The Technique
Encyclopedia
The Technique, also known as the "Nique," is the official student newspaper
of the Georgia Institute of Technology
in Atlanta, Georgia
and has referred to itself as "the South's liveliest college newspaper" since 1945. As of the Fall semester of 2011, the Technique has a weekly circulation of 10,000, distributed to numerous locations on the Georgia Tech campus and a handful of locations in the surrounding area. The first issue of the Technique was published on November 17, 1911, and the paper has printed continuously since its founding. The paper publishes weekly throughout the regular school year and primarily covers news, events and issues specific to the Georgia Tech community. In 2004 it was one of 25 collegiate newspapers to receive the Pacemaker award from the Associated Collegiate Press
.
A publication known as The Georgia Tech was Georgia Tech's first student newspaper. It was established in 1894 and was the second student publication to be established on campus. The Georgia Tech published a "Commencement Issue" that reviewed sporting events and gave information about each class. The "Commencement Issue" was likely similar to the Techniques Freshman Issue. The Technique was founded in 1911; its first issue was published on November 17, 1911 by editors Albert Blohm and E.A. Turner, and the content revolved around the upcoming rivalry football
game against the University of Georgia
. The first issue also featured an article by legendary football coach John Heisman
.
The Technique has been published weekly ever since, with the exception of a brief period that the paper was published twice weekly. This period ran from January 14, 1948 to September 6, 1956. The Georgia Tech and the Technique operated separately for several years following the Techniques establishment, though the two publications eventually merged in 1916. Several sources claim that The Technique is among a number of student organizations to be founded by the ANAK Society
.
," finals week and Spring Break
and is published biweekly during the Summer semester. As of the 2005-2006 publication year, the paper has also taken a hiatus the week prior to Spring Break. General staff meetings are held on Tuesdays, when the majority of story assignments are made to a mostly volunteer writing staff. Deadline is on Wednesday nights during weeks when the paper is published, and the copy is sent to the printer on Thursday morning. The paper is then distributed around the campus on the Friday of that week. The Techniques office is located in the northwest corner of the Student Services Building.
The paper is operated by a staff of approximately 50 paid and unpaid students, as well as three permanent, paid, non-student staff members. As Georgia Tech has no journalism school, the Technique welcomes all students within the Institute to contribute to its content. The Technique is funded primarily by advertisements, and to a lesser extent by Tech's Student Government Association.
's student newspaper (The Red and Black
). The tradition of this parody dates back to the very first issue of the Technique, which was published with the intent of taunting Georgia Tech's rival school, and has its roots in the embittered rivalry
between Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia. It is published just before the two schools compete in football and is one of the last issues of the Fall semester. The parody is known as "To Hell With Georgia," after the school's popular cheer. On years where the schools play their football
match at UGA's Sanford Stadium
, Technique staff distribute the issue across UGA's campus. In 2009, the THWGA issue was printed with an incorrect year in the masthead, though the date was corrected in the version posted online.
who concerns himself with Tech- and university-specific subjects. His articles range from relentless sickly sniffles to school-wide subjects of controversy or interest. Popular targets for his scorn include Georgia Tech's Parking
department and School of Physics
, whereas he consistently praises the President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough
, who he refers to as "Funk Masta G. Wayne". The Two Bits column has been discontinued in 2010.
members still occasionally find their way into the Sliver Box.
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and has referred to itself as "the South's liveliest college newspaper" since 1945. As of the Fall semester of 2011, the Technique has a weekly circulation of 10,000, distributed to numerous locations on the Georgia Tech campus and a handful of locations in the surrounding area. The first issue of the Technique was published on November 17, 1911, and the paper has printed continuously since its founding. The paper publishes weekly throughout the regular school year and primarily covers news, events and issues specific to the Georgia Tech community. In 2004 it was one of 25 collegiate newspapers to receive the Pacemaker award from the Associated Collegiate Press
Associated Collegiate Press
The Associated Collegiate Press is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association...
.
History
A publication known as The Georgia Tech was Georgia Tech's first student newspaper. It was established in 1894 and was the second student publication to be established on campus. The Georgia Tech published a "Commencement Issue" that reviewed sporting events and gave information about each class. The "Commencement Issue" was likely similar to the Techniques Freshman Issue. The Technique was founded in 1911; its first issue was published on November 17, 1911 by editors Albert Blohm and E.A. Turner, and the content revolved around the upcoming rivalry football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game against the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
. The first issue also featured an article by legendary football coach John Heisman
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
.
The Technique has been published weekly ever since, with the exception of a brief period that the paper was published twice weekly. This period ran from January 14, 1948 to September 6, 1956. The Georgia Tech and the Technique operated separately for several years following the Techniques establishment, though the two publications eventually merged in 1916. Several sources claim that The Technique is among a number of student organizations to be founded by the ANAK Society
ANAK Society
The ANAK Society is the oldest known secret society and honor society at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1908, ANAK's purpose is "to honor outstanding juniors and seniors who have shown both exemplary leadership and a true love for Georgia Tech"...
.
Present-day publication
The Technique is published weekly during the Fall and Spring semesters, with the exceptions of "Dead WeekDead week
Dead week is a slang term for the week before schools' final examinations in the United States of America. The week is known thus because of its notorious stress; the propensity for college and university students to save exam study until the last possible week; and because term papers are often due...
," finals week and Spring Break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
and is published biweekly during the Summer semester. As of the 2005-2006 publication year, the paper has also taken a hiatus the week prior to Spring Break. General staff meetings are held on Tuesdays, when the majority of story assignments are made to a mostly volunteer writing staff. Deadline is on Wednesday nights during weeks when the paper is published, and the copy is sent to the printer on Thursday morning. The paper is then distributed around the campus on the Friday of that week. The Techniques office is located in the northwest corner of the Student Services Building.
The paper is operated by a staff of approximately 50 paid and unpaid students, as well as three permanent, paid, non-student staff members. As Georgia Tech has no journalism school, the Technique welcomes all students within the Institute to contribute to its content. The Technique is funded primarily by advertisements, and to a lesser extent by Tech's Student Government Association.
Sections
The Technique is generally between 16 and 40 pages long, the length of an issue being dependent upon the number of advertisements purchased for a given week. The paper is organized into five sections:- News
- Includes Georgia Tech-specific crime reports and news.
- Focus
- Includes human interest storiesHuman interest storyA human interest story is a feature story that discusses a person or people in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest or sympathy in the reader or viewer....
.- Entertainment
- Includes reviews of musicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, movies, performance arts, and video games, cartoonCartoonA cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s, a crossword puzzleCrossword PuzzleFor the common puzzle, see CrosswordCrossword Puzzle was the second to last album made by The Partridge Family and was not one of the most popular albums. It was released in 1973 and did not produce a U.S. single. This album was finally released on CD in 2003 on Arista's BMG Heritage label...
, sudoku puzzles, and the Two Bits column.- Opinions
- Includes editorialEditorialAn opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
s, an editorial cartoonEditorial cartoonAn editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration containing a commentary that usually relates to current events or personalities....
, op-edsOp-edAn op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
, and letters to the editorLetter to the editorA letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers. Usually, letters are intended for publication...
.- Sports
- Includes summaries of recent Georgia Tech sports games and sports features.
To Hell With Georgia
The most well-known of the special issues the Technique publishes is a satire of The University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
's student newspaper (The Red and Black
The Red and Black
The Red & Black is an independent daily student newspaper of the University of Georgia.-History:Students published its first issue in tabloid format on November 24, 1893, from offices in the Academic Building on North Campus....
). The tradition of this parody dates back to the very first issue of the Technique, which was published with the intent of taunting Georgia Tech's rival school, and has its roots in the embittered rivalry
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is the nickname given to an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Georgia Bulldogs football team of the University of Georgia. The two Georgia universities are...
between Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia. It is published just before the two schools compete in football and is one of the last issues of the Fall semester. The parody is known as "To Hell With Georgia," after the school's popular cheer. On years where the schools play their football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
match at UGA's Sanford Stadium
Sanford Stadium
Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The 92,746-seat stadium is the seventh largest stadium in the NCAA. Architecturally, the stadium is known for the fact that its numerous expansions over the years have been...
, Technique staff distribute the issue across UGA's campus. In 2009, the THWGA issue was printed with an incorrect year in the masthead, though the date was corrected in the version posted online.
Freshman Issue
The Freshman Issue is another special edition of the Technique. It is the first issue published each academic year and is by far the longest issue, with each of the sections about as long as a normal issue. The content usually centers on the themes of welcoming Freshmen and welcoming returning students back to Tech. The Freshman Issue also contains a special section dedicated to helping Freshmen become more acquainted with Tech and its customs. It is generally the only issue in which content from previous issues is reprinted.Other special editions
Other special editions include the Homecoming issue, the April Fool's issue (historically known as the Techlique, which includes a section of fake news parodying Tech in a similar style to the "To Hell With Georgia" issue) and the "Best of Tech" issue, which is the final issue of the Spring semester.Two Bits
The Technique featured an anonymous humor column called "Two Bits," which is authored by the mysterious Two Bits Man, a sarcastic, everyday virtuosoVirtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
who concerns himself with Tech- and university-specific subjects. His articles range from relentless sickly sniffles to school-wide subjects of controversy or interest. Popular targets for his scorn include Georgia Tech's Parking
Parking
Parking is the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time. Parking on one or both sides of a road is commonly permitted, though often with restrictions...
department and School of Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, whereas he consistently praises the President Emeritus G. Wayne Clough
G. Wayne Clough
Gerald Wayne Clough is President Emeritus of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a position he has held since July 2008...
, who he refers to as "Funk Masta G. Wayne". The Two Bits column has been discontinued in 2010.
Sliver Box
One of the Techniques most popular features is the Sliver Box, an analogue of the Vent feature of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which allows readers to submit any comment they wish. Comments are submitted on the Techniques website and as many Slivers that will fit appear in the week's paper, usually in order of submission. Slivers are subject to minimal censorship, with only full names of non-public figures, personal information and strong profanities typically removed or altered. Other entries are occasionally removed or truncated, usually in cases of spamming of the Sliver submission system. According to the paper, the Box is used to fill empty room left between advertisements in order to maintain a modular layout style. It is not uncommon for students to have conversations using the Sliver Box. Slivers were originally comments made by editorial board members during deadline night and were placed in narrow boxes ("Slivers") at the bottom of each page. Comments made on deadline night and opinions of editorial boardEditorial board
The editorial board is a group of people, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take.- Board makeup :...
members still occasionally find their way into the Sliver Box.