volume 96, issue 24

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TechniqueThe Souths Liveliest College Newspaper

The Ferst Centerhosts a family-

friendly circus set inthe Wild West.413

Friday, February 25, 2011 Volume 96, Issue 24 nique.net Cirquemechanics

stateofhope

Gov. Deal releases new plan for scholarship

Photo courtesy of the Governors Oce

Governor Nathan Deal addresses fellow legislators, students and school faculty in order to propose a new direction for the HOPE Scholarship. Under the new plan, fulltuition at public schools would be available to students with a GPA of at least 3.7 and a minimum score of 1200 on the SAT, which will save an estimated $300 million.

By Emily CardinAssistant News Editor

Former Governor Zell Millerspromise was straightforward: makepassable grades as a high school stu-dent and enjoy a free college educa-tion in the state of Ga. Soon, how-ever, this promise could be broken,as lawmakers move to vote on theHOPE scholarship.

is year, the state withdrew fromreserve accounts to fund the portionsof the scholarship that were not cov-ered by the lottery revenue.

State ocials knew the decit

would arise eventually, but histori-cally have only toyed with the ideato make eligibility requirementsstricter by including additional GPA

and standardized test requirements.Lawmakers had warned cuts werecoming, but many students thoughtthe changes would only aect futurerecipients.

On Tuesday, Gov. Deal proposedan overhaul that would save some$300 million.

We have crafted a plan that pre-serves HOPE for future generationsof Georgians while maintaining oneof the most generous scholarshipprograms in the United States, Dealsaid.

Under the new plan, free publiccollege tuition would be available

to high school students with a GPAof at least 3.7 and a minimum scoreof 1200 on the SAT the majorityof current recipients at Tech would

meet those standards.Other students would get some

tuition help, an amount that coulductuate annually. e revampedprogram, however, would no longercover extras, like fees, books and re-medial classes.

Students with at least a collegeGPA of 3.0 would qualify for anaward that would pay 90 percent ofpublic college tuition.

ose attending private collegesin Georgia would see their awardsshrink from $4000 to $3600.

e proposed changes mean atleast 200,000 students will see cuts

to their HOPE awards, and mostof the incoming freshmen this FallPhoto by Victor Lee / Student PublicationsCorey Boone addresses legislators in the Houses HigherEducation Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

Health Centerto undergo

renovationsBy Vijai Narayanan

News Editor

e Stamps Health Center will undergo aseries of renovations in the upcoming monthsto accommodate more patients and improve thequality of care. Among other things, the prima-ry care clinics will be remodeled, the numberof exam rooms will be increased and the phar-macy will be made larger to oer more productsand services. Work on these projects will beginin as little as three weeks and will continue inphases until the beginning of the Fall semester.

As a resu lt of the project, the front desk w illbe made smaller and more customer friendly,allowing the pharmacy to be relocated behind

where it currently stands. A new elevator willbe installed where the pharmacy is currentlylocated. is will make it easier for patients toaccess any of the services located on the secondoor of the Health Center.

Were going to change nearly every aspectof the Health Center, said Dr. Gregory Moore,the director of Stamps Health Services.

One of the most signicant changes that theHealth Center will undergo will be the rede-signing of the primary care clinics. Currently,the waiting area for the Health Center is locatednear the entrance, forcing nurses and patients to

walk long distances to the examination room.

Fate of Crum & Forster to be determined

By TJ KaplanStaf Writer

e Crum & Forster building, lo-cated at 771 Spring St. in Midtown At-lanta has long been the subject of debatebetween potential developers who want

to use the prime real estate and preser-vationists intent on saving it. Recently,Tech purchased a property located nearthe Crum & Forster building that maylead to a resolution to this longstandingdispute.

e building is one of the few re-maining examples of classically designed

architecture in Midtown Atlanta, and assuch has been protected for many yearsby organizations such as the AtlantaTrust and other activist groups. In 2007,the Georgia Tech Foundation purchasedthe building to expand nearby Technol-ogy Square, and subsequently applied in

May of 2008 for a Special AdministrativePermit to demolish the building.Later that year, Atlantas Bureau of

Planning denied the Foundations requestfor a demolition permit. In 2009, shortlyafter the demolition permit request wasdenied, the building was nominated as alocal landmark building. On Aug. 17 of

that year, the Atlanta City Council vot-ed unanimously in favor of making thebuilding a landmark, and Mayor ShirleyFranklin signed the ordinance into lawlater that year.

e Georgia Tech Foundation, afterunsuccessfully appealing the rejection

of the permit to demolish the Crum &Forster building purchased the nearbybranch of Sun Trust Banks Inc.

e new property, which will bringthe Institute closer to its collaborativeresearch partner, Emory University, was

Photo by Sho Kitamura / Student Publications

The Crum & Forster building in Midtown Atlanta is the subject of a legal battle between the Georgia Tech Foundationand local preservationists. The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously in 2009 to give the building landmark status.

See Deal, page 5

See Forster, page 5See Health, page 4

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2 February 25, 2011 Technique NEWS

POLL OF THE WEEKWhat do you think about the Good Samaritan Provision?

50.7%Its a good initiative,I will make use of it.

49%Whats theGood SamaritanProvision?

11.9%More should

be done toincrease alcoholawareness

24%It wont help reduceirresponsible drinkingbehavior

Next issues

question:

Tell us at

nique.net

What is your

reaction to Deals

HOPE proposals?

Based on 51 responses

Founded in 1911, the Techniqueis the student newspaper of theGeorgia Institute of Technology, and is an ocial publication of theGeorgia Tech Board of Student Publications. e Technique publisheson Fridays weekly during the fall and spring and biweekly during thesummer.

Advertising :Information and rate cards can be found online atnique.net/ads. e deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m.one week before publication. To place a reservation, for billing infor-mation, or for any other questions please e-mail us at [email protected].

You may reach us by telephone at (404) 894-2830, Monday throughFriday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

CoverAge requests:Requests for coverage and tips should besubmitted to the Editor-in-Chief and/or the relevant section editor.

TechniqueThe Souths Liveliest College Newspaper

offiCe:

353 Ferst Dr., Room 137Atlanta , GA 30332-0290Telephone: (404) 894-2830Fax: (404) 894-1650

editor-in-Chief:

Hahnming [email protected]: (404) 894-2831

Copyright 2011, Hahnming Lee, Editor-in-Chief, and by the GeorgiaTech Board of Student Publications. No part of this paper may be reproducedin any manner without written permission from the Editor-in-Chief or fromthe Board of Student Publications. e ideas expressed herein are those of theindividual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board ofStudent Publications, the students, sta, or faculty of the Georgia Institute ofTechnology or the University System of Georgia.

First copy freefor additional copies call (404) 894-2830

news editor: Vijai Narayanan / [email protected] editor: Matt Homan / [email protected] editor: Kamna Bohra / [email protected] editor: Patricia Uceda / [email protected] editor: Alex Mitchell / [email protected]

followusonline:http://nique.net

Twitter: @the_nique

By Emily CardinAssistant News Editor

From the les of the GTPD...

Campus Crime

Ninja novice

On Feb. 15, an ocer was dis-patched to the corner of North

Ave. and Techwood Dr. in re-ponse to a suspicious person call.

Upon their arrival, the suspectrefused to communicate with of-cers. Several attempts were madeto communicate, with negative re-sults. After being warned to leavecampus and issued a criminal tres-pass warning, the subject removedhis outer layers of clothing and as-sumed a ghting stance.

e subject was arrested andput in handcus, despite hiscontinued attempts to struggleagainst the ocers.

Shaft mishap

At 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 19, o-cers were called to the Health Sci-ences building in response to anElevator Entrapment call. Con-

tact was immediately made withthe victim, who was trapped be-tween the rst and second oor.

After 15 minutes. the AtlantaFire Department arrived, but wasunable to open the elevator door.e elevator repairman called toreport that he was an hour away.

e victim was nally retrievedvia a ladder lowered into the eleva-tor shaft, through the top of theelevator at 8:30 p.m. because noone was able to open the elevator

door. e victim reported no inju-ries after being removed from thestructure.

MJ is my friendA suspicious male was found

wandering around Hopkins Resi-dence Hall at 4:30 a.m. on themorning of Feb. 19. e male re-ported being at a party earlier inthe evening, but did not appear tobe with anyone during question-ing and could provide no names

of current students.e subject then oered asmall bag of what appeared to bemarijuana to the ocer, and iden-tied himself by both name anddate of birth. He was a residentof Chicago, Ill. and was visibilyunder the inuence of alcohol andother substances.

e subject was arrested andcharged with criminal trespassand possession of marijuana ofless than an ounce.

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Technique February 25, 2011 3NEWS

GSSBill Amount GSS UHR

Bill Summary

You can follow Mike at the Niques blog, The Pulse. Check in at 7:30p.m. on Tuesday for updates from UHR sessions at nique.net/pulse.

Council ClippingsThis week in Student Government

By Mike Donohue, SGA Editor

Each week, this section includes coverage of die rent aspects of StudentGovernment, including the Undergraduate House of Representatives,Graduate Student Senate and the Executive Branch of both governments.

Womens Awareness MonthJacketPages Replacement

MagiciansRepresentative appointment

$1071.51$5000$500

---

29-0-030-1-015-17-128-2-3

44-0-041-0-3

28-10-339-0-0JacketPages Repl acement

SGA voted on Tuesday to fund

a $5000 student competition toreplace JacketPages, Techs stu-dent organization and bill submis-sion portal. GSS approved the billunanimously and UHR passed it

with a vote of 31-4-0.e competition aims to ad-

dress many of the usability is-sues SGA has encountered whileattempting to work with Jacket-Pages and its developer, CollegiateLink.

According to a Request forProposal developed by an SGAcommittee chaired by AE SenatorEvan McClain, the competition

will focus on replacing the billsubmission aspect of JacketPages.e judging committee will ac-cept initial submissions through

March 16, select three nalists,and then ask for prototypes by

April 6 with a nal implementa-tion date of July 1.

e committee will awardprizes of $500 to the three nal-ists, $1000 to the overall winner,and will use an additional $1000to incentivize the development ofadditional features. SGA will usethe nal $1000 to nd a replace-ment for the social networkingaspects of JacketPages.

Several members of the Gradu-ate Executive Cabinet spoke instrong support of the bill. Secre-tary of the Senate and AE Sen.

James Black emphasized the mon-ey that would be saved through

this competition, the improve-ment in usability and the fact thatthe new system could be modiedmore easily and quickly. Execu-

tive Vice President Kathy Schnureadded that the Senate was no lon-

ger using JacketPages for bill sub-missions and instead was using aworkaround involving MicrosoftExcel.

Some Senators, includingPSYCH Sen. Keith Bujak raisedconcerns over the long-term main-tenance of the program. Bujakraised the point that student builtsystems typically are neglected.He also expressed worries over theusability of the system.

McClain responded by sayingthat SGA would appoint a JointIT Chair to maintain the newsystem. Adressing the usability is-sues, McClain suggested that Bu-

jak and simila rly minded Senatorsjoin the judging committee.

Debate in UHR was more con-

tentious, with several representa-tives expressing concern over theshort time table.

is is throwing good moneyat bad ideas, said MGT Rep.Mathias Rost.

He suggested that the compe-tition be integrated into a seniordesign competition next year. Helater explained in an email, ...thetimeline is overly aggressive. We

want to build an IT solution forthe next few years in a few weeks?ats unnecessarily rushed anddangerous thinking.

After the vote in the House,Graduate Student Body President

Anthony Baldridge expressed hisapproval.

Im ecstatic at the outcome,Baldridge said. Today was a vic-tory for every student organiza-tion at Georg ia Tech.

Undergraduate Vice Presidentof Student Organizations Mat-lock Rogers, the chief representa-tive of Undergraduate SGA in thisprocess agreed.

Im really excited. is looksgood for any [Computer Sciencestudent] to put in his portfolio.

Were expecting to have reallygood participation already, Rog-ers said.

SGA began working on theconcept of a student competition

in the end of fall semester aftercomplaints from Representativesand Senators. e problems with

JacketPages were exacerbated aftera Jan. upgrade which changed the

way that bills were presentated toRepresentatives and Senators. Af-ter the upgrade, GSS and UHRbegan using the Excel work-around. JacketPages cost $20,000to develop and costs $13,000 ayear to maintain. CollegiateLink,an outside company, maintainsthe site and performs upgrades.

MagiciansMagicians at Georgia Tech

successfully requested $500 infunds to bring an outside magi-

cian and lecturer to campus. GSSpassed the bill 37-0-1 and UHRpassed it 33-7-5.

As they did last time they re-

quested funds, representatives ofthe organization entertained boththe Senate and the House witha short demonstration of theirmagic shows. Senators and Repre-sentatives reacted favorably to theorganizations exploits.

During debate in the House,several Representatives ques-tioned whether SGA should allo-cate funds to an event which willoccur in the summer. e organi-zational representatives conrmed

that the event would be held inthe time between the spring andsummer semesters, but expressedcondence that attendance wouldbe sucient.

Womens Awareness Monthe Graduate Student Senate

considered and passed a bill fund-ing Womens Awareness Month

with a vote of 34-0-1. e bill willallocate $1071.51 to run eventssuch as Take Back the Night,

Womens Day of Service and theVagina Monologues.

e House passed the bill lastweek after cutting the requestedamount by 85 percent. Follow-ing a brief oor debate, the House

chose to re-fund $231 in candlesfor Take Back the Night. e Sen-ate passed an identical bill this

week.

Prior Year: $112,196 Capital Outlay: $381,294

News Briefs

Miss Anne retires fromJuniors Grill

Anne Pamlis, an employee atJuniors Grill, ha s reti red af ter 33years of service. Members of theTech community wished her wellin her retirement.

Starting in the 1970s, Pamlistook on the job after her nephew,

Tommy Klemis, oered her one.She has been working there sinceand was one of the regulars at thegrill. Adjusting to her retirement,Pamlis is reconnecting withfriends and enjoying her time athome.

Princeton Reviewnames Tech best value

e Princeton Review namedTech as one of its 2011 Best ValueColleges. Listed among the top50 public universities, Tech wasgraded on its cost of attendance,the quality of its nancial aid, andseveral academic factors. e listranked 50 private universities.

Tech students receiveIntel Grants

Eighteen undergraduate stu-dents from the schools of Elec-trical, Computer and Chemicaland Biomolecular Engineering re-ceived funds from the Intel Foun-dation and the SemiconductorResearch Corporation Education

Alliance.e Intel Foundation is a phil-

anthropic organization that pro-vides funding for national andlocalized grants. According tothe recent Tech newsroom release,Intel and the Semiconductor Re-search Corporations Education

Alliance fuel innovation in class-

rooms and empowers women andunderserved youth through theUndergraduate Research Oppor-tunities program.

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Changes made to SGA elections

Year-old changes to the under-graduate elections code and theSGA constitution will take eectthis April, which means that theupcoming spring elections willfeature joint tickets for President

and Executive Vice President.is will mark the rst time inthe history of the undergraduateSGA elections that presidentialand vice-presidential candidates

will run on the same ticket.Last April, undergraduate vot-

ers overwhelmingly passed a ref-erendum that amended the SGAConstitution. e referendumprovided for the creation of a newposition, Speaker of the House,that would assume nearly all ofthe legislative duties previouslyassumed by the Executive VicePresident. Five months later, theUHR amended the elections codeand merged the voting process forthe President and Vice President.

Now that we have a Speaker

of the House position, the VicePresident is free to take on many,many more executive branch ini-tiatives and projects, said Under-graduate Executive Vice PresidentBrenda Morales. Its importantthat the President and Vice Presi-dent run on the same ticket sothat the President can essentiallychoose who he or she will work

with.e changes were undertaken

for other pragmatic reasons.

By Isaac ParkContributing Writer

We could run into a situationwhere a president runs, wanting toinstitute certain initiatives, and avice president runs, wanting to in-stitute a separate set of initiatives,said Undergraduate Student BodyPresident Corey Boone. is

would create gridlock among theexecutive cabinet.

Last Aprils referendum sig-nicantly expanded the execu-tive focus of the Vice President,

which made scenarios like this apotential concern. Under the oldConstitution, however, the VicePresident had much less executiveclout.

When I was running for VicePresident, I was very hesitant totalk about executive matterseven though I operate within theexecutive branch, Morales said.Even though there were certainprojects and initiatives I couldtake on as Vice President, I left itto whoever was elected to set theagenda.

Some of the rules and regula-tions governing the campaign will

also change. Before, campaignnance regulations capped spend-ing at $300 for both presidentialand vice-presidential campaigns.

As amended, current regulationsnow cap spending at $500 for any

joint ticketeectively decreas-ing total possible spending.

According to Chibueze Ihena-cho, chair of the undergraduateelections committee and a sec-ond-year ISyE, the format of theexecutive debate will also change.

Although it is traditionally held infront of the Campanile, ongoingconstruction on the Clough Un-dergraduate Learning Commonsand on the Campanile itself rulesit out as an option. More impor-tantly, this years debate will in-clude both the presidential andvice-presidential candidates from

each ticket.Two people can impact abroader audience, Ihenacho said.I think youll see more focusedcampaigns. I think youll see moreaggressive campaigns. It shouldmake for really interesting strat-egy changes, and students will seethat.

Many believe that single tick-ets will improve the dialogue ofthe campaign.

I didnt publicly align my-self with any of the candidateslast year, so I really had to stickto things that, as Executive VicePresident, were unique to myrole, Morales said. But if thePresident and Vice President havethe same platform and issues they

want to address, the Vice Presi-dent can take part in that creationof a vision.

It is a good, positive step for-ward, Boone said. I do hope thatit will engage more students andallow them to feel more a part ofthe process because they will beable to elect a unied ticket.

SGA application packets willbe available on March 2nd, cam-paigning begins on March 27thand polls open on April 8th.

By renovating these facilities,each primary care center willhave a waiting area near the examroom, making the experiencemuch more similar to doctors of-ces at individual clinics.

e Health Center will ex-pand its psychiatric services byadding more oces to the wardupstairs. e Womens Clinic,

which receives approximately 70

patients each week, will also beconstructed on the second oor.e Dental Clinic will be closedlater this month due to nancialreasons, but the space could berented out to a private practice inorder to generate more revenue inthe future. e total cost of theserenovation projects is expected tobe around $2 million.

In addition to these renovationprojects, the Health Center will

undertake a project to digitize itsmedical records and streamlinepatient care. By the end of theproject, students will be able toprovide a digital record of theirsymptoms and their medical his-tory before making an appoint-ment, making it easier for doctorsto identify potential solutions andprescribe the proper medication.

Both of these projects will helpserve the Health Centers longterm goal of becoming an accred-

ited facility. Most large universi-ties have accredited facilities.Its important to know that

youve done those things to stayup to date and for patients toknow that they are getting thebest care possible, Moore said.

e project will be completedby the rst week of the fall se-mester, when approximately 1000students are expected to visit theHealth Center.

Photo courtes y of Health Services

The primary care facilities will be redesigned to have waitingrooms. This will facilitate a more traditional patient experience.

Health from page 1

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Technique February 25, 2011 5NEWS

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acquired as a result of the reloca-tion of the branch.

According to John Carter,president of the Georgia TechFoundation, Tech continues tobecome involved with the sur-rounding Atlanta communitiesto accommodate the future needsof the Institute for academic, re-search and related functions andto further contribute to the en-

hancement of areas surroundingcampus.Now that we purchased the

Sun Trust property, we are doingour very best to come to a mutualagreement regarding the future ofthe Crum & Forster Building,Carter said.

Although Techs expansioninto the Midtown area has beenthe subject of controversy in thiscase, many developers in the At-lanta area are generally supportiveof the Institutes expansion eortsat this time.

Any expansion of GeorgiaTech east into Midtown anddowntown is a great thingIfyou look at Georgia State Uni-versity, Emory and Tech, they are

forming a triangle of developmentthat is a huge boon for our centralcity, said A.J. Robinson, presi-dent of Central Atlanta Progress.

According to Robinson, theprospect of having such highlyrespected institutions within suchclose proximity to one another inthe Midtown area is one of thegreatest strengths of the commu-nity.

When asked about why Techis intent on maintaining a levelof expansion even in such dismaleconomic times, Institute Presi-dent G.P. Bud Peterson said,When times are tough is whenyou really have a chance to makesome changes and set a course for

the future. While many institu-tions are pulling back and re-trenching, we think this is a timeto be aggressive.

Forster from page 1Faculty awarded Sloan fellowships

ree Tech faculty membershave been recently awarded the

Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a$50,000 research grant that willenable recipients to further theirresearch in the elds of science,

economics, computer science andmathematic s. Awardees from Techwere Christopher Peikert from theCollege of Computing, Shina Tanfrom the Physics Department andSilas Alben from the MathematicsDepartment.

e Sloan Fellowship awardsyoung scholars who have receivedtheir doctorate within the past sixyears and who are working on in-novative research. Established in1934 by the then General MotorsPresident and CEO Alfred Sloan,the foundation was created to rec-ognize those scholars who are re-searching topics that could resultin an important contribution tosociety. ese three faculty chosenat Tech were selected among 118

other national scholars. ey werealso the only ones selected fromthe state of Georgia.

Ellen Zegura, the Chair of theCollege of Computing, recog-nized Christopher Peikerts cryp-tology research as an importantcomponent for the future of com-puter science.

One of the exciting thingsabout his work is that hes lookingat systems to do with cryptologythat still work even if we are ableto build quantum computersthats a big deal, Zegura said.

Although they have not yetbeen developed completely, quan-tum computers are predictedto play an important role in the

future of computer science andcryptology, because they canbreak almost all of the crypto-graphic techniques used today.

As far as we know, this lattice[cryptography] cannot be brokenby quantum computers, Peikertsaid.

With this fellowship, Peikertplans to continue his researchby gathering a group of studentsto help him further tackle thischallenge. He is also consideringpurchasing specic cryptographicequipment for this purpose.

One other recipient was ShinaTan, who was recognized for hisresearch on the theory of dilutematter in extremely cold tempera-tures. He said this subject is in-creasing in popularity in the eld.

Cold matter is getting moreand more diverse. People are nowstudying more and more of com-plex states [of matter], Tan said.

By Maddie CookStaf Writer

Photo court esy of Communications & Marketing

Peikert received a fellowship for his research in the area of

quantum computers, an important tool in the eld of cryptology.

Lastly, Silas Alben was alsochosen to receive this award.

It really is a great honor, I wasvery excited of course. It is a reallybig honor for people in my eld ofapplied math. It was something Ihad hoped to get, Alben said.

Alben i s advancing the eld ofuid dynamics by trying to dis-cover a more ecient computa-tion method. Currently, Alben is

working with biologists in a studyof how krill form their schoolsand move as a body.

Peikert, Tan and Albens willbe able to use the grant this up-coming Sept. All three plan to ap-

ply the grant to purchasing equip-ment, paying for student stipendsand for any additional travel toconferences or workshops.

Deal from page 1

will not get the full tuition olderstudents under the old plan oncereceived.

Student leaders asked lawmak-ers Wednesday to delay imple-mentation by a semester or year socurrent recipients can alter theirnancial or academic plans to ac-commodate for the change.

e state House Higher Edu-cation Appropriations Committee

held a hearing Wednesday on theproposed changes to HOPE. Dur-ing the public hearing, students,lottery retailers and others sharedtheir concerns.

e main issue that the fresh-man class has is the issue of therebeing absolutely no grandfatherclause, said Freshman Class Pres-ident and MGT major McKenzieDelaney.

Today, I ask that you all con-sider a...period that would allowan orderly transition, one that

would give students adequatetime to get their nancial housein order so that they can make aninvestment in their education,said Undergraduate Student BodyPresident Corey Boone.

Republican legislative leadersand some minority Democratsare backing the plan and movingquickly to pass it.

House Democratic MinorityLeader Stacey Abrams says thatin the nal version of the legisla-tion, House Democrats want tosee remedial courses for technicalcolleges and tuition equalizationgrants for, for-prot schools.

She also says that the Demo-crats hope to preserve the Pre-Kportion of the lottery funds.

State Representative Ed Ryders(R-Albany) plans to introduce anamendment that would allow vot-ers to decide if state college tuitionshould be capped by ination, un-

less the State Legislature says oth-erwise. e amendment alreadyhas more than 100 signaturesfrom fellow House members.

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OpinionsTechnique

6Friday,

February 25, 2011

I think that God in creating Mansomewhat overestimated his ability..

Oscar Wilde

Opinions Editor: Matt Hofman

OUR VIEWS Consensus opinion

Gubernatorial glitchGovernors plan for HOPE detrimental to Teche new system or the HOPE

scholarship proposed by Governor Dealwill have adverse short-term and long-termefects on the Tech student body and theInstitute as a whole. I the proposal goesthrough, students will see an immediateincrease in out-o-pocket expenses. Sinceees and books will no longer be covered,students will already be on the hook orhundreds o dollars more per semester, butthe problem will be urther exacerbatedby the act that most students on HOPE

will be required to pay at least 10 percento their tuition. A grandather clause inthe bill would help alleviate this possiblepredicament and help students adjust tothe new system.

e long-term efects could be evenmore damaging on an Institutional level.Tech has a well-established reputationthroughout the state o having a veryrigorous academic work load. iscoupled with the recent decision o theBoard o Regents to open up what used to

be Tech-only majors to more universitieswithin Georgia will make Tech be at aneven greater disadvantage when studentsare shopping or a college to attend. WhileTech currently has a very strong brand, itcan only be sustained by bringing in thebest and the brightest.

Ultimately, the leadership on campus,both on the student level and theadministrative level, needs to lobbyor the best interests o Tech. Studentleadership has sent mixed messages,

but the two points oten made by themhave been that unding tuition at 100percent is critical and that raising thecollege GPA requirements should notbe on the table. Both o these demands

were ignored in the proposal. SGA andthe administration need to do what isin the best interest o current and uturestudents; this proposal is not in the bestinterest o the Tech community. Bothgoverning bodies should try to improveor block the proposal.

EDITORIAL CARTOON By CASEy TISDEL

On Tuesday, Governor Dealreleased his plan to x the HOPEScholarship program. e Gov-ernors proposal would decoupleHOPE rom tuition, keeping itsunding at 2011 levels going intothe uture. As the University Sys-tem will undoubtedly continue toraise tuition each year, this pro-posal will harm students in Geor-gia and slowly retract the promiseo a good education or all whoseek it here.

Also, the proposed plan wouldonly give ull unding to the bestand the brightest in the new ZellMiller program, and i those stu-

dents attended Tech, they wouldlikely lose their scholarships dueto the ridiculous 3.5 GPA require-ment. Neither the Governorspress release nor the AJC articledetailing the plan show what hap-pens to those students. Do theybegin to receive regular HOPEunds, or are they punished or be-ing intelligent and driven youngmen and women who happenedto choose a more dicult school,

when they are dropped out o theprogram entirely?

e plan contains no mecha-nisms to increase revenue. At leastSGAs White Paper leaned on ca-sino gambling and the possibilityo Sunday alcohol sales to boost

HOPE revenue. While the pros-pect o Casino gambling in Geor-gia is bit ar-etched, projectionsshow that Sunday alcohol sales

would generate signicant rev-enue or the program. ere areother ideas out there as well, suchas a proposal to levy a dedicatedve cent increase in the cigarettetax or the legalization o reworksales in Georgia to collect the rev-enue that goes out o state to S.C.and Ala.

In addition, the proposal wouldseek to thin the herd o potentialHOPE recipients by requiringthat the applicants take rigorouscourse loads in high school. isis patently unair to students romrural or poor school districts, sincemany o these districts do not o-er Advanced Placement courses.

Also, how would the HOPE ad-ministrators diferentiate betweenstudents who took AP Art Historyto inate their GPAs and students

who took all rigorous AP classesand let their GPAs all a little.

Yes, the Governors proposalwould extend the expiration dateon the HOPE Scholarship pro-gram, but it would do it on thebacks o students who are all de-serving. HOPE needs to be saved,but there has to be a better way.

John KochFourth-year AE

Research needed whendiscussing traditions

I you are going to write a pieceabout Tech traditions, I suggestyou learn that it is not, nor hasit ever been, RATS. It is RAT,

standing or Recruit At Tech.is is a part o Tech history thathas been orgotten by many, and,thanks to ignorant articles suchas your recent ar ticle about the T-Book, is misremembered [sic] bymany o those who do rememberit.

Matthew JacksonFourth-year MGT

Traditions lost on the

student body

As a ourth-year Tech studentthat has been in the Georgia TechMarching Band every year, Ive

grown accustomed to the rest othe student body being conusedabout, doing horrendously wrong,or generally just ignoring many othe traditions that the Band up-holds. Even the [Ramblin ReckClub], an organization o stu-dents, committed to the educa-tion and promotion o Tech spirit,history and tradition, ailed intheir attempt at a T-Night lastyear, with the Band correctingthem essentially every 10 seconds(they did better this year, but onlybecause they asked or help). Oneo the most common mistakes Isee is RATS. e correct term isRecruit(s) At Tech, hence RATs.RATS, or recently acquired Techstudent, is wrong. I understandthat, in a way, nobody else is ascrazy as we arewere an oddbunch, I admit. But when the Fo-cus Editor does it wrong, that sayssomething to me. Check your tra-ditions beore you print it wrong.

Nicholas LaiFourth-year MGT

Meaning of RATsincorrect

Please prooread your articlesmore closely. In Fridays Op-Ed[sic] piece on the T-book, you re-erred to the RAT Caps reshmenare given as RATS caps.

is is not the correct acronym

as RAT=Recruit at Tech is theway it was in the past and how theYellow Jacket Marching Band re-ers to it. I dont think a 100 yearold organization would get that

wrong.Daniel Ross

Fourth-year EAS

yOUR VIEWS Letterstothe editor

Deals proposal for

HOPE falls shortWrite to us:

[email protected]

We welcome your letters inresponse to Technique content aswell as topics relevant to campus.We wil l print letters on a t imelyand space-available basis.

Letters should not exceed 400words and should be submitted byTuesday at 7 p.m. in order to beprinted in the ollowing Fridaysissue. Include your ull name, year(1st, 2nd, etc.) and major. We re-serve the right to edit or style andlength. Only one submission per

person will be printed per term.

Te Consensus Opinion reects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of theTechnique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.

TechniqueEditorial BoardHahnming Lee, Editor-in-Chief

Vivian Fan,Managing EditorKate Comstock, Business Manager

Jennier Aldoretta, Layout EditorKamna Bohra, Focus EditorSteven Cappetta,Advertising ManagerMike Donohue, SGA EditorMatt Hofman, Opinions EditorReem Mansoura, Outreach Editor

Alex Mitchell, Sports EditorVijai Narayanan, News EditorNishant Prasadh, Online Sports EditorChris Russell, Online EditorJarrett Skov, Photo EditorPatricia Uceda, Entertainment Editor

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Technique February 25, 2011 7OPINIONS

As my years at Tech haveprogressed, Ive had vastlyvarying opinions o the school

we all attend. A eeling Imsure most are amiliar with,Ive had countless weeks thatI curse the Institute and won-der why I chose to attend Techover other schools.

e work-load is outra-geous, and the stress o tryingto nd a balance studying orthree tests, completing twohomework assignments, writ-ing a lab report, participatingin extracurricular activities,

working part-time and some-how still trying to maintaina social lie is downright ex-hausting.

We have all had weeks likethis. We have all had momentsduring a test where we stoppedand thought Did we ever evenlearn this? Tech pushes us toour limits (and sometimesblows past them) and makesus wonder whether we have thecapacity to press on.

While I cannot begin tocount the days when I have eltas though I could no longerkeep my head above water, asgraduation nears, I nd I havea deep sense o gratitude orthe Institute.

I always remember myparents saying the real worldis going to be tough. Nowthat Ive nearly completed myBachelors Degree at Tech, Ihave news or all o you claim-ing the real world is dicult:the real world eels like a cake

walk compared to Tech. I youcan make it through ermo-dynamics, De Bods, Systemsand Fluid Mechanics in thesame semester, you can makeit through anything.

ose who are graduatingwith me in May will not orone second have to prove thatthey are worthy o a diploma.

Whether your GPA is a 3.9 asan EE or a 2.1 in IE becauseyou had to work your waythrough school, we are all justas deserving o the diploma

we wil l soon receive. At Tech,there is never a question o

whether a student has workedhard enough. We have all sac-riced blood, sweat and tears(probably more oten than weare willing to admit) to earnour degree.

Having perormed underthe expansive pressure at Tech,I am increasingly condentin my ability to go above andbeyond expectations o utureemployers. Tech has instilledin me characteristics that willallow me to succeed beyondthose students graduating

rom peer institutions. Com-pare the average starting sal-ary o a Tech student to otherschools. e statistics speak orthemselves.

e technology eld is con-tinuously growing and advanc-ing. We are lucky, as there isno end in sight or engineers.

We will always have an impactin our society, which providesa job security like no otherproession.

ough the economy is stillweak and will likely not ullyrecover or several years, I amnot graduating with the worry

that I will not be able to nd ajob. Instead, I am graduatingwith the hope that the job Ido accept will challenge me insuch a way that I will continueto learn every day.

I can only hope that I willbe challenged as much in thecoming years as I have beenthroughout my time here. Ihave ound that the extremelearning environment Techprovides has created within mea thirst or learning.

In my ree time, I am learn-

ing a second language, teach-ing mysel to use an anima-tion program and researchinginnovative processes. I ndthat I enjoy learning on myown ar more than I ever ex-pected.

And while I am still st rug-gling through my last ew

months beore graduation, itis not nearly as painul as itonce was now that there is anend in sight. ere was a time

when I never thought I wouldsay it, but I would even like toadvance my education urtherater a ew years in the workorce (and a ew years o sleep-ing regular hours).

I am certain that I will lookback on my years at Tech withnothing but appreciation andond memories (with someanxiety sprinkled in). I canonly hope that Tech will con-tinue to burden its students

with too much work and toolittle sleep. ey will appreci-ate it (eventually).

Whether you are in themidst o your degree or are

just starting out, hang inthere. I promise there willcome a day when you willsleep regular hours like therest o the world.

Tech will be as hard as ev-eryone says it is. But trust me

when I say it will be worth itin the end. I Tech were easy,everyone would come here(and then you might as wellcall it U(sic)GA). And whatgood would that do?

Gauntlet of Tech pays long-term dividendsI am certain that I will look

back on my years at Tech with

nothing but appreciation and

fond memories.

Jennifer AldorettaLayout Editor

Taurus BrackettSecond-year ME

Inception is a great lm.It kept me on my toes, and I

want to watch it again.

Dhruvak TalaviyaFirst-year ISYE

Te Kings Speech. Im afan of British movies.

Ian KentFourth-year CHBE

ProbablyTe Fighter orInception. I hear a lot about

them.

Sahitya JampaneFourth-year ECE

Inception is my favorite.

What movie do you thinkwill win the Oscar Best

Picture?

BUZZAround Campus

Ive attended school here orquite some time and have beenpretty interested in some o thesocial aspects o this campusand how they compare withothers outside this world oTech. e main topic o dis-cussion I wanted to talk aboutis something Ive heard againand again: the belie that GTemales are especially stuckup compared to other schoolsgirls.

e generally accepted be-lie is that women at Tech eelsuperior to others and are un-approachable because o theirminority status on campus.is idea allows them to beobnoxiously choosy about menthey date or talk to, almost tothe point o being arrogant ormean. is shows an extreme-ly misinterpreted point o viewand needs to be looked at morein-depth to get a better under-standing o our schools situa-tion.

e interesting part o thisdiscussion might be hearing

what side I w ill take as a guyat Tech. at answer is not asimple one. I will take a lookat the points o views o bothsides and come to a generalconclusion rom that.

Wherever guys go to

school, Tech included, menget these expectations o whatthey think college lie is likerom popular culture reerenc-es. ey expect an educationalongside new riends withdrinking, partying and gener-ally a great time with riendly

attractive emales. ey buildup an idea o what college lieis like and associate it to mov-ies such as Van WilderorAni-mal Housewhere the womenare available and easy.

Andy Peck wrote an a rticleor Voice some time ago go-ing into detail and said it best:Given this expectation, onecan see how the smal l numberso women and perceived arro-gance o those women couldquickly become the ocus orresentment and even host ility.

People are thrown into thissocial network and nally havesome sense o reedom whenthey come to school. Usinga airly loose generalization,people at Tech were airly goodstudents back in high schooland maybe because o that,didnt necessarily have the bestsocial skills. is awkwardness

in a social setting works orboth males and emales.Without any prior knowl-

edge o how to react in certainsocial situations, some may re-sort to this arrogance or cansometimes be very resentuland project an almost cool

manner about themselves, us-ing this as a deense mecha-nism.

I have gone to several oth-er schools and ound a lot othe people that Ive met to benice, riendly and all aroundgenuine. Ive thought aboutthe comparisons between thisschool and those other onesand determined a conclusion:

we do have genuine peoplehere at Tech.

Unortunately, I eel thatthis lack o riendliness thatpeople experience is just due tounhappiness. People here arebitter due to grades, the ratioand general lie st ress. We are atop drinking school and not atop party school, and we havean I

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8 February 25, 2011 Technique OPINIONS

Initiatives begin to take formfrom the new strategic plan

Eighteen months ago, the Techcommunity embarked on an am-bitious journey to write a 25-yearstrategic plan that would diferen-tiate us in the years to come, posi-tioning Tech as the dening tech-

nological research university othe 21st century. It has only beensix months since the plan was -nalized, and Im happy to reportthat were making progress.

e campus community hasbeen busy engaging in the execu-tion o our new strategic plan. Inaddition to the ve main goalso the strategic plan, a numbero initiatives emerged rom theplanning process. One o the ini-tiatives we are already exploringis the concept o creating an X-College.

e idea grew out o a recom-mendation rom students and ac-ulty that Tech must increase thelevel o student-aculty interac-tion and provide more exibility

in our curricula. We are movingorward with a plan that would toallow students, with aculty guid-ance, to compose programs ostudy that ocus on what we callthe grand challengesglobalproblems acing society today, us-ing knowledge rom a wide rangeo disciplines. In Jan., the pro-vost announced the creation o acommittee chaired by ProessorRichard Barke rom the School oPublic Policy. is committee isreviewing options and will ormu-late strategies or implementation.

e creation o the Centeror 21st Century Universities isanother example o the strategicplan moving orward. e center

will be based in the College oComputing, but will include ac-ulty rom Management, PublicPolicy and Industrial and Systems

Engineering. It will ocus on therole and opportunities presentedby disruptive technologies, suchas social networking and innova-tions like open courseware, serv-ing as a living laboratory or test-ing new educational ideas.

Tech is preparing the nextgeneration o leaders in biomedi-cal engineering thanks to anothernew programour GraduateLeadership Program within the

Wallace H. Coulter Departmento Biomedical Engineering. isprogram teaches Tech graduate

students to be strong leaders whocan readily communicate their re-search agendas beyond the prag-matics o scientic techniques andexperimental outcomes.

To support the plans ocus onaculty-led, interdisciplinary andtransormative research, Execu-tive Vice President or ResearchSteve Cross has announced thelaunch o the Institute or Peopleand Technology (IPaT).

Led by Executive Director,Proessor Beth Mynatt rom theCollege o Computing who previ-ously served as the director o theGVU Center, IPaT will catalyzeresearch activities, create new eco-nomic development opportunities

and address important societalproblems. It will support variouscollege research centers that col-lectively pursue transormations

in healthcare, education, con-sumer media, and other complexhuman enterprises by integratingadvances in human-centered com-puting, architectural and digitaldesign, policy, and system scienceand engineering.

Expanding our global oot-print and inuence is another oneo our goals. Earlier this month,Provost Raael Bras announcedthe creation o the International

Advisory Group, a aculty com-mittee chaired by Steve McLaugh-lin, vice provost or International

Initiatives, that will serve to sup-port and advise on issues relatedto Techs strategy or global en-gagement.

Part o designing our uture isto relentlessly pursue institutionalefectiveness. e new eProcure-ment system, BuzzMart, is a partour efort to be more ecient inthe way we do business. e newsystem is replacing Techs People-Sot campus requisition and hasseveral benets including 24/7Internet-based access, a one-stopshopping experience, and studentand aliate access.

ese are just a ew o the ex-amples o how our strategic planis coming to lie all around you. I

encourage you to remain engagedin the process. Continue to lookor new and innovative ways orTech to Design the Future.

OUR VIEWS hotornot

Ballin with BillTV personality and child-

hood icon to many (i not all)on campus, Bill Nye kicked ofthe baseball game on Sunday,throwing out the rst pitch atRuss Chandler Stadium. Un-ortunately, the baseball teamcould have used a lesson romthe Science Guy as the squadsufered its rst loss o the sea-son that day. e players wereprobably just distracted by thegreatness o Bill Nye.

HOT o r NOTThe creation of the Center

for 21st Century Universities

is another example of the

Strategic Plan moving forward.

G.P. Bud PetersonInstitute President

T-Screwed 2.0Normally, making the

Not list twice in just a mat-ter o a weeks takes some realscrewing up, and this time isno exception. I the adminis-tration wants to continue topush or campus-wide adop-tion o T-Square, it must rstbe able to handle to the work-load. e letter rom T-Squareadministrators was nice, but it

just illustrated the already well-known problems.

Choir challengeOten lost in the many

complaints about math andphysics, artistic challengesare oten not given their duerespect. e Chamber Choirdeserves kudos or the pro-duction o Bachs Mass. Withmidterms in ull-step, a chanceto decompress over some clas-sical music could be benecial,

though many would argue arequiem would be more t-ting.

Annoying vs. WeirdHumans vs. Zombies made

a return to campus much tothe enjoyment o a ew and theannoyance o the rest. Usingpeople as barricades to blocksocks and marshmallows isntthe best way to make riends

with your ellow students. Andspending countless hours mak-ing ammo holders just shows

that you need to develop a newhobby. is new Tech tradi-tion needs a quick exit.

Advertise with us!

Visit nique.net/ads for

information

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[email protected]

Focus Editor:Kamna Bohra

Technique

9Friday,

February 25, 2011

@GTCounseling: @therapynews: IsFacebook Making You Depressed? 3 TipsFor Coping with Facebook Depressionhttp://bit.ly/gG8Bw7

King of Hearts pageant raises cardiac awarenessBy Divya VarahabhatlaContributing Writeris past Friday, Techs chap-

ter of Alpha Phi hosted Kingof Hearts, a fundraiser eventfor Cardiac Week.

e event was a cul-mination of a weeksworth of activitieswhich included sell-

ing Candygrams (inwhich one buys

candy for an-other person)at the Stu-dent Center, aShakewe ight

compet i t ionand cash wars.e fundrais-ers were allfocused on

raising moneyfor cardiac care

research and in-

creasing awareness.King of Hearts is a spin on

a beauty pageant, showcasingmale contestants with the themeof raising cardiac health aware-ness.

ere were three rounds in-cluding talents; dancing andpick-up lines; and questionsand answers relating to cardiachealth.

While the pageant was free,Alpha Phi hosted a rae ticketcontest in order to raise money.Local businesses also sponsoredthe event and supplied some ofthe rae gifts.

e contestants were from

dierent fraternities, and thejudges were each from dierentsororities.

King of Hearts was a collab-orative eort of both Alpha Phialumni and businesses.

is is not a one-man pro-cess, said Christine Hang, a

second-year BMED major.After a whole week of fund-

raising, the organization raisedaround $1000. Cardiac Care

week began Feb. 14 with the goalto increase awareness about car-diac health in the general popu-lation. Events were also held for

Alpha Phi chapters from univer-sities across the country as well.

It was fun, said Caleb Wahl,a third-year CEE major and oneof the 2011 participants fromKappa Sigma.

Its fun and a fundraiser,said Megumi Takeda, a second-year BMED major.

Hang believed that there

were many things positive aboutthe pageant, but singled out onething in particular.

[It] brought together theGreek system, Athletic Asso-ciation and Tech student mem-bers, Hang said.

As head of campus events for

Alpha Phi, Hang oversaw the or-ganization of Cardiac Care weekevents. Kurt Scherahn, a third-year ME major, was last years

winner.[It was] hilariousPartici-

pating in King of Hearts was agreat experience from practicing

with a coach to getting on stage,Scherahn said in a video mes-sage.

Some of the talents show-cased in the competition includeathleticism, sing-along, comedyand dancing.

Coaches were alumni whohelped donate money and time tothe cause. ese coaches helped

the contestants learn their danc-es and songs and helped themthrough the other competitions.

e winner of the competi-tion was Radu Reit, a second-year BMED major. e two

welcomeWATSON

IBMstriviamachine

makercomestoTech

By Chris Russell

Online Editor

Over the course o two nightsthe week o Feb. 14, mankind mayhave met the frst o its roboticoverlords. While it is too early toworry about time-travelling assas-sin bots or robotic armies harvest-ing humanity or energy, it wouldappear that IBMs Watson hasbrought mankinds dominanceo the world o television gameshows to an end.

Ater Watsons victory overJeopardy! All-Star s Ken Jenningsand Brad Rutter on Wednesday,Feb. 16, Bill Murdock, a researchteam member at the Watson Re-search Center at IBM, gave a talkon IBMs newest computational

juggernaut on Techs campus theollowing day.

Murdock, Ph.D. CS 01,worked as a member o AshokGoels Design and IntelligenceLaboratory while at Tech.

Despite the high turnout, thetalk was aimed at a specializedcrowd, as much o the lecture o-cused on topics that would be un-amiliar to those without a back-ground in machine learning andintelligence. However, the talkwas at a high enough level thatwhile an average Tech studentwould not understand everythingMurdock discussed, they wouldstill learn a great deal about howWatson worked.

One o the most importantthings to realize about Watsonis that it is not simply a massivedatabase. While it does have mas-sive stores o knowledge (to thetune o 15 terabytes o RAM), thereal power behind Watson lies inits ability to understand the ques-tion it is being asked, then usinglearning algorithms to evaluatewhat it knows and choose the bestanswer.

One o the biggest topics o dis-

cussion was, o course, how Wat-son chose these answers. Whileanswering a Jeopardy! questionrequires dozens o complex al-gorithms and a massive bank ocomputers, it is a airly straight-orward process.

First, Watson breaks down thequestion into one or more pos-sible interpretations. For eachinterpretation, it then generates alist o possible answers. For eachanswer in the list, it searches itsdatabanks or evidence support-ing or reuting that answer, andgrades how likely that answer is.Ater this, Watson merges the hy-potheses together and chooses theanswer it believes most likely tobe correct.

Watsons power becomes ap-parent here, as a single questioncan result in several interpreta-tions, each o which has hundredso possible answers. In turn, eachanswer is supported or reuted bythousands o pieces o evidence,all o which can be interpretedhundreds o thousands o ways.

e act that Watson can fndand process this amount o in-ormation in about three secondsshows how ar computing hascome since IBMs other amoussuper computer, Deep Blue, de-eated world champion GaryKasparov in chess in 1997.

Here, though, Murdock be-lieves that comparing Deep Blue

and Watson is like comparingapples to oranges. While Wat-son obviously could not work itsmagic without a hety supply ohardware, the real stars o theshow are the learning, search andlanguage-processing algorithmsthat Watson makes use o.

While Deep Blue representedwhat could be done with enough

Photo by Virginia Lin / Student PublicationsSee King, page 12

Photo Illustrat ion by Vivian Fan and Kamna Bohra /Student Publications

SeeWatson, page 11

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10 February 25, 2011 Technique FOCUS

By Kamna BohraFocus Editor

For many modern musicalartists, moving from the produc-tion of songs to the art of danceis not too far of a stretch. But forone neurobiologist, the most logi-cal path was to leave behind years

of dance and to pursue scienticstudies of songbirds.Dr. Erich Jarvis, an associate

professor at the Duke UniversityMedical Center Department ofNeurobiology, presented a lectureentitled Brain Evolution: HowBirds and Human Learn to Singand Talk at the Karlovitz Lectureon Wednesday, Feb. 23. e Hon-ors Program and the College ofSciences co-sponsored this event.

Jarvis spent his elementaryschool years wanting to be a ma-gician and his high school yearshoping to pursue a career in dancein Harlem, N.Y. However, daysbefore his high school graduation,he chose to go to college instead of

joining the Alvin Ailey American

Dance eater.I realized I would have a big-

ger impact on the world if I wentto college, Jarvis said of his deci-sion to pursue what was otherwisehis Plan B.

After attending Hunter Col-lege and Rockefeller University forhis undergraduate and postgradu-ate studies, Jarvis nally settledon Duke University to study vo-cal learning, particularly in songbirds. is was because Jarvis was

intrigued by dierent organismsabilities to create complex formsof expression.

Vocal learning, which is theability to learn to produce specicsounds, is rare, only known inve groups of mammals and threespecies of birds. Among primatesalone, only humans have the trait

of vocal learning.As an example of the trait, Jar-vis showed a video of an Africangray parrot that could activelycommunicate with a human,eventually gaining the ability tocount from zero to seven in theEnglish language.

Jarvis noted that vocal learningis dierent from auditory learn-ing. For example, through audito-ry learning, dogs can understandand obey the commands sit inEnglish; sientese in Spanish andosuwari in Japanese. However,because they lack vocal learningskills, dogs cannot create thesesame sounds by any vocal meansof their own.

Associated with vocal learn-

ing is motor learning, as Jarvisshowed in a video of Snowball,a cockatoo who learned to danceto the song Everybody (Back-streets Back), by the BackstreetBoys. e cockatoo could tap outthe beats of the song and movedhis wings in a fashion similar tothe movements of the teens he wasraised by.

Jarvis has also studied thebrain patterns of birds as they pro-duce certain types of sounds. To

further explain the motor abili-ties, Jarvis noted that the regionsof birds brains that control mo-tor abilities surround the song

nuclei.e more [the birds] sing, the

more gene expression [there is] insong nuclei, Jarvis said of obser-vations of birds nervous systems,noting that specic regions of thebrain are involved in vocal learn-ing.

Vocal learning pathways, vocalproduction learning and auditorylearning and three traits found invocal learners only. Parrots haveeven more structures to enable

imitation.To parallel these abilities to

humans, Jarvis considers thepathways found in both groups of

birds and mammals to be analo-gous, yet not homologous, struc-tures.

Jarvis indicated that vo-cal learners have independentlyevolved repetitive gene sequencesthat allow for said ability.

Vocal learners like to talk alot and thus need to protect neu-rons, Jarvis said, noting that thehuman brain consumes 25 per-cent of ones daily sugar intake

just for vocal communication.

e cultural aspect of hu-man and bird vocal learning isalso similar. Just as humans passon dierent styles of gesturing

associated with communication,often based on cultures, birds dothe same from generation to gen-eration.

Beyond the molecular biologybehind the research is Jarviss re-search team. Jarvis believes thathis group at Duke is unique be-cause it brings together multiplebackgrounds in both science andcultural origin. Jarvis considersit important to come together tomerge the multitude of ideas.

Neurobiologist diverges from dance to science

Photo by John Nakano / Student Publications

Jarvis chose to attend college and to not join a famous dance group because he felt he could make

more of an impact on society through working and researching molecular biology and genetics.

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Technique February 25, 2011 11FOCUS

ROTC reinforces commitment, skills

By Divya VarahabhatlaContributing Writer

e Reserve Ocers TrainingCorps (ROTC) program here atTech is an option for students who

wish to ser ve in the U.S. military.Tech oers ROTC branches in theNavy, the Marines, the Army and

the Air Force. e Army ROTCwas established at the school in1917.

In a statement on the NavyROTCs website, it was writtenthat, more than 7,000 lieutenantshave received their commissionfrom the Yellow Jacket Battal-ion, including two winners of theCongressional Medal of Honor.

Alumni have served in every cam-paign from World War II, Ko-rea, Vietnam, the Cold War, andmore recent operations includingDesert Storm, Operation Endur-ing Freedom as well as OperationIraqi Freedom.

e NROTC division began in1926 at Tech as the rst of 6 simi-lar university units.

e ROTC program rewardsits students based on merits andrequires the students to take ba-sic calculus and physics courses.ere is also mandatory physicaltraining which helps [personnel]maintain a healthy lifestyle... Ca-dets are often responsible for notonly executing their own PT, butplanning and supervising the PTof their subordinates while con-stantly observing for safety andthe well being of everyone in-

volved.Some famous alumni from

the ROTC include LieutenantColonel Boyd Parsons, ISyE 71;former Georgian Govenor, U.S.

President and Nobel Prize winnerJimmy Carter and Captain JohnW. Young, USN (Reti red) AE 52AE who became the worlds mostexperienced space traveler withtwo Gemini missions, two Apollomissions and two Space Shuttlemissions.

ROTC Students have manyopportunities for leadership,scholarship and training. eNROTC battalion Public Aairsocer Ben Wattam, a third-year

MGT major, mentioned that hismilitary background inuencedhis decision to join. Most ROTCstudents indeed have a militarybackground. Some of the benets

oered through the program in-clude full health care, a scholar-ship for college and 50 percent payafter retirement.

However, more than monetarybenets, Wattam noted that moststudents join the ROTC becausethey want to serve.

Someone has to do it, Wat-tam said about the fear andthought process behind the deci-

See ROTC, page 11

computing power, Watson repre-sents what can be done by usingthat power in conjunction withthe newest, most powerful algo-rithms in learning.

According to Murdock, oneof the biggest advances Watsonrepresents is the ability to handleambiguity. Again, the comparisonto Deep Blue came up, this timein terms of how their challenges

were dierent.Real language is real hardIn chess, you had a nite, well-de-ned search space [with] explicit,unambiguous mathematical rules,but thats not the case here, Mur-dock said.

Murdock described how, com-pared to chess, natural languageprocessing is an incredibly dif-cult computing problem, due(among other things) to the am-biguity inherent in human lan-guage.

As an example, Murdock gavetwo sentences, both of which con-tained the same fact: that some-one named Jack Welch was oncethe head of G.E. However, eachsentence reveals that knowledge

dierently.While the information in this

sentence can be stated simply asJack Welch ran G.E., the sameinformation could be contained ina much more complex statement,such as, If leadership is an art,then Jack Welch proved himselfa master painter during his tenureat G.E.

While a person could eas-ily extract the information fromeither sentence, writing a com-

puter program that can extract itfrom sentences like the second isa challenge that was only solvedrecently.

An overarching theme of thetalk was how Watson struggled

with concepts a human wouldnd easy but excelled in other ar-eas. Murdock discussed several in-correct answers Watson gave andthe reasoning behind why Watsongave them.

For example, one of the ques-

tions on the show asked about aphysical oddity of George Eyser,a gymnast in the 1904 SummerOlympics.

While most humans wouldhave trouble quickly pulling to-gether what information (if any)they knew about the topic athand, according to Murdock, thelogs showed that Watson almostimmediately found a passage thatsaid, George Eysers left leg wasmade of wood.

However, Watson was unableto understand what about this wasan oddity, and, as a result, andchose leg as its answer, ratherthan the correct answer, woodenleg.

As for where Watson will go

next, its no secret that IBM wantsto see a Watson-like system putinto place somewhere in the medi-cal industry.

With the large number of vari-ables that can go into diagnosing adisease, and the fact that it is im-possible for a person to accuratelykeep track of the enormous baseof medical knowledge available,

Watsons engineers feel that medi-cine is a eld that Watson couldourish in.

Photo by Michael Skinner / Student Publications

Many current members of the ROTC join the program at Tech as a

sign of their commitment to protecting their nation in the future.

Watson from page 9

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12 February 25, 2011 Technique FOCUS

sion to serve.He said that his biggest fear in

his service is not the commitmentto defending the country.

[My big fear is] going out toleave what youre used to and alsohow things can change while you

were away, Wattam sa id.Wattam hopes to become a pi-

lot for the Navy.Midshipman David Klotz, a

third-year MGT major, began atthe naval divison of the ROTC in2008. Klotz also hopes to be a pi-lot once he graduates.

[e program] also lets youhave a normal college experiencethat is more similar to what life

will be likeROTC classes arealso way smaller than Naval Acad-emy classes, so students get moreopportunities to lead and learn bydoing, Klotz said.

Still, Klotz has had to makeseveral adjustments since joining.

I put on about 20 pounds ofmuscle. [I] have developed lead-ership skills and condence that

will be of great value to me for therest of my life, Klotz said.

Klotz believes there are other

benets to the program as well.[My favorite part of NROTC

was] getting sent around the worldto go on training cruises.I gotto spend three weeks on it watch-ing jets and learning about avia-tion from pilots, Klotz said.

He has had the opportunity togo to a carrier which operated inthe Arabian Sea.

Wattam had a dierent favoriteaspect of the group.

[My favorite part is] the peo-

ple I meet, whether they are olderlieutenants or classmates[who]share your ideals and principles,

Wattam said.

Students on campus do not re-alize what ROTC students do.

Whenever people see us, theydont really know who or what weare or what to make of us. e big-ger issue is that people have littleto no idea why were here, what wedo and what were training to do,Klotz said.

Wattam and Klotz both notedthe compatibility of the quality ofeducation at Tech and the qualityof the ROTC programs oered

here.I believe that it is also due to

the reputation that Tech has for itsrigorous academics... Many from

Georgia Techs NROTC go veryfar in the Navy, Klotz said.

Wattam attributed some ofthe skills he has developed fromROTC and Tech classes, such astime management and the abilityto work under pressure, as abilitiesthat have helped him in the pastfew years.

[e training emphasizes] at-tention to details and being ontime push us towards excellence,

Wattam said.

runner ups were Jon Willig, afourth-year ME major, and Mi-chael Robinson, BIO 10.

Even though the competitionwas a success, Hang hopes for fu-ture growth and development of

the event.[I hope] that it can be more

successful in future years, bring-ing people outside of the Greek/

Athletic Association as well asmore diverse applicants (such asthose from various academic de-partments), Hang said.

ROTC from page 11

Photo by Michael Skinner / Student Publications

Many students feel that their Tech education is supplemented

with dierent types of life skills developed in the ROTC program.

Photos by Virginia Lin / Student Publications

Male Tech students participated in Alpha Phis King of Hearts

Pageant to help raise awareness and money for cardiac research.

King from page 9

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[email protected]

Entertainment Editor:Patricia UcedaAssistant Entertainment Editor:Zheng Zheng

Technique

13Friday,

February 25, 2011

Four thrills

movie-goersBy Patricia UcedaEntertianment EditorD.J. Carusos latest

thriller I Am NumberFour doesnt waste anytime; the audience isimmediately plungedinto the action withthe chilling murder ofNumber 3 in the mid-dle of a tropical jungle.From there we are in-troduced to our main

character, Number 4, played by Alex Pettyfer, who is ap-parently one of nine children saved from the far away plan-et Lorien after an evil alien race called the Mogadoriansdestroys the planet.

Tese nine were specically saved because they havespecial abilities that will enable them to one day defeat theMogadorians; however, the Mogadorians have followedthem to Earth and are now exterminating them one by one.

While there are a few plot holes and fai rly predictable out-comes, I Am Number Fourultimately achieves its sole ob-

jective of being an electri fying action-packed sci- thriller.Because they are relentlessly being hunted, the six sur-

viving children are forced to live nomadic lifestyles, con-stantly moving and changing their names. As a result ofNumber 3s death, Number 4 changes his name to JohnSmith and moves with his guardian to the remote, smalltown of Paradise, Ohio, leaving no trace behind. Johnsguardian Henri is played by imothy Olyphant, and whilehe portrays himself as Johns father to the humans aroundthem, he is actually a warrior from Lorien chosen to protect

John from the Mogadorians.Henri is whole-heartedly committed to his appointed

task, tirelessly scouring the internet for any photographic

traces of John and instantly deleting them. He wants tokeep John under the radar and safe at any cost, but Johnultimately convinces him to let him attend high school.

Unfortunately, maintaining a low prole is not the easi-est thing for John to do, especially considering Pettyfersridiculously good looks. Right away head football playerMark, played by Jake Abel, feels threatened by him andpublicly declares him enemy number one. However, Johndoesnt seem to care, preferring to stay in the shadows andbefriending the outcast of the school Sam, played by Callan

SHOWS

Cirque MechanicsBoomtown

PERFORMER: CirqueMechanics

LOCATION: Ferst CenterDATE: Feb. 18 2011

OUR TAKE:

By Hank WhitsonStaf Writer

If you have ever wondered what Cirque Du Soleil

would be like with a conventional na rrative about rowdycowboys, CirqueMechanics Boomtown is the antidote toyour curiosity. Te program informs audiences that thetroupe was founded to bring family-friendly entertain-ment to circus audiences. In this case family friendlyseems to be a euphemism for ashy and simple-minded.

Admitted ly, Boomtown oers some very impressive ac-robatics and balancing acts, but it is hampered by weakgroup choreography, dumb physical comedy and a broad-ly-pantomimed narrative about two feuding saloon own-ers.

Te show is determined not to take itself seriouslythough, and in many respects, it is purposefully unre-ned. Set changes are not only not hidden; they are thefocal point of the show. Operating stage mechanics likepulleys and cranes become a performance art unto itself.Te corps of cowboys performs wall-runs up over-turnedbenches and takes turns launching one another o of twotilting telegraph poles connected by a pulley. Te goofymining prospector from the prologue surprises audiences

with an impres sive balancing act on jugs of moonshine.Some of these tricks will seem familiar to those who

have seen a Cirque du Soleil performance, and many ofthe acts go on for a few variations too long. In the case ofthe boozy balancing act, we watch the prospector workhis way up from the at of the crate, to the long side of thecrate, to the short side of the crate, to many crates stackedon top of each other, to one crate sliding over many dif-ferent bottles. Tey are all impressive feats of balance, butthe arbitrary build-up will wear audiences down as op-posed to psyching them up.

Te performers technique is also self-consciouslyrough, deliberately blurring the lines between ballet, ac-robatics, vaudeville and in one act, striptease. In manyrespects, this technical crudeness ts the rough-and-tum-ble sensibilities of the shows Wild West setting. But onFriday night, the shows technical roughness exceeded itsmetaphor in an ugly way. During the mining-cart tram-poline scene near the beginning of the second act, one of

the performers missed the foam landing pad and half-staggered, half-fell o stage. He did not emerge again

FILM

I Am Number Four

GENRE: Sci-Fi Thriller

STARRING: Alex Pettyfer andDianna Agron

DIRECTOR: D.J. Caruso

RATING: PG-13

RELEASE DATE: Feb. 18 2011

OUR TAKE:

See Four, page 15

See Cirque, page 15

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesImage courtesy of Ferst Center

CIRQUE

MECHANICSBOOMTOWNFerst

Centerhosts

family-friendlycircus show

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14 February 25, 2011 Technique ENTERTAINMENT

Chamber Choirrevives BachsMass

By Chris ErnstSenior Staf Writer

Te Georgia ech ChamberChoir will be performing J.S.Bachs Mass in B Minor FridayMarch 4 and Saturday March 5 incooperation with the New rinityBaroque Orchestra, an Atlanta-based baroque orchestra who per-

form in baroque pitch (A=415 Hzinstead of A=440 Hz) using en-tirely baroque instruments.

Tese instruments are builtand played dierently and as a re-sult have a more unrened/crudesound overall compared to mod-ern instruments. Te performance

will take advantage of the latestscholarly research; authentic ba-roque instruments will be used inthe lower Baroque pitch.

Te pronunciation diers frommodern Latin and more closelyresembles what Bach would haveheard when he rst composed thepiece. Tis is the rst performancein Atlanta of the newest edition ofthe score, restoring Bachs original

composition from posthumousedits made by his son.Te B-minor mass was com-

pleted shortly before Bach died

and is one of the most challeng-ing choral works he composed,spanning 110 minutes. It is fullof theological and numerologicalsymbolism, one of Bachs hall-marks.

Te Chamber Choir has beenrehearsing the piece since last

Aug. and has a lready performed itin Sarasota, Fla. and ampa, Fla.

Tey are currently raising funds totravel to Italy this summer for ad-ditional performances.

Given the scale and dicultyof the work, this is the most chal-lenging undertaking in 12-plusyears of Chamber Choir at echand one of the most challengingin the history of music at ech.

Tere will be two concerts:March 4 at St. Johns UnitedMethodist Church and March 5,at St. Bartholomews EpiscopalChurch. Saturdays performance

will be direc ted by the orchestrasdirector.

ickets are $9 for students and$29 for adults. Teyre availableonline at gtchamberchoir.com.

Tey choir will also be tabling inthe Student Center selling ticketsevery day from Friday, Feb. 25 toFrida, March 4.

SHOWS

Carapace

Director: Judith Ivey

LOCATION: Alliance Theatre

DATE: Feb. 11 - Mar. 6

OUR TAKE:

By Nick ReardonContributing Writer

In the simplest of terms, Cara-pace tells the story of a awedMinneapolis father searchingfor redemption. Je, the fatherand antihero, pushes away hisspeech-impeded daughter, Margo,through tasteless attitudes and de-structive habits. He fails in most

ways to play the role of a support-ive father: he forgets her birth-days, disregards her interests andacts out of self-indulgence. Cara-

paceis a marvelous story that aimsto dene how we live and love,and how a poor balance of thesequalities can be destructive to oth-

ers. Te acting is sublime, and thedirection and writing are about asclose to perfection as a play canget. It is a tragedy at its very core,and it is good drama.

Te story follows a time-frac-tured narrative that jumps backand forth between past and pres-ent as Je recalls the critica l pointsin his relationship with Margo.

Je, who speaks directly to theaudience, tends to jump in andout of his memories seamlessly, asif they were vendors at a grocerymarket.

One moment he would be de-tached from the action and spill-ing his soul to the audience, andat the next, he would simply walk

into the frame of action and re-sume the role of his past self. Tisis a remarkable method of story-telling that provides key opportu-

Image courtesy of Georgia Tech Chamber Choir

Carapaceinspires audiences

Image courtesy of Greg Mooney

nities to dissect our antihero, aswell as the conict .

Te play opens with Je sittingin the driver seat of his car, in pres-ent time, roughly two years afterthe two broke all forms of contact

with each other. He i s apparentlytroubled. He begins a most de-lightful opening monologue that

would summarize his relation-ship with his daughter. He wouldrecall how, every day after school

would let out, Margo would runup to her fathers car and say oneof two things: oday was a slamdunk, Daddy! or, Aaaiirr-ball.Tis was Margos one method ofexpressing herself to an outsidesource.

With this, Margos relation-ship with her father, all of a sud-den, seems to have direct eecton her motor skills. Early in theplay, Je analyzes the sources ofher disability. He says that toomany things begin racing aroundher internal racetrack that she isunable to provide a coherent selec-tion of thoughts. She begins tostammer, which in turn feeds heranxiety. He describes it as a cyclic

process that has been going on foras long as he can remember.Little does Je realize that he,

in fact, is the main source of her

anxiety. He does not make him-self available to her as much as isneeded, and more importantly, hedoes not open himself up to her.Margos frustration towards this isnot addressed properly, and there-fore she cannot rid those stress-ors from her mind. Tis leads toheightened mental trac, which

just happens to be Margos kryp -tonite.

It is not until after Margo

breaks her relationship with herfather that she could nally beat peace. And, alas, here is wherepaths collide, for Je plans to seekout Margo in an ill-conceived at-tempt to make amends. What Jedoes not realize, however, is thathe carries the weight of past mis-fortunes along with him. What

will Je say? How wi ll Margo re-act? Te net result of this climac-tic interaction is nothing short ofpoetic.

Carapaceis a profound work oftheatre magic that moves us, andbrings us to a whole other levelof enlightened understanding. Itchallenges us to question our ownmotives, strategies and ideals in a

way that might be inconceivable.It is a knockout of a drama thatwill leave you speechless, de fense-less and downright inspired.

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Technique February 25, 2011 15ENTERTAINMENT

www.nique.net

sliver

twiddlee dee twiddlee dum. i could use a coke and rumwhoever came up with silvering is awesome. lets get marriedHave you ever felt like a plastic bag?So every other college has a 3.5 for Deans List... we have a 3.0.Te professors go too hard on the students. Tats what she saidRemember when you blocked me on Ustream? lolthe FBI still hasnt given my roommate his computer back...OJ a wae hashbrowns scattered and covered make the factthat its ve in the morning just a little bit better.technique guy at all the bball games youre cute

Were out of bread , milk, eggs, and pasta. But its ok, we still

have ramen.Awkward-elevator -ride girl, sorry I was so awkward... I think Ilove you

Why do multiple midterms always fall on the same da rn week?the stapler by the entrance to the library is a POSCongrats Atl, 2nd most dangerous city in the USo the guy who played guitar in the courtyard on Tursday: thegirls of third oor Brown creeped on you, and you are amazing.is there even caeine in this coee?Nikita R. knows who wrote that. Sorry, still wont go out withyou.you have every right to hang out in your boyfriends room, youhave no right to hang out in your ex-boyfriends room, the prob-lem is when those are the same place.People having fun: stop, we are trying to work.People who mock Brittain dont understand its purpose: timesaverIntegra{ fun, dtime} = happiness

Why does the Harris reescape always smell like pee ?

I dont care if you smoke, just stop spitting so much.My professor said she had zero bandwidth in her voice. She pro-ceeded to give 2 weeks of silent lectures.Stop creeping in physics. I can see you starring.chocolate waes, please. no, not pancakes. WAFFLES.any chicks into dudes that crossdress? jw

Unknown brings the suspense

By Jessica SwafordContributing Writer

Have you ever woken up andnot known where you were or

who you were? While yes isnta common answer, these thingshave happened. Even more bi-zarre, though, what if you knew

who you were, but no one elsedid? Coworkers, friends and evenyour own spouse dont know you.

What would you do?

While we all hope none of theseevents ever happen to us, this is

what happens to Dr. Martin Har-ris, played by Liam Neeson, whenhe awakens from a coma. He hasvivid memories of his past, yet his

wife, Liz, played by January Jones,doesnt remember him. Is shemarried to a Dr. Martin Harris?

Yes, but the two men are entirelydierent people. His identity hasbeen stolen or has it?

Liam Neesons character re-counts secret e-mails he sent to ascientist as proof of his identity.Te other Dr. Harris i s able to n-ish the sentences as he apparentlyis the Dr. Harris who wrote theemails, leaving Neesons character

without credibility. o top it allo, the other Dr. Harris, playedby Aidan Quinn, has a passport,drivers license and a family photo

with his wife. Neesons characterhas no identication, yet he has avivid account of being in the fam-ily photo. Te other doctor is even

wearing the same clothes that heremembers wearing.

While nothing makes sense,one thing keeps Harris going: themission to free his wi fe. He is con-

vinced that she is being forced todeny knowing him, and if he freesher, his life will go back to normal.

With new friends and a book fromhis father, he begins his search atthe start of his crisis: a car crashin Berlin. Tere is nothing to befound until he receives help fromhis cab driver, Gina, played by Di-ane Kruger, and new friend andformer Communist spy, Ernst

Jurgen, played by Bruno Ganz.With their help some things be-come clearer, but most things stilldont add up.

Why, for in stance, would any-one want to steal his identity? Dr.Martin Harris is a normal man. Anormal man, that is, with accessto sensitive bimolecular research

and parties that controversial dig-nitaries attend. Tings escalate,and Harris becomes even morefocused on saving his wife. Hefails to add up loose ends and putshimself and others in danger inorder to accomplish this goal.

While many movies today thatseem to have predictable end-ings, its hard to make a mysterythriller that keeps the audienceinterested. While it denitely isnt100 percent original (it still hasthe stereotypical car chases, gunsand ghts), Unknown keeps thequestions coming. As credibilityto it, the stereotypical scenes areimportant. Each one culminatesto make the ending, an ending

which Harris (and the audience)likely wont see coming.Good scenery shots and great

cinematography add to the movie

to make it even better. If you haveever seen a Jason Bourne movie,the lming is very similar. Forthose who suspect that Unknownand Taken are basically the same,know that they arent. While thereare some similarities, they arentbig enough to make Unknown abore or a copy.

Be warned, Dr. Harris gets fol-

lowed around a lot, and it takesa little while for the story to tell

what really happened. Similar toLeonardo DiCaprio in Inception,Liam Neeson is on a roller coasterride to the nish. Neeson and therest of the cast keep the audienceturning from one guess to thenext. If youre anything like me,you wont guess the true endinguntil the credits role.

o quote Dr. Martin Harris,Do you know what it feels like tobecome insane? Its a war betweenbeing told who you are and know-ing who you are... Which do youthink wins?

Te answer you give doesntmatter, but the events along the

way shape the ending. Was Dr.Harriss identity stolen or is hesomeone else entirely? Youll haveto watch to nd out.

FILM

Unknown

GENRE: Drama Mystery

STARRING: Liam Neeson,Diane Kruger and JanuaryJones

DIRECTOR: Jaume Collet-

SerraRATING: PG-13

RELEASE DATE: Feb. 18 2011

OUR TAKE:

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Cirque from page 13

Four from page 13

even for the nal curtain call.Te remaining performers did anadmirable job of covering his ab-sence, though a couple of botchedmusical cues and an abrupt end-ing suggest that a routine or twohad to be trimmed.

Te troupes weakest link isthe character actress who portraysthe towns lively kleptomaniac.Lacking the high ying skills or

muscular discipline of her col-leagues, she its across the stage,squeaking and snatching thingsand cements both of the shows

weakest performances. Te rst isa tedious act of magic where sheappears to extract objects from herskirt and bodice, but no actualsleight-of-hand is required sincethe entire sequence takes placebehind a silhouette screen. Her

second contribution is an excruci-ating pantomime where she walksan audience member through aninvisible jail cell routine. Bothacts are accompanied by obnox-ious sound eects that a Saturdaymorning ca

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