pull ahead. In the third and final set, however, the Bengals defense came alive to hold the Jackets to a paltry eight kills for the set.

The bright spot for the opening game of the weekend was senior setter Kaleigh Colson, who finished with a double-double of 19 assists and 12 digs while also finishing as the most accurate player with a stellar .556 hitting percentage for the match.

After a brief period of rest, the players once again suited up for their second match of the day, this time against the UC Riverside Highlanders. If the team was tired, their performance certainly didn’t show it as this time the Jackets were the victors in the back and forth match, 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 25-20).

Led by senior outside hitter Jennifer Percy, who amassed a game-high 13 kills on a .265 hitting percentage, the Jackets took the first two sets with the first set consisting of nine ties and four lead changes. Freshman London Ackermann and sophomore Wimberly Wilson were very active in their defensive behavior with 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

UC Riverside fought back to claim the third set, and the Highlanders used that momentum to carry themselves to a 13-7 lead in the fourth. Tech responded with an inspired nine point run to give themselves a lead in the set. Tech kept the lead continued until the very end of the match.

In the tournament finale, Tech faced off against the host team, the New Mexico Lobos. The Jackets were off to a great start as they won the first set and took an early lead in the second. A determined and consistent New Mexico recovered to regain the lead and proceeded to win the next three sets as Tech lost 3-1 (17-25, 25-16, 25-27, 23-25).

The last two sets were both excruciatingly close, and if just a couple of breaks had gone the Jackets’ way they could very well be coming out of the weekend with a record of 4-2 instead of 3-3. In the last game, freshman setter Rebecca Martin tallied a team high 22 assists, and Jennifer Percy capped off a strong weekend performance with 12 kills and was named to the all-tournament team.

Just six games into the season, the team is still coming together and creating its identity. There were many positives to encourage coach Tonya Johnson as she looks forward to ACC play. Look for the Jackets to return to the court this Friday, Sept. 13 when they host St. John’s at 7 p.m..

Almost since the invention of film, there has been a fascination with adapting novels into motion pictures. Reading a book can never take the place of watching its movie, however, just as watching a movie can never take the place of reading its book; each is an entirely different experience.

Reading allows for individual interpretation, while a movie tends to steer the whole audience toward but one thought. Whosoever controls the pace of the story controls the amount of information being processed, which in turn determines how much the audience thinks about the subject matter.

Readers control their experience; movie audiences are inundated with the interpretations of others. That being said, movie adaptations tend to have varying degrees of success and they spark heated debates as to whether the movie industry is “destroying the canon” or improving upon a work of art.

On the one hand, there are stories such as Eragon by Christopher Paolini where the book is an entertaining jaunt through a magical land that happens to have a dragon as one of the main characters. However, the movie adaptation made little sense without having read the book and has ruined the chance of anyone ever seeing the rest of the series on the big screen due to the filmmakers changing major plot points.

“Readers control their experience; movie audiences are inundated with the interpretations of others.”

At the other end of the spectrum is a little-known work entitled Harry Potter. Both book series  follow a young boy who does not know how special his parents, and himself, are. Eventually, said boy discovers magic and friends, goes on cross country journeys to stop an unspeakable terror from taking over the world and struggles to come to terms with how self-sacrificing his friends are.

With such similarities, the contrast between the successes of the two movie adaptations is astounding, until one takes into account that J.K. Rowling helped with the Harry Potter movies, while Christopher Paolini did not assist when Eragon was adapted.

Having the author help in the making of a movie, however, is not everything; the last century’s Three Musketeers movies are prime examples. Since 1903, there have been more than twenty of these film adaptations, but none have been remotely similar to each other.

While some attempt to adhere to the book, others put their own twist to the oft-told story (the most memorable being the recent steampunk version in 2011). Each derivation has its own merits and seems to point to the fact that as long as the screenwriters have a clear idea of what their intentions are from the start, the movie will be bearable and, more than likely, even good, regardless of genre. The problem comes when no one is quite sure whether to follow the book closely or simply keep the names of characters the same; such indecisiveness ruins a movie.

This fall, the movie-going populous will be besieged by adaptations of books ranging from the wildly popular, such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, to the obscure Paranoia and ones that should be outright dreaded (Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters).

While each book is entertaining in its own right, the movie adaptations are unlikely to follow suit. Judging by the first Percy Jackson movie, this one will do the book a terrible injustice. At least the disappointed viewers have a good chance of being consoled by the innovative Hunger Games series, which has introduced a curious subplot that was not present in the books.

It is, however, doubtful that the 2013 adaptation of The Book Thief will be as thought-provoking as the book, for how can a film portray the thoughts of a little girl during World War II, without boring the audience with voice overs and monologues? With The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, on the other hand, filmmakers could take the liberty of resolving some of the major plot holes or changing the dialogue into something people might actually say.

This movie and the upcoming  Ender’s Game have potential to be brilliant adaptations that rank alongside The Lord of the Rings, or terrible films best forgotten. Either way, it will be an exciting adventure to see all the paper heroes come to life, however ridiculous or laughable a life it might be.

The School of Music has taken a stride into the domain of online education and is now offering its first Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) through Coursera.

Taught by Professor Jason Freeman, the online Survey of Music Technology course started on Aug. 26 of this year and is an adaptation of the identically-titled MUSI 3450 into an online six-week format.

The course plays to the strengths of technically-minded students by teaching them how to articulate themselves musically with commercial music software and by providing the theoretical underpinnings of acoustics and signal processing needed for a deep understanding of the material. Freeman’s course requires little in the way of previous knowledge, however, so all are welcome.

When he started college, Freeman thought of himself a CS major, taking CS and music classes side-by-side.

“I had always previously compartmentalized music as a part of my life that was more like a hobby, something I did more for fun than for a living,” Freeman said. “I slowly realized that it was okay to start thinking about making a career out of music, and that perhaps the key to this, that I probably didn’t realize until graduate school, was figuring out how to apply my technological expertise to making music in a way that is unique to me and my sensibilities.”

This interest and skill with technology translates into Freeman’s current research. As head of the Distributed Music Group, he works on enabling new forms of connection between the various participants in the musical process.

One example would be a dance performance in which the audience decides how the style of dance evolves and the color of lighting that best complements it. If technology can be used to effectively engage once passive audience members, then theoretically it can be used to pass on knowledge to willing online minds.

However, a few hurdles had to be overcome for the MOOC.

The first hurdle was getting commercial music software into the hands of online learners at a reasonable price.

“We ended up leveraging some research I’ve been doing with Brian Magerko, a professor over in Digital Media, which relates to K-12 education. We’ve been developing a platform for teaching music technology. So we’re using a lot of the same tools in a slightly different way for this course,” Freeman said.

The second was the grading. Hands-on projects are integral for gaining a concrete understanding of the skills needed to create your own music electronically, but having Freeman and his TA each grade 10,000 projects would have been impractical. Coursera’s solution is the peer-grading of homework and projects. This meant that the course had to be restructured.

The six-week class term was almost three times shorter than a regular semester, resulting in some pairing down of the course material and emphasizing the fundamentals of the course.

Freeman’s Survey of Music Technology course is still in session. Freeman hopes that his experience with the online format will lend him insight into how to scale up the in-person Tech course to a larger audience and that the collective experience will help him make changes at Tech as well.

The Gamma Eta chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity was recently allowed to resume some of its organizational activities following a performance review conducted this summer by the Office of Student Integrity, temporarily ending a disciplinary suspension that lasted for over a year.

“Thanks to the collaborative efforts of The Institute’s administration, our committed alumni and undergraduates, and the General Fraternity’s leadership…we look forward to returning as a leading contributor to campus and fraternity life at Georgia Tech,” said Martin Cobb, Director of Communications for Beta Theta Pi.

OSI has held Beta’s suspension “in abeyance,” allowing the fraternity to resume operation under a system similar to that of social probation. This status means that the organization is not allowed to host, co-sponsor or participate in social events, which includes parties, receptions and gatherings. In addition, the house must remain “dry”, or without alcohol, at all times. This limitation also extends to alumni of the organization, who may not use the house to host tailgating and related events.

In addition, the national Beta Theta Pi office has also created a list of mandates that the local organization must follow, as part of a reestablishment plan. The plan’s primary limitations against the fraternity were similar to those warranted by Tech, such as the ban against alcohol.

However, the plan had a few more rigorous matters, involving the hiring of an advisory team to support and assist the chapter, an on-site Chapter Live-In Advisor who would live with the brothers of the fraternity and guide operations and an on-site Chapter Development Coordinator to help the members through recruitment, chapter operations and the pledge education process.

The Gamma Eta Alumni Association (GEAA) would also be heavily integrated into the reestablishment of the organization, by interviewing the three groups (A, B and C) of members interested in being reinstated into the fraternity. In addition, the CLIA, CDC and advisory team would lead a comprehensive education process teaching the members of the organization about the qualities of a good fraternal entity.

The CLIA, finally, would also live with the house members for at least one full year after the reinstatement of Beta’s charter.

“As a council, we want all of the chapters on our campus to be successful and to meet the high standards we set for our community,” said Interfraternity Council President Mason Elledge, in an e-mail. “The decision to lift Beta Theta Pi’s disciplinary suspension was made in the best interest of the chapter and we recognize that they are ready and willing to work towards self-improvement.”

Original disciplinary sanctions were enacted on April 30, 2012 for hazing allegations against the fraternity. The allegations stemmed from violations of sections C3, C4 and C5 of the Code of Conduct, which were considered to be “unjustifiably pushing, striking or otherwise intentionally causing reasonable apprehension of such harm to any person; boisterousness, rowdiness, obscene or indecent conduct or appearance; and behavior that endangers any person(s), including self,” according to the Student Code of Conduct.

The organization was then placed on disciplinary suspension for two years and disbanded, ending all rights as a Chartered Student Organization.

However, the sanctions did allow for annual performance reviews to be conducted to determine the chapter’s return if the members of the organization governed themselves appropriately during that year.

This involved complying with the expectations in the original sanctions and not having any subsequent policy violations. According to Director of the Office of Student Integrity Peter Paquette, Beta Theta Pi succeeded in fulfilling this requirement.

Before May 2, 2014, the Dean’s office will review the progress of the organization and determine whether a period of suspension is necessary after the completion of the “suspension held in abeyance.”

“By lifting the disciplinary suspension, Beta is now able to re-join our community and to once again excel as an outstanding chapter on campus,” Elledge said.

Local members of the Gamma Eta chapter could not be reached to comment further on the matter.

Leading a spunky teenage girl across an apocalyptic world as an old man may not sound like an enticing storyline for hardcore video gamers wanting to wipe out armies of zombies, but The Last Of Us is not your ordinary shoot-em-up.

The collapse of society in this dystopian world, caused by its inability to contain a highly contagious outbreak that causes people to become fungally-infected zombies, redefines traditional moral boundaries. Theft, murder and deceit become inevitable in a world where only the fittest survive. An act of altruism will ultimately be suicidal. Weakness, in lieu of selfishness and instinctual survival, has left the door. These themes outline every major point in the journey that Joel and Ellie, the primary characters, take.

In fact, it is this setup that allows The Last of Us to be a phenomenal video game. The linearity of the story almost takes away from the open-world gameplay, but it is impossible to want anything else considering how suspenseful and vested the player will get into Joel and Ellie’s survival. The beautifully crafted cinematics serve as an excellent break from heart-racing action squences and contribute more to the plot, in manners theatrical and literary, than gameplay could.

Character development is deftly handled; the game subtly crafts these two concoctions of polygons into believable characters. Changes in how the characters handle themselves, as seen by Joel’s rigidity in the beginning of the game to his softer stature near the end, are a large contributor to their personality developments. In addition, the characters age throughout the game – Ellie, for example, looks less like Ellen Page, the lead actress from Juno, by the conclusion. The game utilizes multiple hiatuses that take place between seasons to give the player a more realistic sense of time. This also contributes to personality changes in the characters – evident by Ellie’s cooler temperament and maturation in the wintertime.

Despite how developed the plot or characters may be, it is the gameplay that needs to be riveting to hold gamers’ attention. Naughty Dog, the developer, executes this perfectly. Just like their Uncharted trilogy, The Last of Us is filled with elaborate graphics that push the extensive graphical capabilities of the PS3. The characters are reactive and independent, and when stealth becomes important in getting past a squadron of cops, Ellie’s movements (Joel is the controlled character for the majority of the game) can compromise Joel’s position. Items are a large part of the game. There is not some magic ammo box that automatically replenishes the bullets, arrows and bombs in your arsenal. Combinations of common household items, like alcohol, cloth and sugar, create interesting weaponry such as smoke bombs, Molotov cocktails and melee weapon upgrades.

The story of The Last of Us is so well written it could be transcribed into print as literature. While the average video gamer need not look beyond Assassin’s Creed, God of War and Portal for intriguing plot lines, the grim dystopia created in The Last of Us manages to be unique in its lovingly crafted world. Even if one has a PS3 and is avoiding all PS3 purchases to save for the PS4, this game, which may or may not be available for the next generation system, is definitely worth spending the full $60 on.

Picture this.

Hundreds of freshmen concentrated in one area of campus aimlessly wandering among tables of free stuff as they’re bombarded with all kinds of information about various student organizations and causes. That’s the basic gist of the FASET Student Activities Fair. In the 45 minute span of the fair, the sheer number of clubs can be overwhelming. Plenty of freshmen don’t seem to pay attention to any of the clubs and walk through passively, which is pretty much what I did at my FASET. I realize now that the activities fair may actually be the most important part of FASET.

But is the activities fair more important than registration? I would argue yes, it certainly is. Registration never seems to work out how you want, especially as a freshman when you pretty much get the last pick of available classes. The classes you register for are typically basic core classes and some are just plain boring. Most students have to wait until Phase II registration to get the classes they need anyways, so if your schedule doesn’t work out at FASET, then it almost seems like a waste of time.

The Student Activities Fair is different. Even though it can be stressful and hectic, it’s the only time where you can interact with practically every club on campus. You can’t go home and get the same experience as if you actually interact with members of the various organizations. Plus, we have plenty of clubs on campus that focus on things you probably would never consider or have the means of participating in on your own—meditation, investing, Magic the Gathering and motorsports just to name a few.

It’s easy to get to Tech and focus too heavily on studying and making good grades. You probably know someone that seems to study all the time and never leaves the dorm. But college is more than just making good grades; college is a great time to experience something you’ve always wanted to try—maybe playing a new sport or building robots—and also a perfect opportunity to meet new people. I don’t want to make academics seem unimportant, but you should try and do more than just making the grade.

I joined Symp Vibes, GT’s premiere all-male a cappella group, during my first year at Tech. That was pretty much the only organization I was involved with until this summer. I started to get involved with the Technique around the end of last semester when the current editor-in-chief was looking for someone to work on a videography project. Now, after starting my third year, I’m writing an article. I was never involved with my school paper in high school, and to be honest, I never thought I would be writing for a college paper or any other newspaper for that matter. Going through the process of meeting new people on staff and branching out and trying something new has reminded me once again of how important it is to get involved.

Don’t get bogged down in homework and studying. Find something you think you’ll enjoy and do that. Chances are you’ll make some new friends and even manage to have a little fun in the process.