Update: Institute Communications told the Technique that the IC communications officer was not directed to send an email to students and faculty calling for the removal of DEI-related language from Institute websites. 

The Institute has removed web pages relating to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)  initiatives, with Institute Communications confirming efforts to “update [Tech’s] web presence.”

Students and faculty became widely aware of the changes after a communications officer in the School of Interactive Computing (IC) sent an email to IC faculty, staff, Ph.D., and Master’s students on Thursday morning saying that he had been directed to delete all content from Tech-affiliated sites using certain words “in the context of DEI.” 

Just over an hour later, the chair of the IC school met with College of Computing Dean Vivek Sarkar, who was not initially on the email chain, asking him to address the situation.

By early afternoon, Sarkar sent an email to the same group stating that the communications officer’s message — which Sarkar called an “unfortunate incident” — contained “misinformation and was not approved by the school chair or anyone in college leadership.” 

“I will follow up to learn more about how this occurred, but I want to assure you that our College and the Institute remain steadfast in our commitment to academic freedom,” he wrote. Sarkar told the Technique that the communications officer’s claim that personal pages, project pages, and lab information pages using DEI language must be taken down is false. 

Following Sarkar’s correction, an IC professor sent a follow-up email. “For the record, we are all freaking out,” he wrote. The professor said that the Center for Promoting Inclusion and Equity in the Sciences (C-PIES) website was down, which seemed to corroborate the initial email’s directive. The C-PIES website is still unavailable at the time of writing. 

Sarkar replied, saying that “no communications officer in any school was instructed to send out any such email” and “no faculty member needs to take any action that was asked for in the email.” He emphasized again that the initial email contained misinformation, and he would like to schedule a town hall to discuss the incident.

The Technique has verified the authenticity of the emails in the chain. 

“I have a lot to learn about what exactly happened,” Sarkar told the Technique on Friday. “I’m not saying that everything in the email was inaccurate, and I’m still doing the homework to figure out which aspects were inaccurate.” 

Sarkar confirmed that his communications director did receive some guidance from Institute Communications pertaining to the changes, but he is still working to find exactly who — if anyone — directed IC communications to send the initial notice. The decision was made without Sarkar’s involvement. 

Institute Communications confirmed that changes to Tech’s websites have been made. 

“In 2023, Georgia Tech made the decision to begin discontinuing DEI programs, which included eliminating positions and realigning funding. As a critical research partner for the federal government, Georgia Tech will ensure compliance with all federal and state rules as well as policies set by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to continue accelerating American innovation and competitiveness,” Vice President of Institute Communications Abbigail Tumpey said in a statement to the Technique. “Efforts to examine and update our web presence are part of this ongoing work.” 

Several Tech websites have gone inactive, including news stories like a 2023 article about Tech’s approach to DEI that was last confirmed to be live in October 2024. DEI pages for the School of Industrial Engineering (ISyE), Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Athletic Department, and other Tech departments either display an error message or redirect to the respective department’s home page. 

The ISyE DEI page was last live in mid-January, and multiple research centers and programs related to the subject have been altered or completely removed from the ISyE website. Their DEI Fellows Program has been renamed the “Fellows Program,” modifying the initiative’s mission from “increasing the diversity of the ISyE faculty, staff, and student body” to “increasing exposure of the ISyE faculty, staff, and student body.” Also, the ISyE Center For Academics, Success, and Equity (CASE) recently replaced “Equity” with “Engagement.”  

As of November 2024, the University System of Georgia (USG) has also adopted new language regarding DEI policies, stating, “All admissions processes and decisions shall be free of ideological tests, affirmations, and oaths, including diversity statements. No applicant for admission shall be asked to or required to affirmatively ascribe to or opine about political beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles, as a condition for admission.”

Nationally, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20 removing DEI programs from the federal government. The White House has ordered the removal of federal DEI positions, and other institutions and universities have also quietly removed online content related to DEI. Northeastern University renamed its Office of DEI to the Office of Belonging at Northeastern. 

The IC communications officer’s reason for sending the initial email to Tech faculty and students remains unclear. 

“I’m really proud of all the research that our college has done in the past related to equity, inclusion, justice — all these things,” Sakar said. “[The IC communications email] has caused hurt in our community, and I think it’s important to repair that.”

The post Institute Communications confirms efforts to “update [Tech’s] web presence” after DEI sites go dark appeared first on Technique.

After a hard-fought series, the Jackets fell to the Boston College Eagles on home turf. It has been a tumultuous season for the Jackets with a 16-10 overall record and a 3-6 conference record, respectively. Big wins against North Carolina State University (NC State), Cornell and Georgia State are interspersed with heartbreaking losses to the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Georgia. To kick off the ACC matchup, game one took place on Thursday, March 28 with the Eagles defeating the Jackets 10-3. The Eagles hit the ground running to put up the first points but the Jackets came back blazing on their tails. 

It was a slow start for the Jackets despite the sunny and warm conditions, with the first points of the game put up in the fifth inning. The Eagles put up two runs in four of the first five innings to start the game, giving them an early advantage. The Jackets came alive in the fifth inning, with sophomore outfielder Parker Brosius reeling in the first points of the evening and senior first baseman Cam Jones sealing the deal for freshman outfielder Drew Burress with an RBI single. Jones and senior outfielder Trey Yunger finished the evening with two hits each. 

Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher (RHP) Carson Ballard allowed three runs in the first and early second inning, with junior RHP Mason Patel allowing four runs. Senior RHP Dawson Brown, freshman RHP Michal Kovala, junior LHP Camron Hill, juniorRHP Terry Busse, and sophomore RHP Demitri Diamant regained control of the mound, only letting one run during their combined time in the game. 

The series continued in a Friday evening night game that the Jackets lost in the clutch by a score of 5-3. Tech and Boston College took a 2-2 tie into extra innings, but the Eagles mounted a final surge with two late runs in the 10th inning. This time, Tech took early control of the game  with two runs in the second inning. Freshman catcher Vahn Lackey and Yunger put up the first two points before Brosius scored the third and final run. RHP Aeden Finateri went five innings, allowing one home run and inducing six strikeouts. 

Finateri has emerged as one of Tech’s most reliable arms and used his command to great effect against a hapless Eagles lineup. Senior RHP Ben King picked up where Finateri finished, allowing only two runners on base. Unfortunately, the bullpen could not cover the game in extra innings as the Eagles offense figured out Tech’s pitching in the clutch. 

With a series loss already in the cards, the Jackets could not avoid the sweep in the series finale on Saturday, March 30. The final score of 16-7 encapsulated the story of this series — moments of brilliance punctuated by ultimately falling short due to errors. 

The Eagles scored five runs in the first inning, giving them an early advantage to begin the game. As a result, the bullpen needed to cover eight innings of work after starting pitcher Logan McGuire allowed four runs in the inning. Nine of the Jackets had hits in this game. At the plate, junior shortstop Payton Green led the Jackets with a double and a triple as Burress and Brosius brought  hits of their own to a largely successful performance from the offense. 

Late in the game, true freshman infielder Ryan Jaros hit his first career home run — a two-run shot — before sophomore outfielder Jett Lovett launched two doubles in the eighth inning. Ultimately, the offense could not make up for an overtaxed bullpen that was already reeling from the previous day’s extra-innings game. Fortunately, the Jackets also hosted the Presbyterian College Blue Hose on Tuesday, April 2, with a 9-8 win in 10 innings to break their losing streak. After Presbyterian took a 5-1 lead, it looked like another rough outing for Tech’s pitching staff. Fortunately, Green launched a runs-batted-in (RBI) double before true freshman infielder Carson Kerce sent a RBI-double of his own two innings later to make it a 7-3 game. Although Presbyterian scored another run, their pitchers struggled with command, and the Jackets capitalized. Brosius, Jaros and Yunger all had quality at-bats and recorded hits that cut the lead to one before Burress drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game in the ninth. On the mound, Brown mowed through the Blue Hose’s hitters to the tune of five straight strikeouts, setting up Brosius for the game-winning bunt to drive the last run home and pull out the clutch victory.

The next ACC faceoff for the Jackets will be on the road against the Pittsburgh Panthers, with a three-game series starting on Friday, April 5 and continuing
through the weekend. 

Though the Jackets have faced some challenges with pitching, the offense has continued to produce this season. Burress, Jones, Green and Ellis all have more than 90 at-bats this season alone and the Jackets have the second-highest batting average in the ACC. 

The ACC playoffs begin May 21, with just under two months left in the regular season. With games against ACC rivals Virginia Tech, Virginia, Miami, Clemson, Duke and Florida State on the horizon, the Jackets are hoping to shake things up in the conference and prove to be a challenging opponent
across nine innings.

The post Jackets baseball swept by BC in three games appeared first on Technique.

Tucked in the southeast corner of Georgia, the Okefenokee Swamp spans more than 400,000 acres and is home to hundreds of species of plants and animals that live in the bog, including multiple endangered and threatened species. It is the largest blackwater swamp in North America, and it is one of the largest intact freshwater ecosystems in the world. 

The swamp has formed over the last 6,500 years, and the name “Okefenokee” originates from multiple Muskogean languages, roughly translating to “land of trembling earth.” 

After centuries of natural growth, the future of the swamp lies in the hands of money trails, petitions and climate change. 

Twin Pines Minerals of Birmingham, Ala., has been seeking a permit since 2019 to mine titanium dioxide less than three miles away from the southeastern border of the Okefenokee Swamp. Titanium dioxide is a white pigment frequently found in paper and paint. 

The mining would take place on Trail Ridge, a “saturated sandhill,” where mounds of sand serve as a barrier and dam for the swamp, holding in moisture. 

“What the company is proposing across hundreds of acres of land is to dig pits up to 50 feet deep. Extract the soil, separate out the heavy sands that they want to obtain. Twin Pines claims that they will rehabilitate the environment that they’ve just dug up,” said Ricky Leroux, the Senior Communications & Policy Coordinator for the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club. “However, one of the big concerns is [that] Trail Ridge formed thousands and thousands of years ago. But it’s not something that can just be replicated by infilling extracted material.” 

The Sierra Club is a nationwide organization with more than one million members and chapters in each state, aiming to “educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.” 

On Feb. 9, 2024, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) issued draft permits for the project, initially stating that there would be a 30-day public comment period before creating final versions of the permit for the company. On Feb. 12, the comment period was extended to a 60-day window for public comment. The initial EPD comment reiterated that the mining project will not “significantly harm” the Okefenokee. 

Notably, Twin Pines Minerals was fined $20,000 in late January after the EPD determined that the company had violated state laws while collecting oil samples for their permit. 

The EPD further claimed that there was not a professional geologist or engineer overseeing the collection which is a violation of state laws. Twin Pines agreed to pay the sum in order to “put this matter behind us and move our project forward.”

“We expect stringent government oversight of our mining-to-reclamation project, which will be fully protective of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge and the region’s environment,” said Steve Ingle, Twin Pines’ president.

However, many environmentalists across the state and the country disagree. The swamp is not only home to plenty of protected and endangered species, but also draws in over 600,000 visitors yearly, according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

“One of our main concerns with disrupting this ecosystem relates to climate change. The swamp is full of material known as peat, which is just dead plant material. Peat and the other plants in the Okefenokee store the equivalent of 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and it’s very important that these wetlands get protected,” Leroux said. 

Thursday, March 28, marked the end of the 2023 Georgia Legislative Session and despite efforts to come up with legislation to protect the Okefenokee, the session ended without any further action. House Bill (HB) 71, also known as the Okefenokee Protection Act, was a renewed version of the failed HB 1338 which proposed that “beginning on July 1, 2024, and continuing until June 30, 2027, the division shall accept no applications for new permits for surface mining utilizing dragline mining for heavy mineral sands in areas for which no prior surface mining permit has been obtained” died in committee. 

There are also several concerns of droughts and wildfires among experts due to the nature of the mining. 

“If the water levels in the swamp drop even just a few inches, and some of that peat becomes exposed and dried out, it becomes highly flammable. That’s going to cause more frequent and severe wildfires in the area and this area already has a history of wildfires. If those fires start to become more severe and more frequent, the amount of carbon dioxide that’s going to be released by burning all this plant material is going to severely harm our efforts to reduce carbon emissions and stave off the worst effects of climate change,” Leroux said.

First-year BMED Margaret Wade is from a town near the swamp and has been on  numerous family trips to the Okefenokee throughout her lifetime. 

“Mining near the swamp would not only be bad for the tourism and memories that people make there, but detrimental to the entire lowcountry ecosystem. The swamp plays a very important role in the environment that can not be replaced with anything else. Everyone in the lowcountry appreciates the wildlife and nature in the area, both around the swamp and throughout the intercoastal waterways in Georgia. Removing the swamp would be bad for this,” Wade said. 

“The Okefenokee is just one of the most unique and special places that we have here in Georgia, and it belongs to the people. There’s a national wildlife refuge that’s owned by the federal government, so it belongs to everyone in Georgia, and we should have a say in its future. To us, the Okefenokee is too important and critical to be put at risk for something like this mining proposal,” Leroux said. “I would encourage anyone who’s interested in this issue or passionate about it to make their voice here and let Georgia [or the] EPD know what they think about it and have your say in the future of this special place.”

The EPD will accept public comments until April 9. For more information, visit the EPD’s web page about Twin Pines at epd.georgia.gov/twin-pines. 

Public comments can be sent to the EPD office via email to twinpines.comment@dnr.ga.gov or physically to the office of the Land Protection Branch of the EPD at 4244 International Parkway, Atlanta Tradeport Suite 104, Atlanta, GA 30354.

The post Okefenokee swamp faces grave mining threat appeared first on Technique.

What began as an inspiration from a cancer biology and biotechnology class lecture was soon transformed by Tech students into an award-winning diagnostic tool. Lilypad Health has garnered national attention for its “simple, non-invasive screening tool to identify gynecological diseases” and is now the winner of the 2024 InVenture Prize Competition. 

The InVenture Prize is a yearly competition hosted by Tech faculty for undergraduate students and recent B.S. graduates of the Institute. Students are given funding to create a prototype and the opportunity to present their innovations to a panel of judges. After a preliminary round and quick-pitch semifinal round, six finalists are invited to the final round produced live by Georgia Public Broadcasting, where the final winners are announced. 

During the final round of the 2024 InVenture Prize Competition on March 13, 2024, the winners were announced in a packed Ferst Theater. When Lilypad Health was announced as first place, their fan section rose to their feet, holding up “We <3 Lilypad” signs, cheering loudly for the win.

As the first place prize winners, Lilypad Health took home $20,000, up to an additional $20,000 to support one U.S. patent filing and automatic acceptance into the next cohort of CREATE-X’s Startup Launch program, which includes an additional $4,000 in seed funding, as well as legal assistance, access to the CREATE-X collaborative workspace, 1:1 faculty-led coaching and access to a network of field-specific mentors and experts. 

The second-place winner, Makr Papr, constructed an “innovative paper that capitalizes on the money that millions have spent on name tags”. The team consisted of Andrew Grant, second-year ME, Lauren Henry, second-year CS, Ikenna Okoro, second-year CS, Arrington Goss, second-year CS, Chelsea Manning, second-year CS and Milca Takou, third-year CMPE. The group took home $10,000, up to an additional $20,000 to support one US patent filing and an automatic interview for the next cohort of CREATE-X’s Startup Launch program.

Lastly, team Candor, composed of Atishay Jain, third-year CS, Srikar Parsi, third-year CS, Rishi Bengani, third-year CS and Tanuj Dunthuluri, third-year CS, took home the people’s choice award. The student team built a “Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) platform built for local governments; streamlining constituent complaint reporting, management, and resolution to enhance efficiency, communication, and trust.” Candor was awarded $5,000 and an automatic interview for the next cohort of CREATE-X’s Startup Launch program.

The funding and resources provided for the winners allows them to transform their ideas into real-world solutions, whether that be through a start-up, further testing, product manufacturing or taking their idea straight to the market. 

When asked what team Lilypad would do with the prize, Rhea Prem, CMPE ‘23 and the president and co-founder of Lilypad, responded they were “getting LilyPad to market as fast as possible.” 

She was joined onstage by co-founders Netra Gandhi, BMED ‘23, and Ethan Damiani, BCHM ‘23. Gandhi serves as the product manager and Damiani serves as the research and development manager for Lilypad. Girish Hari, CS ‘22, MS CS ‘23, was unable to participate in the competition but is a fellow co-founder and the operations manager of Lilypad. 

Lilypad is a menstrual pad add-on that collects blood until adequately saturated. A removable strip is then used as a test sample to be sent off to labs to be screened for diseases and cancer. The Lilypad serves as an alternative to the Papanicolaou test, or Pap smear, which is often regarded as invasive, uncomfortable and is stigmatized in some cultures. 

“We really want to not only help fight the stigma against menstrual blood, because it is at the end of the day, just blood. We want to be able to also kind of give that accessibility to people that don’t have access to gynecologists, approximately 10 million women in the United States don’t have access to a gynecologist, and that’s either due to living in rural remote areas or not having someone nearby,” Gandhi said. “We wanted to have essentially this kit so that we can get these people access to some prescreening basically from the comfort of their own home so that they can still be able to take control of their own health and test for really important biomarkers that could be very life changing.”  

Experimentation using menstrual blood is fairly new to the medical community due to its stigmatization and a disparity in women’s health studies. 

“We were able to show that it [menstrual blood] has a similar detection rate as a normal blood test, which is exciting because it proves that menstrual blood isn’t a novel source, but you can maintain accuracy with the device and be able to have this early detection to prevent cancer or its development,” Damiani said. 

The Lilypad kit consists of the Lilypad itself, gloves, an alcohol wipe and a biohazard container. The benefit of the at-home kit allows users to comfortably test for cervical cancer, STDs, fertility and much more in a comfortable and familiar environment. 

“We’re looking into using the money that we’ve gotten from InVenture to finish our patent and through work with Emory, we’re working on starting clinical trials and doing more testing to make sure we have the optimal design to collect the samples. The working on manufacturing, getting a small batch of Lilypads made and then hopefully getting real users to test it so we can get good feedback,” Prem said.

Fresh off a win from the InVenture Prize, and using funding they received from winning the Collegiate Inventors Competition in Fall 2023, Lilypad is gearing up to take their product to market, potentially making significant innovations in the women’s healthcare sphere.

The post Lilypad places first in InVenture Prize Competition appeared first on Technique.

The Jackets’ victory on Senior Day over the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles on Saturday was the fairytale ending to the last men’s basketball regular season home game of the year. Jacket fans packed McCamish Pavilion, showing out in droves to watch Tech’s final game on home turf as the team put up an astounding 85 points to the Seminoles’ respective 76, defeating them by a nine-point margin. 

As the clock struck noon, a competitive FSU won the tip-off and drove towards the basket for their first points in anticipation of the easy bucket. However, Tech swiftly denied them. The Jackets took the ball the other way and converted after an easy two from freshman forward starter Baye Ndongo. Within less than two minutes, the other freshman starter, freshman guard Naithan George, made it an easy four-nil, giving the Jackets an early lead. 

With eight minutes to go in the half, the Noles tied it up 25-25 with a three from deep, leaving the next two minutes into a desperate frenzy with both teams looking for a first leg up. However,  a three from the corner from none other than junior guard Miles Kelly, reinforced by another two from junior guard Kowacie Reeves Jr., put the Jackets back on track. 

Reeves rushed back to defend the net with five minutes to go, and a huge airborne swipe sent the ball straight to sophomore forward Tafara Gapare who took it right to the glass for a quick two points. The Jackets closed out the first half, leading 44-41. They carried that momentum into the second half, especially on defense. Across the second half, the Jackets put on a massive defensive performance by limiting the Seminoles to 35 points while the Jackets tacked on another 41 to close the game.

The real climb was only getting started as the Jackets blazed into the second half, where their speed and game would gain altitude. The momentum coming in from the first half took a moment to build, but by the last nine minutes of the game, the Jackets were up by 10 and looking to hold their commanding
advantage till the buzzer. 

A huge dunk by Gapare at the four-minute mark had the crowd on their feet, letting the Jackets sail away with a 16-point advantage. Within the minute, Gapare was back defending from a Nole press and lit up the crowd once again with a thunderous block, denying FSU’s revival. 

Senior guard Kyle Sturdivant put up his second 20-point game of the season for his final dance, with his four 3-pointers matching a career high and giving him his fourth straight game with double-digit points. 

Ndongo trailed Sturdivant in points by securing 15 points and 14 rebounds, his second-best rebound total only trailing his season-best of 19 in December. George also had a 15-point game, his first double digit points tally in six games. 

The fight ran deep through this ACC faceoff, with the Seminoles being known for forcing the highest rate of turnovers in the ACC (20.3%). However, in the true Jacket spirit, Tech rounded off the game with the second-lowest turnover rate of the season by an FSU opponent. Tech had the second most rebounds in program history with 55, the record being set in 1996 against FSU with 56.

Three players (guard Sturdivant,  forward Tyzhaun Claude and guard Carter Murphy) and three managers (Alex Gaynor, Ankith “A.K.” Kodali and Wyatt Pangan) were all honored during the Senior ceremony before tipoff for their contributions to Tech basketball. The conclusion of the regular season also marks the end of head coach Damon Stoudamire’s first season with the Jackets. With one game to go, Stoudamire and his squad still have the opportunity to improve their win-loss ratio from the 2022-23 season. 

Tech will round off their regular season games on Saturday, March 9, against the Virginia Cavaliers after handing Wake Forest their first home loss of the season in a massive upset earlier this week on Tuesday, March 5.

The post Jackets triumph on Senior Night appeared first on Technique.

The Los Angeles Times (L.A. Times) announced the firing of 115 employees, or more than 20% of their newsroom, on Jan. 23, 2024.  The L.A. Times had also recently fired 74 members of their staff in June of 2023, roughly 13% of their newsroom at the time. 

The L.A. Times is not the only news outlet facing extreme layoffs. From January to November of 2023, approximately 2,681 news industry employees lost their jobs, more than the number of jobs lost in 2021 and 2022 combined, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Mass layoffs are common in the news industry, and people blame them  on a lack of readership or viewers or a need to shift a newsroom “culture.” These kinds of mass layoffs also frequently and disproportionately affect journalists of color. 

“Our newspaper’s ownership made a promise to bring in talented journalists from diverse backgrounds so that our staff reflects the city we cover, in the most populous state in the country,” leaders of the L.A. Times guild’s caucuses said Tuesday in a statement. “These proposed cuts would severely damage what incremental progress has been made.” The caucus represent Black, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern and South Asian journalists.

This loss of journalists of color within the news industry will only perpetuate the loss at which news outlets will lose readership and viewership. Different perspectives only make sources more credible, well-rounded and engaging to an audience while incorporating people of all backgrounds. 

What also remains important, especially in the context of global events, is addressing context and nuances, something that could be best contributed to or highly benefited by a journalist of color. When discussing sensitive issues, it is important that a journalist can connect and empathize with an audience through difficult situations. Journalism aims to tell stories that bring light to situations and issues that show the complexity of an issue rather than strive to attract a larger audience. Though outlets may be struggling with dwindling audiences, the solution is not to scrap journalists who provide these benefits to the network. In these times, there is no shortage of information made available online; however, we are also in the midst of a widespread campaign of misinformation and disinformation. The way we communicate news is also changing, becoming more flexible to accommodate new facts and standing on new information. This shift from old to new is not a death sentence to journalism as a whole but rather a call to news outlets to become one with the new times, especially when it comes to the incorporation of more diversity into all newsrooms. 

The game has changed, and so must we. The solution to gaining an audience does not come at the price of mass layoffs but rather more journalistic freedom. There is a lack of funding for journalism to thrive, and in turn, outlets rely on large companies and corporations to fund their work through advertisements and content. As we enter a new era of journalism, this practice must cease to exist as a means of restricting stories and journalists. 

The L.A. Times mass firings are simply the tip of the iceberg. Adaptation to new forms of media, new styles, new techniques and allowing for difficult subjects to be reported on needs to be accepted by those championing the old ways of journalism. Mass firings in general, especially ones targeting people of color, are not the solution to the plethora of problems. In a country where the duty of a journalist is protected by the First Amendment, we must find a way to do better.

The post The future of our journalists appeared first on Technique.

A United States Court of Appeals in the Washington D.C. Circuit heard a case in which former President Donald Trump claimed presidential immunity from prosecution for the role he played in a riot on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The riot was likely a result of his effort to overturn the 2020 election outcome in his favor. The judging panel consisted of three judges, two of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden, and they appeared to remain skeptical of the claims brought forth by Trump’s legal team. The panel also appeared unsure whether the case should be heard at all due to the circumstances under which it was brought forth. 

The hearing took place on Jan. 9, 2024, on an early Tuesday morning where the former president remained stoic while his team presented their arguments. Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, argued that the judging panel lacked the authority to prosecute Trump for any of his presidential acts, citing that his involvement in attempting to overturn the election results fell under the umbrella of presidential duties. His legal team also interpreted the Constitution’s impeachment clause, insisting that Trump could only be criminally charged after being impeached and convicted by Congress.

“The president has a unique constitutional role, but he is not above the law. Separation of powers principles, constitutional text, history, precedent and immunity doctrines all point to the conclusion that a former president enjoys no immunity from prosecution,” said James Pearce, the prosecution’s lawyer.

Sauer also argued that not allowing Trump’s claim of immunity to stand could unleash mass uncertainty into the minds of future and past presidents, noting that presidents would be unable to execute the roles of the office if they faced potential prosecution upon vacating the role. The judging panel was apprehensive of the claim, using former President Richard Nixon’s need to be formally pardoned for his involvement in Watergate, showing that he did not have automatic immunity as an example.

“To authorize the prosecution of a president for official acts would open a Pandora’s box from which this nation may never recover,” Sauer said.

The former president also took a moment to address the press, insisting on his innocence stating, “a president has to have immunity.”

Should the court deliver a swift decision on the question of Trump’s immunity, the rest of the case would have the ability to move forward; however, questions of jurisdiction and authority could slow the process entirely. It is possible that a ruling could appear in the next few days, but its decision will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On the cusp of another election season and now with a win in the Iowa caucus, Trump chose to attend the hearings in person, something he was not required to do as the defendant and has not done since August of 2023. The swiftness of the results and the rulings themselves are likely to influence Trump’s upcoming
campaign for reelection.  

Trump’s involvement in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 marks one of four criminal cases involving the former president. His other trials regard his efforts to overturn his election loss in the state of Georgia, his removal of classified documents from the White House after his presidential term had ended and his involvement in using hush money to cover up a sex scandal during his 2016 election campaign. 

In his indictment regarding the events of Jan. 6, Trump faces four charges, conspiracy to defraud the United States, two charges for obstructing the voting process (one for obstruction and one for conspiracy) and conspiracy to violate civil rights. These charges have been brought forth by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump’s involvement in the effort to overturn the 2020 election as well as his removal of classified documents. Smith was present at the hearing discussing the immunity claims. 

With the presidential election merely 10 months away, it has become evident that Trump is likely to appear as the Republican nominee for president; however, his role in these four criminal investigations throws an element of uncertainty into the process. 

Trump has already been barred from appearing on the ballot in two states by their respective Supreme Courts: Colorado and Maine. These states claim that Trump has acted in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, having incited an insurrection on Jan. 6. Other states are still pending decisions regarding Trump’s appearance on their ballots. Only time will tell if these actions are upheld by the presidential election in November.

The post Trump appeals charges due to immunity claims appeared first on Technique.

It’s fast, it’s furious and it’s not NASCAR. Formula 1, F1, racing is climbing to new motorsport popularity globally and, more recently, in the United States. The racing series that features 20 drivers throughout 23 races fuels a multi-billion dollar industry. F1 is known for its races with star-studded attendees, dramatic off-track politics and mind-blowing speed.

The races are a weekend-long affair with up to three practice sessions, one qualifying session and, of course, the headlining race. The qualifying session, where drivers have 45 minutes, sectioned into three parts to complete the fastest time possible, determines the order of each race or Grand Prix (GP). The driver that advances through all the sessions with the fastest lap time gets to line up in the first spot on the grid. 

What truly distinguishes F1 from any other kind of racing is the circuits. In all 23 countries, there are differently shaped circuits with all kinds of turns and hills varying from mountainous to inner city tracks. Tires also play a large part in the efficiency of the delicate multi-million dollar cars, allowing them to go faster or slower depending on the weather conditions and track temperatures.

According to Forbes, F1 experienced a 28% increase in viewership in the United States from the 2021 season to 2022, bringing in over 1.2 million views. F1 also experienced a revenue increase in 2022 of $2.573 billion, up from $2.136 billion in 2021. 

One of the biggest reasons that F1 gained worldwide popularity was due to the Netflix-produced docuseries “Drive to Survive.” The show closely followed the behind-the-scenes, closed-door action with interviews from drivers, team principles, F1 Journalists, experts and fans. Each episode covers a race weekend from start to finish, documenting every fight, decision and moment of the weekend’s theatrics and race that occur.

Mary Saunders,  third-year BA, was first introduced to F1 through “Drive to Survive.” 

“My favorite aspect of Formula 1 would have to be the strategy that goes into each race. The behind-the-scenes done by the engineers and strategies often go unnoticed since they aren’t in the car on race day. I also think the fan presence, specifically in Europe, is so unique as certain drivers have dedicated fan bases,” Saunders said on the excitement of the race.

Due to a growing fan presence in the United States, F1 announced a new race set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, in November of 2023. The race is set to take place at night through the famous Las Vegas strip. This is the most recent effort taken by F1 to appeal to their new American fanbase with the Miami GP being introduced in 2022. 

“We could not be more excited to work with our local partners to create a marquee event. The potential of Formula 1 has been well demonstrated over the last several seasons and the Las Vegas GP will only take it to the next level.” Stefano Domenicali, F1 President and CEO, said in a press release, “This is an incredible moment for Formula 1 that demonstrates the huge appeal and growth of our sport with a third race in the US. Las Vegas is a destination known around the world for its excitement, hospitality, thrills and, of course, the famous Strip.”

As the sport gains more popularity, F1 executives are pivoting in ways they have not needed to before, addressing concerns over diversity, wealth divides and sustainability. Issues like these arise with growing viewership, but F1 continues to experience positive feedback through these changes. 

Just recently, Bianca Bustamante joined the McLaren Driver Development program, becoming the first female driver to enroll in this program. She is considered to be paving the way for women in motorsport just as women such as Susie Wolff and Jamie Chadwick have done before her. 

The motorsport has also announced new sustainability measures, with the goals of reducing carbon emission through travel and race weekend festivities, as well as new engines for the cars.

“I think people should watch F1 because it highlights the technological innovation within the sport and provides a lot of entertainment. The nature of the sport allows you to get connected to a driver or a certain team and in my opinion makes it feel more personal than other sports. The community around F1 is something I have also found to be very enjoyable and have made many friends through the F1,” Saunders said. 

Many fans look forward to the debut of F1 in Vegas soon.

The post Formula One racing into Las Vegas, Nevada soon appeared first on Technique.