July 2, 2021•Volume 107, Issue 2•nique.
net
technique
News 2 Opinions 4 Life 7 Entertainment 10 Sports 16
TECH’S JUNETEENTH COMMEMORATION
LIFE
Top L: Photo by Emily Shroeder Student Publications; Top R: Photo courtesy of IMDB; Above: Photo by Tuna Ergan Student Publications
Tech Alumni Named first Black GSU President
ANDY BORST
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Last month, Georgia State
University announced that
their university president, Mark
Becker, will be stepping down as
president, with M. Brian Blake
replacing him. Blake is an Insti-
tute alumni, having graduated in
1994 with a degree in electrical
engineering, and later received his
masters from Mercer, and PhD
from George Mason University.
The search for a new president
SPORTS
. .
The Fado Pub experience p16 ‘Shrill’ finale review
at Georgia State, the largest uni-
versity in Georgia, began last Sep-
tember with the announcement
that Becker, the current president,
planned to take an educational
leave.
He planned to leave at the end
of the 2020-2021 school year, and
in a statement to GSU students,
stated, “I want to give the Board
of Regents ample time to select
the next president, with every ex-
pectation the search will attract
the strongest pool of candidates in
school history”.
He went on to speak about how
NEWS
much the experience has meant to
him, and that, “Leading Geor-
gia State for more than a decade,
starting in the middle of a global
financial crisis and concluding
with a global pandemic, has been
challenging and stimulating. It
has been my most rewarding pro-
fessional experience.”
The search stretched far and
wide, and ultimately resulted in
Blake becoming the new president
elect of the university, with his of-
ficial hiring contingent on his ap-
proval by the USG school board.
See GSU, page 3
2•nique.net
ENTERTAINMENT
p12
LIFE
Hosted by
OMED,
BSOs
HOPE WILLIAMS
LIFE EDITOR
Juneteenth is a nationally celebrated
commemoration of the end of slavery
in the United States and dates back
to June 19, 1865, when Union troops
arrived in Galveston, Texas and an-
nounced enslaved people were freed.
This was over two years after the
Emancipation Proclamation freed en-
slaved people in the Confederate states,
but it could not be enforced through-
out Texas until the Civil War ended.
The first Tech Juneteenth Com-
memoration event took place on
June 18, with the Office of Minority
Educational Development (OMED)
and three Black student organiza-
tions (BSOs) including the African
American Student Union (AASU),
African Student Association (ASA)
and the Caribbean Student Associa-
tion of Georgia Tech (GT CaribSA)
hosting a day of hybrid activities.
The event began with a virtual
talk featuring Associate Professor
André Brock from the School of Lit-
erature, Media and Communication.
Brock, who has an M.A. in English
and Rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon
University and a Ph.D. in Library and
Information Science from the Univer-
sity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
used the context of his research on Black
online identity to discuss Juneteenth’s
history and to relate it to events in 2021.
“I argue from my perspective as a In-
formation Studies researcher that June-
teenth is actually commemorating an
episode of disinformation,” Brock said.
He continued that disinformation is
See JUNETEENTH, page 9
Photo courtesy of drexel.edu
M. Brian Blake, 1988 alumnus, was chosen as the eighth
president of GSU, the first Black candidate to hold the position.
 // NEWS

News
NEWS EDITOR: Advanced Recycling Plant technique
Maya Torres
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR:
Andy Borst
Tech alumnus and Brightmark founder Bob
Powell announces his newest Advanced 2
Friday,
Recycling Plant in Macon, GA 43
news@nique.net July 2, 2021

Welcoming the Class of 2025 to campus

MAYA TORRES
NEWS EDITOR

Students living at Tech this

summer might have started seeing
a few new faces around campus
this past week.
On Monday, June 21, the
first batch of incoming freshmen
moved onto campus through the
iGniTe summer launch program.
iGniTe is designed to accli-
mate freshmen to college life by
starting their time at Tech dur-
ing the five-week late summer
semester. Many students
were chosen for the pro-
gram with their Institute
acceptance letter choosing this
track for them, while others
actively chose to participate in the
program.
Overall, 750 students began
their Tech careers on June 23
when their classes started. This
introduced over 20% of the Class
of 2025 to Tech.
One member of this student
body is Vicente Miranda, a first-
year CS major. Miranda was one
of the students who was chosen Photo by Taylor Gray Student Publications
to participate in iGniTe, and he Lily Arnold and the Summer Sessions student team help incoming first-years move in. These
was initially disappointed by the freshmen are starting their Tech careers earlier than their peers through the iGniTe summer program.
idea of summer classes.
“I was a little skeptical. I wasn’t but it was made very smooth by doing graphics, next week I’m as they adjust into their new people, and you have so many
sure how many people were going everyone helping out,” he said. doing more events. “I’m [a Team lives as college students, their great opportunities to talk to your
through the summer program,” The team aiding Miranda Leader (TL) for the] GT 1000 for older peers are also readjusting classmates. It gives you an edge
Miranda said. “I started look- and his peers in their transitions Analyzing Atlanta.” to life as in-person experiences compared to the students who
ing into it a little more. into college includes third-year Arnold herself was an iGniTe make their return. are starting in the Fall, because
There’s a website about it, LMC major, Lily Arnold, who student in 2019 and is excited to This transition for both all of a sudden you know a
and I joined a GroupMe and works as an intern in the Summer pass along her positive experi- groups is made easier through good amount of professors and
a Discord server and a Snap- Session office. ences. the slow introduction the faculty and a lot of students.
chat group, and all of the “[The Summer Sessions team “This is the future of campus, of incoming students to campus, If there’s any students who are
students in those places seemed has] been planning events, we’ve and it’s cool that I’m one of the and while summer classes may considering taking iGniTe next
to have similar skepticism about been preparing for all of [the first faces they see and that I get not necessarily be every year or in the years following,
iGniTe. Taking three classes in incoming students’] questions, to shape their experience going graduating high school stu- just know that it might seem
five weeks [wasn’t what we want- we’ve been making sure every- into Georgia Tech as much dent’s idea of the perfect se- a little [annoying], but you can’t
ed] to do with our summer.” one on campus is aware they’re as I can,” she said. “They’re nior summer, they certain- go wrong starting college just a
However, once he started starting,” Arnold said. paying a lot of money to ly have shown this year’s little bit earlier.”
talking to people in the different But that is only a frac- be here, so I want them to iGniTe students what the Insti- Prospective Tech students can
online chats, Miranda’s outlook tion of what Arnold does for at least enjoy their weird little tute is all about. learn more about applying to
quickly changed. Summer Sessions. summer semester in college.” “I wasn’t necessarily stoked for the Institute at admission.gatech.
“It was a little challenging “My job changes every- One thing that stands out [iGniTe], but it surprised me,” Mi- edu, and they too can participate in
trying to fit everything together, day,” she said “This week I’m about the Class of 2025 is that randa said. “You just meet so many iGniTe in the years to come.

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// NEWS
GSU FROM PAGE 1
Blake was hired for his efforts
at George Washington University,
where he served as the Executive
Vice President and Provost of the
university. His role at the univer-
sity most notably included trans-
forming the school’s approach to
teaching and pedagogy following
the COVID-19 pandemic and
assisting in ensuring the enrolled
student body was still able to learn
and succeed amid a less than ideal
academic environment.
Prior to that, he served as the
Executive Vice President and
Nina Henderson Provost at Drex-
Clarkston builds soccer field for refugees
TEHREEM HUSSAIN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Whether it’s the mass displace-
ment of the Rohingya Muslims
from Myanmar’s northern Rakh-
ine State, the presidential crisis
in Venezuela forcing relocation
for millions, or the decade of
civil war creating unstable living
conditions for Syrian citizens, the
global refugee crisis is one that
demands attention and allocation
of resources.
Non-governmental organiza-
tions (NGOs) and non-profits
have been instrumental in as-
sisting individuals with refugee
status in regards to obtaining le-
gal aid for asylum applications
and supporting them through-
out the transitionary period. As
such, one NGO recognized by
the United Nations ECOSOC
with a chapter operating not far
from Tech’s campus is HWPL-
Atlanta.
The organization is dedicated
to the cessation of war and in
correspondence with the non-
profit, Friends of Refugees Provid-
ing Education and Empowerment
(F.R.E.E.), hosted a community-
building event for the Refugee
Community of Clarkston, Geor-
gia.
About 20 children part of
the Clarkston refugee commu-
nity participated in building a
soccer field, which will be used
primarily by the community for
future games and events. The chil-
A look back at the 1996 Olympic Games
MORGAN WHITTEMORE
NEWS STAFF WRITER
With the Tokyo 2020 Olym-
pics beginning in less than a
month, people all over the world
are looking forward to seeing the
epic athletic festival make its re-
turn after a year of delay. While
most Tech students are resigned
to watching the games on TV
this year, past members of the
Tech community were able to
see the Olympics take place
right in their backyard.
The Atlanta 1996 Olympic
Games were held from July 19 –
Aug. 5, 1996, and were the last
summer Olympic Games held in
the United States. Despite tak-
ing place almost 25 years ago, the
impacts of this event are still
evident today in the city and on
campus, and reflecting on the
games also represents diving
el, as well as the Vice Provost for
academic affairs and Dean of the
Graduate School at the University
of Miami. His background will
certainly be essential, as Geor-
gia State’s outgoing president
was one of the best it has had in
recent memory.
Under Becker, the university
has increased its graduation rate
by 22%, and currently leads the
nation in eliminating disparities
in graduation rates amongst its
minority students. The university
has become a member of Division
I athletics, increased its research
expenditures by 153%, and also
merged with Georgia Perimeter
College under Becker’s tenure.
dren also received a seminar per-
taining to “My Value, My Influ-
ence, and My Duty,” by the HWPL
Atlanta’s Peace Education Team to
cement values of cooperation,
peace-building, and individual
impact.
Organizations like HWPL and
F.R.E.E. understand the impor-
tance of engaging the youth of
refugee communities in activities
that highlight aspects of commu-
nity, trust, leadership, and team-
work.
Specifically, HWPL’s impact
transcends the metro-Atlanta area
as they’ve signed Memorandums
of Understanding (MOUs) with
214 organizations in 36 countries
within the past two years.
Man Hee Lee, the chairman of
HWPL, echoes the organization’s
mission of cultivating peaceful
societies and emphasizes, “Let
us fulfill this duty by putting in
concerted efforts into the
Declaration of Peace and Ces-
sation of War (DPCW) to be
implemented as international law
to achieve true peace across the
globe.”
Aside from peace legisla-
tion, HWPL has also created an
alliance of religions to sup-
port interfaith dialogue on the
cessation of war as many conflicts
resulting in mass displacement
are catalyzed by religious and
political turmoil.
F.R.E.E. has expanded ef-
forts since the organization’s
development in 2010; they
into Atlanta and Tech’s recent his-
tory.
By the numbers, the 1996
Games boast many notewor-
thy figures in Olympic history.
Aptly referred to as the Centen-
nial Olympic Games, the event
was the 100th anniversary of the
first modern Olympic Games
in 1896. The Games were also the
first to include athletes from all
197 recognized National Olym-
pic Committees; they also saw
the debut of multiple events, such
as beach volleyball, mountain
biking, and women’s soccer, which
brought the total number of sports
featured to 26 with 271 events
in total.
The 1996 Games were also
important for American Olym-
pic history, as they were the first
time since 1968 that the US
won a non-boycotted summer
games. The games were also
All in all, enrollment at the uni-
versity increased to over 50,000,
and Becker has demonstrated that
he has been more than capable
of changing and adapting to the
challenge and needs of the school,
whether those are presented by
the student body, the city, or the
nation, as we saw with the emer-
gence of COVID-19.
Becker’s list of accomplish-
ments is staggering given his
tenure of 12 years, and it cer-
tainly presents Blake with some
rather large shoes to fill. But the
newly appointed president-elect
is no stranger to challenging cir-
cumstances, and is certainly over
qualified for the position.
host outreach events and of-
fer assistance in terms of
organizing medical and legal
guidance for refugee families.
The culmination of insti-
tutional dysfunction, military
intervention, mass relocation,
and acclimation to a new country
is difficult for any individual to go
through, but it can be exception-
Children from Refugee Community of Clarkston, Georgia are given the opportuni-
ty to play soccer on the new field built through the non-profit organization F.R.E.E.
significant for the heavy reli-
ance on private sponsorships to
cover costs, which led to com-
plaints of over-commercial-
ization of the games but also
allowed the city of Atlanta to turn
a profit afterwards.
The event also had many
defining moments, such as
boxing legend Muhammed Ali
lighting the cauldron to kick off
the games, and especially impres-
sive performances in track and
field that year. The 1996 Games
were also marred by the Centennial
Olympic Park bombing on July
27, an attack by an American
terrorist that wounded 111 people
and led to the deaths of
two others.
Despite the tragedy during
the Games, its aftereffects on
Atlanta and Tech were over-
whelmingly positive. Preparations
for the games led to massive im-
When asked about his recep-
tion of the president, Blake was
clearly aware of what it meant,
and how important the position
truly is.
“I’m deeply honored to have
been selected as Georgia State
president,” Blake said in an in-
terview with Savannah Morning
News. “I’m keenly aware of what
President (Mark) Becker and the
faculty, staff and students have
accomplished, and I am anx-
ious to build on the university’s
great momentum. Working to-
gether, I know we can take our
university to new heights in the
coming years.”
Blake will be the eighth presi-
ally taxing on children in their
formative years.
Community-building initia-
tives help restore a sense of au-
tonomy to refugee children as
they take ownership of their final
product and cooperatively engage
with other children, who share
the experiences that have shaped
their worldview.
provements in Atlanta’s infra-
structure and the construction
of Centennial Olympic Park and
what is now Center Parc Stadium.
Many of these projects revitalized
Atlanta’s economy and bolstered
its reputation as a true global city.
Tech also contributed to the
Games’ success and reaped the
benefits they brought to the city.
McAuley Aquatic Center was
constructed for the Olympics and
the facility eventually expanded
into the CRC. Some dorms on
campus were also originally built
for the Olympic Village, housing
elite athletes from all over the
world.
Tech provided more than just
infrastructure to the Olympics,
as a Tech professor designed
the Olympic torch for the event.
Sam Shelton, former ME
professor and Director Emeritus
of Tech’s Strategic Energy
technique • July 2, 2021• 3
dent of Georgia State univer-
sity, and is notably the first Black
president of the school since its
founding in 1918. For the first time
in its history, a Black man will be
leading the school that, just
60 years prior, would regularly
publish pro-segregationist opin-
ions and beliefs in its papers and
newsletters.
While the school has demon-
strated in the past that it is well
past these events, as it currently
is one of the most diverse and
inclusive schools in the state,
Blake’s appointment ultimately
brings the university’s troubled
past and redemption full circle, in
the best way possible.
With a large international
student population and a diverse
community, Tech’s campus is
not far removed from the refugee
crisis.
For students interested in vol-
unteering their time and services,
F.R.E.E. has opportunities for
engagement in Clarkston on their
website.
Photo courtesy of HWPL ATL
Institute, went through countless
designs for the torch with his
team, balancing both the looks
and functionality of the impor-
tant Olympic symbol. Shelton also
participated in the torch re-
lay and carried his creation
along its journey to Centennial
Olympic Stadium.
Alexander Memorial Coli-
seum, now McCamish Pavilion,
also underwent renovations and
served as the competition site for
Paralympic volleyball.
The massive efforts to prepare
for the Olympic Games almost
25 years ago still impact life at
Tech and in Atlanta today. Wheth-
er students are living in the former
Olympic Village or taking a walk
through Centennial Olympic
Park, life at the Institute has been
shaped by the same games that
the world will tune in to again
this summer.
Life
Summer K-12 workshops inspire STEM education
NATALIE BOUTWELL
ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR
Since June 7, Tech’s Center for
Education Integrating Science,
Mathematics, and Computing
(CEISMC) has been offering vari-
ous summer programs for K-12
students. The programs, offered
in both a virtual and in-person
format, will last until July 23.
The Technique recently reached
out to Sirocus Barnes, the Di-
rector of Student Programs at
CEISMC, to learn more about
the K-12 summer programs and
the Center itself.
“CEISMC is Georgia Tech’s
K-12 Education Research and
Outreach Center. Annually,
CEISMC programs impact more
than 39,000 students, 1,700
teachers, 200 schools in over 75
school districts throughout the
state of Georgia,” Barnes said.
“The unit works closely with pub-
lic and private stakeholders to ex-
pand the reach of the Institute’s
STEM education efforts in urban
communities near Georgia Tech
as well as those in rural school
districts throughout the state of
Georgia.”
CEISMC hosts classes, work-
shops and various programs for
K-12 students outside of the tradi-
tional school day during the after
school hours, weekends and sum-
mers. The programs have the goal
of inspiring interest in STEM
enrichment.
This summer, CEISMC
is hosting two opportunities
for K-12 students: Summer
P.E.A.K.S (Programs for Enrich-
ment and Accelerated Knowledge
A guide
WILL FUSS
SPORTS EDITOR
While home for the summer,
many students are getting to en-
joy the company of their family
pets. Pets do not always have to
stay home, though, and some stu-
dents bring theirs along to college.
Many, including Jared Car-
bone, fourth-year CS, find that
bringing a pet to college helps
them develop a routine.
On his dog, Waya, Carbone
said, “Waya is the rock of my
schedule, and we are constantly
helping each other lead a healthier
lifestyle that requires me to plan
each day out in advance.”
Campus is fairly pet-friendly,
with dogs and outdoor cats of-
ten seen around. Carbone lives
in Home Park, but often brings
Waya into campus on walks or for
meetings with other dogs.
“The EcoCommons are great
since the squirrels haven’t fig-
ured out how to live there yet.
Tech Green is classic as well,”
Carbone said.
For those looking for a smaller
pet, students often adopt or fos-
ter cats. Hillary Dong, third-year
PUBP major, adopted a pair of
cats in January. They lived in off-
campus apartments and enjoyed
LIFE EDITOR:
Hope Williams
ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR:
Natalie Boutwell
life@nique.net
in STEAM), an in-person option,
and STEAM Whistle Workshops,
a virtual option.
“We actually started our vir-
tual programs in response to
COVID-19,” Barnes said. “We
knew that we couldn’t provide
programs on-campus in Summer
2020 and wanted to ensure that
we continued to provide our same
high quality summer learning ex-
perience, so we created STEAM
Whistle Workshops.”
This summer’s virtual pro-
grams will include a mix of syn-
chronous and asynchronous
learning, group projects and vir-
tual lab tours.
“We took all of the lessons
learned from last year through
feedback from our students and
their families to enhance the vir-
The CEISMC P.E.A.K.S and
an opportunity to learn
to furry
having the feline company.
“They were a huge emotional
support for me while I was in-
terning, taking classes and deal-
ing with some mental health stuff
throughout the semester. It’s been
nice having a source of uncon-
ditional love every time I come
home, and they’re something I
can talk about and bond over with
other people,” Dong said.
Emotional support animals,
or ESAs, are another good way to
have pets on campus. Many stu-
dents will bring an animal, com-
monly a cat, to campus with them
for emotional support and com-
pany as a way to maintain their
mental health.
Emma Sweigart, fourth-year
LMC, benefits from an ESA.
She detailed how her cat
helps her.
“Taking care of her helps keep
me grounded and reminds me to
take care of myself,” Sweigart said.
A registered ESA can help
students who want or need the
support keep their pet around
no matter the housing situa-
tion. Vivian Cheng, fourth-year
BIOS, lived in the North Avenue
apartments and had a cat as a
registered ESA.
“To register I had to provide
a therapist letter basically stating
Studying abroad at GTL
Students share their experiences while
studying abroad at GT Lorraine
this summ
tual learning experiences of this
summer,” Barnes said.
This year’s in-person pro-
grams will be altered slightly
for COVID-19 with fewer slots
available for each session and no
family showcase to ensure social
distancing.
Other protocols such as daily
health screenings, face masks and
frequent cleaning will also help to
make the summer programs safe.
Each summer, CEISMC’s
summer programs focus on a vari-
ety of topics with differing activi-
ties geared to elementary, middle
school and high school students.
Barnes said, “Workshops and
offerings are based off interest of
past participants, current trends
in K-12 STEM education and GT
faculty who want to connect K-12
STEAM Whistle Workshops offer K-12 students with
more about various areas of STEM
friends
that having my cat with me was
beneficial for my mental health. I
had a lot going on at that time so
having my cat with me was essen-
tial,” Cheng said.
She enjoyed bringing him
around campus.
“This past semester I took him
to the EcoCommons a couple of
times, and I like to think that see-
ing a cat on a leash walking by the
flowers brightened a few peoples’
days,” Cheng said.
The process for getting an ESA
registered can be difficult, though.
“The requirement of a therapist
letter may automatically exclude
many people who would benefit a
lot from having their animal with
them but don’t have the funds for
a healthcare provider recommen-
dation,” Cheng said.
Fatma Rashed, BME ‘21, had
a registered ESA as an RA in the
first-year dorms. She said that
having him around was beneficial,
but that getting him approved
was difficult.
“The process was frustrating
because you have to get approval
from the disabilities services of-
fice… but the hurdle was from
Housing itself,” Rashed said. “You
have to give proof of vaccination
and all that jazz, but then Hous-
ing holds the process hostage for
students to the research that is
taking place on campus.”
Topics this summer include
Lego Robotics, Game and App
Development, Weather Forecast-
ing, Kitchen Chemistry and many
others. Several summer programs
also have a focus on the 17 United
Nations Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) to follow Tech’s
new mission and strategic plan to
help promote, implement and ad-
vance the SGDs at the Institute.
Both the Summer P.E.A.K.S
and STEAM Whistle Workshops
are taught by Tech faculty, staff
and students as well as area teach-
ers and STEAM professionals.
“In order to do this work well,
it takes the CEISMC Student
Programs team which includes
full-time CEISMC colleagues,
Photo courtesy of Roxanne Francis
education.
on
a while.”
Animals only have to be reg-
istered once, though, and after
Rashed registered her ESA, he was
in the system throughout her time
at Tech.
Not all students adopt either.
Fostering helps keep animals out
of shelters in the short run while
Waya, owned by
year CS, is one
technique
Friday
7
July 2, 2021
Georgia Tech student assistants,
K-12 educators and the support
of the Georgia Tech administra-
tion,” Barnes said. “I am thankful
to everyone that plays a part in
supporting our work.”
Each workshop lasts about a
week, and scholarships are avail-
able for students who may not be
able to afford the program fee.
The summer workshops pro-
vide many benefits for K-12
students.
“[They] explore STEM con-
tent in fun and engaging ways,”
Barnes said. “Our feedback from
participants consistently year af-
ter year is that our programs teach
them new STEM content [which
creates] increased engagement
and interest in STEM and STEM
careers.”
This outcome is the goal of
CEISMC and Tech’s K-12 STEM
Connection: to reduce the barrier
between K-12 and higher educa-
tion and to lead systemic changes
to increase STEM interest and
achievement for all students,
especially underrepresented
students.
As Barnes states, it takes a vil-
lage to “increase the pipeline of
underserved and underrepresent-
ed K-12 students into STEM ma-
jors and careers … and Georgia
Tech is part of that village.”
To Barnes, working for
CEISMC and helping to create its
summer programs is “one of the
most rewarding jobs on campus.”
“My team and I get to design
fun learning experiences for K-12
students to prepare the next gen-
eration of STEM professionals,”
Barnes said.
campus
they wait to be adopted. Jake
Smith, third-year NRE, has fos-
tered four cats over the past year,
living with them in his room in
his fraternity house.
“[It was] super easy,” Smith
said of the fostering process. “I
put my name down on a list to re-
See PETS, page 9
Photo courtesy of Jared Carbone
Jared Carbone, fourth-
of many campus pets.
8 • July 2, 2021• technique // LIFE

Broadening horizons while studying abroad

SOPHIA ABEDI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
This time last year, students
were unable to go abroad, col-
leges had to cancel their study
abroad programs and the entire
world had shut down most forms
of travel. Fast forward to this
summer: Tech has been able to
successfully reopen their GT Lor-
raine program, and many excited
Tech students signed up to experi-
ence what many say is an experi-
ence of a lifetime.
Thankfully, due to the travel
safety measures, students are able
to safely travel abroad and take
classes while exploring the coun-
tries they are located in.
The GT Lorraine (GTL) study
abroad’s campus base is in Metz,
France, and students have been
having a blast.
From seeing the Mona Lisa at
the Louvre, to visiting Belgium
on the weekend — students are
able to have fun and enjoy their
time while also taking courses
and getting ahead in their studies.
The Technique talked to a few
students who are studying abroad
right now and absolutely enjoying
their time. Let’s take a look at the
great experiences they have been
having thus far.
Second-year BA MK Schmer-
sal originally hoped to study
abroad through the Oxford Pro-
gram since it had more major re-
lated courses to take, but it was
cancelled.
“GTL seemed like the next
best option,” Schmersal said.
“GTL was the best option be-
cause I knew it was going to
happen with Covid. Also, I re-
ally liked that it was in France —
how can you not love croissants
and cheese! Also, Metz is really
nice because it’s close to so many
other countries and provides easy
train travel.”
Schmersal also discussed what
she is most excited for during her
time abroad this summer.
“I was definitely the most ex-
cited about food,” Schmersal said.
“I am a huge foodie and love try-
ing new foods. I can say that the
food I have eaten here just within
the first few weeks has been amaz-
ing. I am going to Italy in July to
see my parents and am awaiting
the pasta.”
Schmersal also spoke on what
she was most nervous about prior
to traveling to Lorraine for the
summer.
“As far as nerves go, I wasn’t
that nervous as I traveled abroad
to Australia in high school,”
Schmersal said.
“I will for sure miss my parents
and America, especially being in
the States for the Fourth of July,
but I am super excited to be in
Europe!”
Almoney commented on the
academic aspects of study abroad.
“The classes at GTL are more
compact because we have less
class time to learn the material,”
second-year ISYE Grace Almoney
said, “but the professors under-
stand that we also want to travel
around Europe while we are here,
so the workload isn’t as heavy.”
Almoney emphasized the im-
portance of being open to trying
new things and exploring the rich
culture you are surrounded by
when you study abroad.
“The biggest piece of advice I
would give another student who
wants to study abroad is to keep
an open mind,” Almoney said.
“You will make so many amazing
new friends and have so many dif-
ferent experiences, and if you keep
an open mind about it all, it will
make the whole trip 100x better.”
Third-year ISYE Matt War-
rington emphasized his favorite
part about being abroad is that
he can fully immerse himself in
the French culture and practice
the language.
Being abroad he can also eas-
ily travel to nearby countries and
even plans to cross off some items
on his bucket list.
“So far my favorite part about
studying abroad is that it al-
lows me to practice my French!
I’ve been able to converse with
shop owners and waiters, and
it makes me feel like I’m more
than just a tourist in France,”
Warrington said.
“My top place on my bucket
list is Zermatt, Switzerland, home
to the famous Matterhorn in the
Alps! It’s such a beautiful area,
and I plan to do lots of hiking
there later in the summer.”
Warrington has been able
to successfully avoid any tour-
ist traps, but the lack of seating
at restaurants due to COVID-19
restrictions has been a bit of a
struggle.
“Surprisingly, I haven’t done
very many touristy things here!”
Warrington said. “However, in
many cities, it is hard to find a
table outside at restaurants, so in
Lyon my travel group came very
close to stopping at a McDon-
alds!”
Third-year BA Surbhi Bhat-
ter discussed her experience dur-
ing study abroad thus far and
how traveling to other countries
has allowed her experience to be
heightened through seeing other
cultures.
“It’s been incredible! GTL
is go, go go ... you travel on the
weekends and study on the week-
days. But I wouldn’t have it any
other way,” Bhatter said. “My fa-
vorite parts have been traveling
with new Georgia Tech friends
and witnessing different cultures
all over Europe. I cannot recom-
mend studying abroad at least
once enough!”
She shared how COVID-19
restrictions have played into her
experience studying abroad as
well. Everything is slowly opening
back up in Europe, and she shared
on what it has felt like so far.
“It’s been different, but we
are definitely a lucky bunch,”
Bhatter said. “As soon as we got to
Europe, things started opening up
such as restaurants and museums.
I still think we are getting the full
study abroad experience, just with
masks on! COVID restrictions
are definitely taking longer to ease
up here than in the States. We are
just now getting around to eating
indoors and traveling across most
borders. But on the bright side, we
are all getting to explore Europe
without tourist traffic and see a lot
more locals.”

Top R and Bottom R: Photo courtesy of Surbhi Bhatter; Middle R and Bottom L: Photo courtesy of Grace Almoney
Students attending GT Lorraine have been able to travel to several countries in Europe with more and more
COVID-19 restrictions lifting. Cities students have visited include Brussels, Belgium and Lyon, France.
// LIFE technique • July 2, 2021• 9

JUNETEENTH FROM FRONT
something Black and minority
communities have faced since the
beginning of this country, includ-
ing in public policy, news articles
and church sermons.
The Emancipation Proclama-
tion, issued by President Abra-
ham Lincoln in 1862 and effec-
tive starting on Jan. 1, 1863, freed
enslaved people in the Confed-
erate States of America, but not
the entire United States, includ-
ing in the border states of Dela-
ware, Kentucky, Maryland and
Missouri.
“Myths about Lincoln, the
Republican Party and American
democracy in general promote
this proclamation as altruistic and
moral, but in truth, it was a mili-
tary and political propaganda ef-
fort to sow discord behind enemy
lines,” Brock said.
Brock continued that Texas
was not the last state to free en-
slaved people.
In fact, Delaware and Ken-
tucky did not free enslaved pop-
ulations until December 1865,
which was when the 13th Amend-
ment was ratified.
Brock related this to the recent
creation of a federal holiday for
Juneteenth.
“The creation of a federal holi-
day to mark a successful historical
disinformation campaign is kind
of what America does,” Brock
said.
“It’s more of a DEI [Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion] initiative
than actual redress.”
Namely, this does not enact
any tangible policy changes to
support Black Americans.
“Considering that our people
have built this nation, but we still
haven’t been offered reparations,
much less a bill through this cur-
rent Congress to address anti-
Black policing strategies that have
ended in the murders of George
Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud
Arbery here in Georgia, Rayshard
Brooks here in Atlanta and many
more,” Brock said.
After Brock’s presentation, at-
tendees asked Brock about his
thoughts on Juneteenth being
made a federal holiday, just sev-
eral days after the Georgia Board
of Education passed a resolution
that supports banning Critical
Race Theory from Georgia public
schools for kindergarten through
twelfth grade.
The resolution does not cur-
rently apply to higher education,
including Tech.
“I will teach about diversity,
equity and social justice in the
classroom and doing that without
critical race robs me of a crucial
tool that I need,” Brock said.
Other attendees asked Brock
if Juneteenth’s status as a federal
holiday would force schools to
change their curriculum to in-
clude teachings about events tra-
ditionally left out of the history
curriculum, or if more would need
to be done.
Brock mentioned examples of
racist violence such as the Tulsa
Race Massacre in 1921 and the
Rosewood Massacre in 1923.
“Institutionally, systemati-
cally, structurally it’s not going
to happen anytime soon, but we
will continue to fight to try to get
these things entered into the cur-
riculum so that people can learn,”
Brock said.
Brock was also asked about his
thoughts on the commodification
of Juneteenth and movements to
shop at and support only Black-
owned businesses and vendors for
the day.
“The idea that Black businesses
will benefit from Juneteenth is a
good one,” Brock said.
“The ways that they can ben-
efit though, is severely constrained
by the way racial capitalism keeps
them from being able to take ad-
vantage of networks of distribu-
tion, of marketing, of product
fulfillment, of shipping and ev-
erything else.”
Brock explained that he aligns
theoretically and morally with Af-
ro-optimism, as opposed to Afro-
pessimism.
“Blackness, by the theoretical
framework of Afro-pessimism, is
incommensurable with Western
society and culture,” Brock said,
later explaining that Afro-opti-
mism celebrates Black thought
in the context of modernity and
capitalism.
At the end of Brock’s presen-
tation, he mentioned how Black
joy, which gives a capacity for
self-care, is necessary to fight op-
pression.
This idea is further explored
in his book, “Distributed Black-
ness: African American Cybercul-
tures.”
“We must hold space for things
that bring us life and joy in order
to later navigate things that will
give us trouble,” Brock said.
After the virtual portion end-
ed, the event moved to the Tech
Green.
Two fraternities, Omega Psi
Phi and Phi Beta Sigma, and two
sororities, Delta Sigma Theta and
Zeta Phi Beta, tabled at the event.
There were interactive activi-
ties including games, food and a
student performance.
A full recording of the virtual
talk can be accessed at youtube.
com/watch?v=p8zc4Vzg_vM.

Photo by Tuna Ergan Student Publications Photo by Tuna Ergan Student Publications
The Juneteenth Commemoration event featured an in-person portion with The event was hosted by OMED and three Black student
interactive activities, including this poster board for attendee responses. organizations including ASA, AASU and GT CaribSA.

PETS FROM PAGE 7
ceive emails about potential fos-
ter animals, and they send like
five emails a week with different
foster pleas.”
Smith recommends fostering
to others.
“It’s nice to have animals
around for entertainment and de-
stress, but it also helps the animals
by getting them out of the shel-
ter,” Smith said.
Having pets on campus is not
without challenges, including
some unique to the college expe-
rience. Larger animals like dogs
need attention and exercise.
“To meet his [Waya’s] exercise
requirement, I have to block out a
significant amount of time to ex-
ercise him via walking or running
each day,” Carbone said.
Sweigart points out the diffi-
culties of living in close quarters
with other people.
“I have had to be very consci-
entious about preventing noise,
odors, damage and the other
things that come with having a
pet,” Sweigart said.
Rashed spoke about ensur-
ing a pet’s comfort, saying that a
challenge was “him being easily
frightened by super loud noises,
especially unscheduled mainte-
nance in the halls and fire alarms.”
Student pet owners agree mak-
ing sure your animal is well pro-
vided for is essential. Pets are a
significant financial undertaking,
“Make sure you have the finan-
cial means to pay for [its needs,
like] the vet and food, someone
to take care of it if you can’t and
the willingness to keep it after col-
lege,” Rashed said.
Sweigart recommends creating
a comfortable space.
“Take advantage of the three-
dimensional space in your room
or apartment. Providing your cat
with places to climb and hide will
keep them happy even in a small
space,” Sweigart said.
Dong recommends keeping in
mind the financial impact pets.
“Pet supplies can be expensive.
I also had to take my cats to the
vet recently, and some of the vet
fees were definitely higher than I
expected,” Dong said.
Cheng had similar advice.
“Make sure you can keep up
with the regular expenses and
responsibilities associated with
an animal, especially if you’ve
previously split responsibilities
with someone else. Unexpected
costs happen, so have a plan,”
Cheng said.
“But overall, having a pet
with you can be the best way to
keep a routine and keep your
stress down.”

technique
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Opinions
I didn’t look in a mirror
OUR VIEWS | Consensus Opinion
Should Olympians be allowed to protest
on the international stage? for an entire year
During the 1968 Summer Olympics,
U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John
Carlos bowed their heads on the medal
platform as the “The Star-Spangled Ban-
ner” played and raised their fists as a sign of
protest. In his autobiography, Smith stated
that the gesture was not a “Black Power”
salute, but rather a “human rights” salute.
Nonetheless, the demonstration has been
referenced as one of the most political state-
ments in the history of the Olympic games.
Years later, we are reminded of this in-
stance through Gwen Berry, a track and
field athlete, who recently competed in the
women’s hammer throw final at the 2020
U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials.
Berry sparked controversy as she turned
away from the American Flag during the
national anthem while standing on the po-
dium after receiving a bronze medal. Prior
to this, Berry also raised a fist during the
2019 Pan American Games, for which she
was placed on probation.
After considering the historical context
and the larger implications of individual
demonstrations during the Olympic games
and trials leading up to it, the Technique be-
lieves it is necessary to uphold the political
neutrality of the 2020 Summer Olympic
Games and maintain Rule 50 of the Olym-
pic charter which partly reads: “No kind of
demonstration or political, religious or ra-
cial propaganda is permitted in any Olym-
pic sites, venues or other areas.”
Berry claims that her protest was against
the historical racism that the song repre-
The Consensus Opinion reflects the majority opinion of the Editorial Board of the
Technique, but not necessarily the opinions of individual editors.
technique editorial board
Janat Batra EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Taylor Gray MANAGING EDITOR
Maya Torres NEWS EDITOR
Hope Williams LIFE EDITOR
Madhura Gangal HEAD COPY EDITOR
Rahul Deshpande TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Dani Sisson PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Write to us:
letters@nique.net
Got something to say? Then let your voice be heard
with the Technique. Sliver at Nique.net, tweet us @
the_nique, check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/
thenique and follow us on Instagram @gt_nique. We
want to hear your opinion and make it known to all of
campus.
We also welcome your letters to the Editor
in response to Technique content as well as top-
ics relevant to campus. We will print letters on a
timely and space-available basis. Each week we
look for letters that are responses to or commen
taries on content found within the pages of the Tech-
OPINIONS EDITOR: Micah Veillon
“
”
Rather than admit defeat, I
decided to change my goals.
- David Sedaris
sents and that she would not stand or ac-
knowledge something that disrespected her
people. While we believe that Berry had the
right to demonstrate her beliefs during the
U.S. trials, it is important to consider that
not every athlete who will be competing at
the international level of the Olympics has
the same freedom to do so.
The ability to protest is a privilege that
constituents of the United States have, but
DANI SISSON
it is not a luxury afforded to every Olympic
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
athlete by their own country, and one of
the reasons why the Olympic games push Content Warning: Body Dysmor-
phia, Disordered Eating
for political neutrality is to protect athletes
In March of 2020, as the world
from political interference or exploitation. was descending into a lockdown,
Rule 50’s prohibition from political dem- I remember anxiously scrolling
through Facebook and happen-
onstration on the international stage is also ing across a post by an acquain-
put into place to protect people from nega- tance from high school: “Remem-
ber that it is okay to gain weight
tive expressions, like someone raising their
during quarantine.” Simple as
hand in a Nazi salute. it was, that modicum of accep-
The Olympic games are undoubtedly po- tance would burrow its way into
my mind and act as the catalyst
litical to a degree, with sports and politics
for one of the most monumental
being tied to national identities by raising changes in my life to date.
a sense of pride for countries with award- Growing up as a dancer, I had
been conditioned from an early
winning athletes, but it is important to
age to use the mirror as a place for
consider whether the Olympic stage is the self-critique, regularly spending
best platform to express one’s personal be- hours a day staring at my reflec-
tion in an effort to perfect a new
liefs or if there are more effective ways to do move, straighten my lines, correct
so elsewhere. my form, or simply criticize my
We find that there is enough value in body. As with many people, this
desire for control over my own
making an international stage as apolitical body eventually resulted in disor-
as possible as a measure to protect athletes, dered eating habits.
for there is a thin line between express- With years of critical condi-
tioning, engagement in diet cul-
ing your personal beliefs publicly versus ture, and fatphobic marketing
being used as a political pawn to push a serving as the backbone of my
relationship with my own body,
country or politician’s agenda. I was extremely worried about
the possibility of weight gain dur-
ing quarantine, but that small
Facebook post refused to leave
my mind.
After several weeks of yo-yo-
ing between restriction, guilt and
the thought of that Facebook
post, I decided I had had enough.
I began looking into stories online
of those that had recovered from
habitual disordered eating, and I
Emma Ryan ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
stumbled upon the concept of “In-
Micah Veillon OPINIONS EDITOR
tuitive Eating.”
Will Fuss SPORTS EDITOR
Marketing itself as simply “lis-
Amanda Wang DESIGN EDITOR tening” to my hunger and eating
Sarah Miller ONLINE EDITOR when I felt hungry, I was skepti-
cal of the possibility of having a
relationship with food that didn’t
include me counting every calorie,
nique. Along with these letters, we are open to receiving but I was willing to give it a try.
letters that focus on relevant issues that currently affect
Georgia Tech as a university, including its campus and
Armed with research from
the Internet and the guidance
student body. of a licensed nutritionist, I dubi-
When submitting letters we ask that you include ously embarked on a journey to
your full name, year (1st, 2nd, etc.) and major. For let- find my lost hunger signals and a
ters from faculty and staff members, we ask that you in- long unknown acceptance of my
clude your position at the Institute. We ask that letters own body. I turned away from the
be thought provoking, well written and in good taste. mirror, and began trying to look
We reserve the right to both reject or edit letters for inward in an effort to cultivate a
length and style. healthier relationship with myself.
For questions, comments or concerns, please It was difficult, at first. After al-
contact the Opinions Editor, Micah Veillon, at most two decades of marketing
opinions@nique.net or the Editor-in-Chief, Janat around needing to control, opti-
Batra, at editor@nique.net mize or bio-hack my own body,
I felt as if I had no connection
technique
4
Friday,
July 2, 2021
whatsoever to my own hunger and
satiety cues, and that the idea that
my body could regulate its own
food intake without constant mi-
cromanagement was absurd.
I often felt discouraged, think-
ing that I wasn’t intuitively eating
“correctly”. I could tell my body
composition was fluctuating, my
hunger was often unstable, but I
continued on with the support of
those around me.
Over time, listening to my
body and responding with accep-
tance to whatever hunger showed
up, whenever it showed up, I start-
ed to think less about food. I ate
exactly what I wanted, whenever I
wanted, with absolutely no restric-
tion, and my body flourished.
Whether it be because of the
sudden satisfaction of nutritional
requirements or the lack of con-
stant mental anguish over food
and the consequently high cor-
tisol levels, I began to have more
energy throughout my days, and
I began to see my body as healthy
by the way that it functioned rath-
er than by the way it looked.
After a year of avoiding mir-
rors, scales, and nutrition labels,
I’ve been able to cultivate a rela-
tionship with my body based on
respect, patience, and gratitude.
When I look in the mirror today,
instead of seeing all of the “imper-
fections” I saw a year ago, I see a
body that offers me nothing but
“... I’ve been able
to cultivate a
relationship with
my body based on
respect, patience,
and gratitude. ”
love, a body that is capable of in-
credible adaptability - a body that
is doing its best to keep me alive
and doing a damn good job of it.
As things continue to open
back up here in the U.S., there is
sure to be an onslaught of market-
ing from the diet culture and well-
ness industries as they attempt to
recoup profit losses from the past
year. While my journey is far from
over, it is my hope that by discuss-
ing these issues openly, our post-
pandemic world can be shaped
into a more accepting one than
that with which we started.
If you are a student currently
struggling with body image, dis-
ordered eating, or any nutrition
related concerns, don’t hesitate
to reach out to Georgia Tech’s
Nutrition Counseling services
(healthinitiatives.gatech.edu/
suppor t-ser v ice s/nut rit ion-
counseling) or any of Georgia
Tech’s other counseling services
(counseling.gatech.edu/). Other
helpful resources can be found on
the National Alliance on Men-
tal Health’s website (nami.org/
Home).
// OPINIONS
Bookish Comeback
Bookworms from across
campus can rejoice now that
physical books are coming
back to Tech’s main campus
library. On Monday, June 28
President Cabrera and Provost
McLaughlin were spotted at
Crosland Tower playing librar-
ians as they helped to shelve
the first of 30,000 physical
books in the space. The return
of physical books to the library
was long-awaited.
Hawks Press On
Have the Hawks finally
broken the Atlanta sports
curse? Only time will tell as
the Hawks press on into Game
5 of the conference finals
against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Hawks fans held their breath
during Game 3 of the series
as star point guard star Trae
Young hobbled off the court
after stepping on a referee’s
foot. Young’s injury kept him
from playing in Game 4.
Britney’s Father
The #FreeBritney move-
ment, a social movement to
show support for pop star
Britney Spears as she attempts
to remove her father from her
legal conservatorship, gained
momentum this week as
Spears appeared in court to
speak out about her situation.
Her testimony detailed the se-
vere control her father has over
every aspect of her life, includ-
ing her reproductive rights.
Solace Shooting
Many members of the Tech
community that live and work
around 700 Peachtree Street
experienced lockdown pro-
cedures on Wednesday after-
noon as the search for a sus-
pected gunman occurred at
the Solace apartment complex.
APD officers rushed to the
scene and one officer was shot
as the team was ambushed by
the suspected gunman on the
eighth floor of the building.
W hy I love ou r A mer i c a
MICAH VEILLON
OPINIONS EDITOR
In Federalist No. 14, James
Madison so movingly remarked,
in regard to our revolutionary
forefathers, “Happily for America,
happily, we trust, for the whole
human race… they accomplished
a revolution which has no parallel
in the annals of human society…
They formed the design of a great
confederacy, which it is incum-
bent upon their successors to im-
prove and perpetuate.”
As it currently stands, patrio-
tism is on a decline in America.
I think there are a multitude of
factors that come into play here,
however, I am of the firm belief
that the historical ignorance prop-
agated by the apostles of vanity
and political charlatans masquer-
ading as academics have certainly
exacerbated this decline.
Nonetheless, as Americans we
truly are heirs to a marvelous in-
heritance, links in the social chain
of giving and receiving. We are
where we are because of the cus-
toms and traditions of our fore-
fathers — especially those of the
Anglo-Saxon tradition, which we
are an extension of here in Amer-
ica, and which has become the
Anglo-American tradition.
As Americans, we have been af-
forded many profound blessings. I
would like to talk about some of
these today, and why these are,
among other things, reasons why
I truly love our country.
I would like to begin detailing
this by turning to Aristotle. In his
marvelous work, The Politics, he
begins Book I by laying out man
as a political animal, in whose
very fabric is nested the concept
of association. According to Ar-
istotle, it is natural for mankind
to associate in terms of ruler and
ruled for purposes of propaga-
tion (this is also deeply nested in
natural order of politics laid out
by Polybius), and he gives us the
natural forms of association, first
the household, following is that
of the village, and finally the state
which comes about to secure life
itself and continues to secure the
good life.
I’m not here to compose a trea-
tise on government, however, vis-
iting Aristotle will prove worth-
while because we learn from him
that the state is a natural thing.
Now, the question of what kind
of state we should constitute is
another question, one some of our
founders disagreed on.
Writing to Madison, concern-
ing the U.S. Constitution, Jef-
ferson claimed that the Earth
belonged to the living who should
not be “bound by the dead hand
of the past.” In response, Madi-
son stated that “the improvements
made by the dead form a debt
against the living, who take the
benefit of them.” Madison, per
usual, was right here. Humans do
not enter the world spontaneously
with no attachments. We are born
into families, with obligations
from the moment we are con-
ceived. As Montesquiue states in
Book V of The Spirit of the Laws,
“at our coming into the world, we
contract an immense debt to our
country, which we can never dis-
charge.”
As beneficiaries of the Ameri-
can tradition, we owe a debt to
our forefathers that we cannot
dismiss, and we are obligated, as
Madison said, to improve and per-
petuate it. We cannot accomplish
this cumbersome task without a
love for our country and an un-
derstanding of who we are. I now
wish to briefly highlight the pro-
found ideal of natural rights and
a government instituted among
men, by men to safeguard them,
because I firmly hold it to be one
worthy of our utmost affection.
To briefly cover the idea of the
natural law, I believe it’s basic te-
net is formulated as such: the law
should start from the individual,
with his complaints or grievances-
-the thing which has brought him
to the court in the first place. Un-
til the law decides otherwise, he is
the sovereign over his own life. I
know when we think of natural
technique • July 2, 2021• 5
rights we think of life, liberty,
and property; however, I think we
make a mistake when speaking of
rights in an abstract and esoteric
manner. Any law, in and of itself,
will restrict freedom, for example.
The problem is whether or
not it is restricted with justifica-
tion. The law should be about the
judgements that ordinary people
make everyday of their lives. This
is what we, as Americans, inherit
from the common law tradition.
We also have a Bill of Rights,
however, Madison explicitly au-
thored the ninth Amendment to
be sure to make it clear that this
statement of rights didn’t cover all
of them.
While it is marvelous to have
a government instituted on the
idea of respecting the sovereignty
of the individual and the natural
law, our founders knew that poli-
tics exists to maintain peace and
the rule of law, and to permit civil
society to flourish — as it is itself
the end, and government is the
mean to ensure it does not grow
out of control.
This cannot be achieved pru-
dently, or sustained through time,
without the separation of powers
and the marvelous principles of
federalism that our constitution
demands from our government.
To conclude, we, as Americans,
are heirs to a splendid inheritance
unfathomable to most in the
chronicles of human history. Aris-
totle teaches us that two impulses
will bring humans to cherish
something: knowing it is theirs,
and that it is delightful.
When the founding fathers
spoke of our civilization, they pur-
posefully spoke of it in terms of a
Union. We have inherited a spec-
tacular civilization. It is not mine,
nor is it exclusively yours. It is
ours. It belongs to the first person
plural: we the people; Americans
of past, present, and future gen-
erations. And it is truly delightful.
I hope you can come to cherish
this wonderful land and all the
benefits it provides; it is after all
our home, sweet home.
6 • July 2, 2021• technique
Are hyper-sexualized music videos good for society?
MICAH VEILLON
OPINIONS EDITOR
To keep my introduction brief,
I will simply begin by stating I am
of the firm belief that this hyper-
sexual culture we are perpetually
advancing could potentially de-
stroy civil society as we know it.
I don’t plan to bore you with the
typical arguments you hear from
conservatives about why WAP is
bad. Instead, I find it more worth-
while to journey to the root of this
Good days, bad days and everything in between
MAYA TORRES
NEWS EDITOR
Growing up, I was persistently
told I was a slob. Perhaps it was
because my room was in a con-
stant state of disaster or because I
simply could not see any purpose
in making my bed each morning.
Making my bed or folding my
laundry or brushing my teeth or,
sometimes, even waking up each
morning. It just seemed pointless
matter and look to philosophy to
discover why perverted outlooks
on sex debauche the self.
First and foremost, the argu-
ment I will detail here demands
that we tackle what is perhaps the
world’s most daunting question:
what does it mean to be human?
In his book, On Human Nature,
Sir Roger Scruton makes the ar-
gument for seeing humans not
merely as animals, but persons,
and for seeing personhood as that
which emerges when it is possible
to relate to an organism in the way
of personal relations.
We are responsible creatures
who attribute desires and inten-
tions to ourselves, but not only
that, we also see each other as
such. We are self conscious. We
do not exist in a metaphysical
void as pure subjects like Des-
cartes imagined, but we enter into
the physical world and encounter
others in it.
to go through the motions of it all
when I was just going to have to
do it again tomorrow.
It wasn’t until high school
that I received a diagnosis for my
state of monotonous dread. As
many would have guessed, I was
severely depressed.
There is so much romanticiza-
tion of depression in the media:
the gothic-styled portraits of teen-
age girls with dark eyes and heavy
eyeliner, the inhale of a cigarette
when life is too much, the wrist
marked with heavy scratches
from an episode of grief. For me
at least, that’s not what depression
looks like.
On a good day, I wake up,
maybe a bit slower than the aver-
age person, because I simply can-
not fathom a morning where I get
out of bed without watching at
least 15 minutes of motivational
As Hegel claims in The Phe-
nomenology of Spirit, self-con-
sciousness rests on us being capa-
ble of free dialogue in which I am
accountable for myself before the
presence of yourself. As Scruton
masterfully summarizes, “I am
I to myself because… I am you
to another.”
We are answerable to each
other for what we say and do. For
Hegel, we are subjects for each
other, not objects. This subject to
subject encounter is one where we
mutually recognize each other’s
autonomy.
Let’s now take these concepts
on human relations and apply
them to sexual and romantic re-
lations. When we are describing
two people’s desire for one anoth-
er, we are speaking in this sense of
the subject to subject encounter.
Pay attention to the language
we use. I say that I want you. My
desire for you is how I feel, not
TikTok. I take my prescribed dai-
ly medication, two small pills that
make the world click into place. I
drink my morning coffee, and I
go about my day. Life is good, and
life is normal, and life is worth liv-
ing. But that’s a good day.
On a bad day, I sleep through
my alarms — all sixteen of them.
When I do wake up, it’s at least
noon, and my bed feels too safe
to leave. If I climb out of the
sheets and covers, I have to face
my problems: missed texts and
dirty laundry and overdue home-
work assignments. It all feels like
too much, and I usually retreat
back to my sleepy bliss. On a bad
day, I forget to take my medica-
tion, so the world is just always
a little fuzzy and a little too
much to bear.
On a bad day, life seems un-
livable. For a mentally ill person,
merely an expression. Accord-
ing to Scruton, the touch of de-
sire is epistemic in character: “it
is an exploration, not of a body,
but of a free being in his or her
embodiment.”
Desire should be understood as
a mutual negotiation between free
and responsible beings who want
each other as persons, not simple
sexual objects.
To fasten these ideas in with
the topic at hand: when we look
at our hyper-sexualized culture-
-whether it be through pornog-
raphy, inordinantely sexualized
music videos and lyrics, and the
idea of sex with no attachments-
-it all degrades the self by turning
us merely into objects of physi-
cal attraction by which our sex-
ual desires are to be heaved onto
one another.
It degrades the idea of love, of
seeing in another’s eyes that which
is like you, a subject, a person, a
I do all the right things. I go to
biweekly therapy sessions and
every few months, check in with
my psychiatrist to let her know
the medication is still working. I
exercise (or at least try to) and eat
my greens and shower as often as I
can manage.
And yet the bad days still
come, and I have to force my way
through the groggy sludge of de-
spair. But despite the bitter reality
of depression, there is more to life.
As I’ve gotten older and wiser,
it’s dawned on me in little mo-
ments that I love being alive. A
happy song with the perfect lyr-
ics, morning drives with the win-
dows rolled down, a stolen sunset
with my boyfriend. I want to live
each of these moments to the full-
est and stay alive long enough to
see dreams manifest themselves
into actuality.
// OPINIONS
responsible being who attributes
desires to themself, and who de-
sires you as you desire them: as
free beings. It prizes mere sexual
excitement, free from the I-You
relation. As Scruton masterfully
states, it makes sex “as though it
were a physical condition and not
an expression of the self.”
To conclude, the intense sexual
nature of much of our culture to-
day perverts what it means to be a
human with sexual desires.
We are subjects, not simply ob-
jects by which our sexual appetites
may be satisfied. Sexual desire is a
beautiful thing, it should not be
suppressed, but it should certainly
be tempered in order to live a ful-
filling life and to love someone as
the free being and the person they
are, and not to see them in terms
of raw, physical attraction. The
way in which our society is orient-
ed in regard to sex will certainly
spoil such a sacred thing.
Even when life is heavy with
hopelessness, I am desperate not
to let my diagnosis define me. I
am desperate to share my story
in the hopes of spreading light to
those who have momentarily lost
their brightness.
I push on for my loved ones,
for my peers who are also suffer-
ing, but above all, for myself.
On a good day, I make my bed
(I see purpose in doing it, even
if I’ll have to do it all over again
tomorrow) and do my schoolwork
and go on adventures and smile at
the little things.
On a bad day, I take a deep
breath and push myself out of
bed in hopes of a brighter tomor-
row. If you or someone you know
is struggling with mental illness
and is seeking help, please contact
Tech’s counseling center at coun-
seling.gatech.edu.

Entertainment
The one where they get back together
TELEVISION
Friends: The Reunion
NETWORK: HBO Max
WHEN: May 27
STARRING: Jennifer Aniston,
Matthew Perry, Courteney
Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa
Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc
OUR TAKE: ««
«««««
«««
ANUSH SINGHAL
ENTERTAINMENT STAFF WRITER
On May 27 on HBO Max,
“Friends: The Reunion” brought
the original main cast of the icon-
ic sitcom “Friends” together for
the first time since the show ended
17 years ago.
“Friends” is an influential piece
of pop culture that perfectly en-
capsulates the ‘90s and has con-
tinued to strike a chord with sub-
sequent generations.
The reunion was slated to
drop in tandem with HBO Max
on May 27 of last year, however,
due to the pandemic filming was
delayed twice, so the special was
released a year later.
Rather than continuing the
series and the stories of the char-
acters, the reunion provided fans
with an exclusive gathering of the
cast to reminisce. But even if fans
'Loki' brings fans a magically good time
TELEVISION
Loki
NETWORK: Disney Plus
WHEN: June 9
STARRING: Tom Hiddleston
OUR TAKE: «««««
ABIGAIL SARA MATTHEWS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On June 9, Marvel’s “Loki ''
premiered on DisneyPlus. The
show is the final installment of
three limited series planned to
usher in Phase IV of the Mar-
vel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
“Loki” delves into the story of fan-
favorite villain turned anti-hero,
Loki, the God of Mischief (Tom
Hiddleston, “Crimson Peak”).
The series accompanies
sister shows “Falcon and the Win-
ter Soldier” and “WandaVision”,
telling the story of the remaining
Avengers after the conclusion of
“Avengers: Endgame”. Unlike the
other two series, which begin im-
mediately following the conclu-
sion of “Endgame”, Loki’s story
begins in 2012, during the first
Avengers movie, where he escapes
capture due to the time-traveling
hijinks seen in “Endgame.”
But his escape lands him in
the hands of the Time Variance
Authority (TVA), who prosecute
him for veering off the path of
the Sacred Timeline, the main
timeline controlled by ominous,
all-powerful beings known as the
Time Keepers. TVA agent Mo-
had only been presented with a
healthy dosage of nostalgia, the fi-
nal product might have been bet-
ter than it was.
The initial 20 minutes of the
special whizzed by, showing the
original cast reunite the set and
pick up as if no time had passed.
The idle chit-chat and jokes em-
phasized the strong connection
between the cast, and helped to
highlight the fact that not much
of the chemistry present on
“Friends” was fake.
The iconic cast of the 1990's
looking better than ever for a shot of nostalgia on the series' 17 year reunion special.
bius (Owen Wilson, “The Intern-
ship”) recruits Loki to help the
TVA fix the timeline by hunting
other, particularly dangerous vari-
ants — namely Sylvie (Sophia Di
Martino, “Yesterday”), a variant
of Loki, himself.
Director Kate Herron and cre-
ator Michael Waldron wield the
chaos and confusion of Marvel’s
expansive universe and the ins
and outs of time travel to create a
magical, fast-paced and fun-filled
journey through space and time.
The humor and wit of the
show’s dialogue works hand-in-
hand with the action sequences
to maintain the rapid tempo of
the story. Despite the magical
Tom Hiddleston is back as everyone's favorite anti-hero, Loki, in the newest Marvel
limited series streaming exclusively on DisneyPlus. The series premiered on June 9.
In reality, the cast was already
quite close and the emotions on
screen were more realistic than
many might have assumed.
However, the illusion broke as
soon as James Cordon entered.
The show seemed much more
hollow and the reunion started
to feel like a poor excuse for a
cash grab. Given that Cordon
spoke more than the cast, who
were sitting statically and awk-
wardly, and the rough transitions
throughout the interview, the raw
series "Friends" is back together and
elements, the fast-paced action
scenes captivate the audience by
remaining grounded in reality.
However, Loki remains the fo-
cal point of the show. Throughout
the Marvel films, his character de-
velopment was limited and often
overshadowed by his character-
istic mischief and arrogance. His
deeper moments are built around
his relationship with other char-
acters such as his brother, Thor,
or his mother and father, Frigga
and Odin. But “Loki” develops its
characters with compelling preci-
sion, delving into the heart of its
titular character.
For instance, Sylvie and Loki
share the same origin but are from
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Emma Ryan
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR:
Emily Schroeder
entertainment@nique.net
emotional aspect of the reunion
broke down to make way for
artificial interactions.
The reenactments and table
reads of the scenes, however, were
wonderful. The flawless editing
between past and current reads
coupled with some teary-eyed mo-
ments made for a delightful expe-
rience. The uncut footage coupled
with behind-the-scenes commen-
tary was eye-opening and induced
a stronger emotional response to
the original show.
Photo courtesy of HBO
different timelines. The writers
use this dynamic to enhance their
character development. The char-
acters are a mirror-image of each
other. Their shared traits are what
make them a compelling team,
but the differing life experiences
set them apart from each other.
Loki has a vulnerability he gained
from his relationship with his
mother that Sylvie lacks.
Similarly, Mobius offers a
juxtaposition to Loki as the sen-
sible and empathic mentor, who
sees Loki’s potential to help oth-
ers. Where Sylvie demonstrates
the potential of Loki’s power,
Mobius shows the potential for
his humanity.
Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios
technique
10
Friday,
July 2, 2021
Though some of the guest star
appearances helped to communi-
cate the show’s timelessness, the
sheer quantity of them felt forced.
For example, Justin Bieber dress-
ing up as Spudnik didn’t really
add anything to the show, where-
as seeing Matt LeBlanc lunge in
Chandler’s clothes again brought
back a hilarious scene. Even
with a run time of over 135 min-
utes, the reunion didn’t provide
enough screentime to guest stars
took away from characters more
directly related to the franchise
like Mr. and Mrs. Geller. Even
Janice was reduced to a few laughs
and “CHHHaaanDDlllleeeRRR
BBBBiiiinnnnGGG!?!”
Because of “Friends”’ legend-
ary status, it was impossible for
the reunion to be met with bad
press. However, the reunion
might have been more enjoyable
if it had focused more on the
original main cast rather than
depending on gimmicks like
guest stars.“Friends” is a cultural
phenomenon based solely on the
life of six friends living in New
York, but it seems like the same
TV executives that initially feared
that the show would not do well
had the same doubts with the re-
union. This time they made sure
to add more to it, but one could
argue that they only succeeded
in taking away from the show’s
original charm.
Loki’s conflicts with his own
humanity are the driving force
behind what makes his character
compelling. Despite his power
and arrogance, he deals with hu-
man issues. Throughout his time
at the TVA, Loki has one clear
goal — to find his “glorious pur-
pose.” His desire to be a part of
something greater than himself
makes him accessible to audienc-
es, and Hiddleston and the show’s
writers bring this side of the char-
acter to the forefront of the narra-
tive with profound care.
Hiddleston expertly balances
the mischievous side of Loki that
audiences have come to know and
love with the more sensitive side
that has merely been teased in
the films. Moments of emotional
reflection, grief and regret shine
through the playful arrogance ex-
pected from the character.
Di Martino is the standout
performer of the show. She ex-
pertly emulates the Loki charac-
teristics crafted by Hiddleston in
his ten years in the MCU while
maintaining the fierce indepen-
dence of her own character.
Sylvie demands individual-
ity — to be free of the Loki
moniker and the baggage that
accompanies it — and Di Mar-
tino serves up self-determination
and spirit in spades.
“Loki” brings wit and charm
to the gritty world of ominous
overlords and inter-dimension-
al conflict, lending levity to
the dark and twisted universe
of its flagship films.
“Loki” is available to stream on
DisneyPlus.
// ENTERTAINMENT
Stuck
STAND-UP
Inside
NETWORK: Netflix
WHEN: May 30
STARRING: Bo Burnham
OUR TAKE: «««
«««««
««
EMILY SCHROEDER
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Being quarantined inside
for weeks or months on end
during the Covid-19 pandemic
left humanity with the
inescapable task of
coping with boredom.
While some picked up a new
skill and others binge-watched
Netflix, Bo Burnham made
a stand-up comedy special in
his living room.
Written, edited, shot and
directed by the 30-year old
American comedian in his Los
Angeles home, “Inside” pokes fun
at the chaos of the world through
song and a touch of dark humor.
When “Inside” was released
on Netflix on May 30, 2021,
Burnham’s fans were
pleasantly surprised.
Just five years ago, the comedi-
an had publicly announced he had
given up doing live shows because
of panic attacks, so the release of a
comedy special was an unexpect-
ed and exciting step for Burnham.
Before his stand-up
career, Burnham was a successful
Youtuber who made at-home
comedy videos, so filming and
‘Cruella’ is a wicked new look for Disney
FILM
Cruella
NETWORK: HBO
WHEN: May 28
STARRING: Emma Stone,
Emma Thompson, John Fry
OUR TAKE: ««««
«««««
« eventual downfall is the loss of her
EMMA RYAN
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
The cadre of live-action
remakes produced by Dis-
ney in the past decade have
generally been re-
ceived with lukewarm
approval.
These films, which include
notably “Cinderella,” “Beau-
ty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,”
and “Mulan,” are all
well-produced and visually stun-
ning, but fall short in terms of
plot and characterization.
“Cruella,” Disney’s lat-
est, is no exception. The film,
which stars Emma Stone (“La
La Land”) and Emma Thomp-
son (“Nanny McPhee”) offers an
origin story for one of Disney’s
most iconic villains, along the
lines of 2019’s “Joker” but with a
healthy dose of humor and lots of
canines thrown in.
“Cruella” follows the evolu-
tion of its title character, Estella
(played in her youth by Tipper
Seifert-Cleveland and in adult-
hood by Stone), from a firecracker
'Inside'
editing DIY-style was a familiar
realm for him.
Throughout the special,
Burnham shows off his impressive
lighting and editing skills, with
funky light fixtures and effects
that give the special a unique ar-
tistic feel that is unusual for the
stand-up genre.
Beyond his skills behind
the camera, Burnham also
proves himself to be a talented
musician and songwriter.
Rather than telling jokes
directly at the camera to
mimic speaking to an audience,
Burham takes a spin on
the classic nature of live stand-up
Bo Burnham lays on the floor with camera and audio equipment around him. Bo Burn-
ham's "Inside" special was created in his own living room over the course of the pandemic.
young grifter looking to make a
name for herself in the punk rock
fashion scene of 1970s London
to the fashion-obsessed dog hater
that we all know and love.
Lovers of 1961’s “One Hun-
dred and One Dalmations” will
appreciate the many Easter eggs,
references, and character tie-ins
found in “Cruella.”
The inciting event for Estella’s
mother at a young age under sus-
picious circumstances.
From there, Estella finds her-
self alone in London, in the com-
pany of two sidekicks who will be
familiar to anyone who grew up
watching the original film: Jasper
(Joel Fry, “Yesterday) and Hor-
ace (Paul Walter Hauser, “Rich-
ard Jewell”). The beginning of
the film finds the three of them
pulling off a series of elaborate
petty heists that take advantage of
Estella’s knack for costuming.
Everything changes when
Estella encounters Baroness
von Hellman (Thompson), a re-
nowned fashion designer who
becomes first Estella’s mentor and
then her nemesis.
The Baroness's cruelty, narcis-
sism, and undeniable panache fos-
ters Estella’s genius, and the desire
for revenge that she incites in Es-
tella leads the latter to new peaks
of genius—or madness.
Thompson’s Baroness is scath-
ingly funny and delightfully
hateable as she parallels Estella’s
ascent with a spiral into insanity
and homicide.
Like its predecessors,
“Cruella"’s plot is shaky. With a
with
by turning his jokes into a series of
mini music videos.
The entire special centers
around the question of “Should
I be joking at a time like this?”
and tells the story of a
comedian on a mission to “heal
the world with comedy.”
It also describes Burn-
ham’s personal struggle with
the agony of being trapped at
home for so long.
With the help of his elec-
tric piano and a bit of autotune,
Burnham creates a variety of
songs ranging from synth-pop
to children’s show tunes that are
each clever and entertaining in
runtime of over two hours, the
film is just a little too long, and its
hyper-produced cinematic gim-
micks come at the expense of a
well-rounded story.
After dragging in the middle,
the movie wraps up with a slap-
bang-boom climax of improbable
events that, while entertaining,
slot into place a bit too tidily and
feel rushed in comparison to the
rest of the movie.
As “Cruella” depicts the du-
bious girlbossification of its title
character, it never fully examines
why Estella needed a redemption
arc or how this version of her ties
in with the infamous villain of the
original movie (although the now-
confirmed Cruella 2 might help
with that).
But nevertheless, “Cruella” is
fresher, funnier and glitzier than
Disney’s other remakes. It is dark-
er than its predecessors, but only
dark enough to be different with-
out losing its self-awareness.
The film is a visual masterpiece,
with an abundance of immacu-
late shots and colors and graph-
ics that give a stylish twist to its
punk rock setting. The soundtrack,
which includes songs by the Bee
Gees, Nina Simone, Queen, and
others as well as an original song
by Florence + The Machine, is
one of the highlights of the film,
and contributes to its playfully
sultry atmosphere.
The costuming alone makes
“Cruella” well worth the watch.
Fashion is an inextricable part
of the film’s plot, and designer
Jenny Beavan delivers with a host
of extravagant gowns for Estella
Bo
their own way.
Whether it be about awkward
sexting, Jeff Bezos or Faceti-
ming your mom, Burnham’s
songs are hilariously relevant and
appeal to Millennial and
Gen-Z humor alike.
Burnham also has a fair share
of dark humor sprinkled through-
out the special, which may be too
intense for younger or sensitive
audiences.
Some major themes of
“Inside” are depression, suicide,
existentialism and how messed up
the world is.
In one of his songs explaining
to kids how the world works, he
Photo courtesy of Netflix
and the Baroness that are each
more outrageous and spectacular
than the last.
Some of the most memorable
moments in the film occur as the
rivalry between the two leading
ladies escalates via increasingly
flamboyant outfits.
The costuming also illus-
trates Estella’s transformation
from spunky petty criminal to
psychotic sophisticate, and helps
to tie in her character visually to
the original Cruella.
But perhaps the most enjoyable
aspect of the film is Emma Stone’s
performance as its lead charac-
ter. Stone seems to be in her ele-
ment, and her Estella is gutsy and
unapologetically self-absorbed,
without losing Stone’s signature
elegance. As Estella, in her own
Ferociously fashionable
channels her inner Disney villain in her latest film Cruella.
technique • July 2, 2021• 11
Burnham
has a Marxist sock puppet named
Socko explain the faults of capi-
talist society.
He makes numerous suicide
references and jokes about how
this special is the only thing keep-
ing him from shooting himself in
the head and how the internet is
ruining our lives.
He also records himself living
the last few minutes of his twen-
ties all alone in the dark while
counting down to his 30th birth-
day in despair.
Between songs are can-
did clips of Burnham setting
up his light fixtures, adjusting
camera angles or simply laying
down in exhaustion.
His hair and facial hair also get
noticeably longer as the show goes
on, and his appearance becomes
increasingly disheveled.
By the end of the special,
Burnham is a completely dif-
ferent man— a comic once
motivated and excited to help
the world is now hopelessly
exhausted as the pandemic
(and his new project) never
seem to end.
Though how much of Burn-
ham’s apparent struggles on
camera were authentic is
definitely in question, his will-
ingness to show vulnerability
throughout the special makes it
appealing to real, everyday people.
The pandemic offered a
unique sense of universal strug-
gle that united people across
the world, and Burnham
wanted to do his part
by offering the world
something to lighten the load.
words, “goes a bit mad,” Stone
still manages to maintain the
more likable side of her character,
and the viewer can’t help but pull
for her even if she’s rather horri-
ble. Opposite Thompson’s devilish
Baroness, one gets the impression
that both Emmas are having the
time of their life.
“Cruella” is certainly not a
perfect movie, but it doesn’t have
to be. The messaging might be a
bit weak and the plot somewhat
thin, but the production, design,
and cast more than compensate.
As long as you don’t think about
it too hard, it’s a wildly entertain-
ing watch, and one of the most de-
lightful villain origin stories since
“Wicked.”
“Cruella” is available to stream
now on Disney Plus.
Photo courtesy of Disney
Emma Stone
12 • July 2, 2021• technique
'Shrill'
TELEVISION
Shrill Season 3
NETWORK: Hulu
WHEN: May 7
STARRING: Aidy Bryant
OUR TAKE: «««
«««««
««
TAYLOR GRAY
MANAGING EDITOR
Based on Lindy West’s novel of
the same name, “Shrill” wrapped
up its third and final season with
the release of the last eight epi-
sodes of the series on May 7.
The Hulu exclusive show
follows plus sized Annie Easton
(Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night
Live”), a plus sized journalist,
as she works through societal
fatphobia, a slew of subopti-
mal romantic encounters and a
stringent boss who routinely fails
to see Annie’s talent as a writer.
The third season of the show
picks up where season two left
off, with Annie newly single after
a blow out breakup with her boy-
friend Ryan (Luka Jones, “Her”).
Annie, fueled by body positivity
and the realization that she was
dating a deadbeat before, ventures
out into the dating scene.
Her work best friend Amadi
(Ian Owens, “Lady”) sets Annie
up on a blind date with a divorced
friend named Will, who also
happens to be plus sized. Annie
immediately assumes that Amadi
paired the two together because
they were both fat and ruins the
date after excusing herself to the
bathroom, only to accidentally
text Will that she was on the worst
date of her life when she actually
meant to text her other poten-
tial love interest, Nick (Anthony
Oberbeck, “Reveries”).
While this scene intended to
show the all too common prac-
tice of society pairing fat people
together, essentially deeming
fat people as only worthy of ro-
mantic relationships with other
fat people, it also shows the in-
klings of Annie’s own internalized
final season
fatphobia, which she admits to culture. The message gets lost as
later in the season. Annie waves away the controversy
It doesn’t take long for Annie with her own Black friends, in-
to recover from her disaster date cluding her roommate Fran (Lolly
as things with Nick begin to heat Adefope, “The Spy Who Dumped
up. The two bond over breakfast Me”), who called Annie out for
dates, intimate moments and being incredibly insensitive. An-
flirty emojis until Annie tries to nie presents her friends with a
move their relationship into the cake that says “Sorry I’m a dumb
romantic sphere, only to be faced white witch,” explaining that the
with an all too relatable “you’re bakery refused to write “bitch”
awesome, but I don’t see you that on the cake and in the mean time
way” rejection. Just when you undercutting another opportunity
think Annie won’t recover from for Annie to take responsibility
yet another heartbreak, she re- for herself and grow as a character.
unites with Will at a party and the When Annie isn’t taking the
two hit it off after Annie addresses plot of the show hostage with her
her mistakes. self-serving antics, the third sea-
For someone attempting to son of “Shrill” allowed space for
be unapologetically herself, An- certain side characters to grow
nie ends up apologizing a lot over into storylines that were cut short
the course of the season. One of too soon. Most notably, the show
her biggest apologies surrounds a shifted focus to Fran and her part-
controversial article of hers where ner Em, played by breakout star
she’s accused of humanizing a sep- E. R. Fightmaster. One of the
aratist family known for preach- most feel good moments of the
ing white supremacy. The show show is when Fran allows Em to
uses the article’s backlash as a meet her conservative Nigerian
way to address mainstream cancel mother, who surprisingly accepts
Aidy Bryant and Lolly Adefope star in Hulu's
show follows Annie, a plus sized journalist,
fizzles
their relationship after originally
disapproving of her daughter’s ho-
mosexuality in the second season.
At its core, “Shrill” serves as one
of the more accurate pieces of me-
dia depicting what it’s like to live
life as a fat person. From receiv-
ing unsolicited advice regarding
weight loss surgery to finding old
candy wrappers she used to hide
under the living room lamp as a
kid, Annie’s experiences are pain-
fully relatable to those who have
lived in fat bodies. The introduc-
tion of Will’s character expands
on this theme as he works through
his own body confidence as a plus
sized man, which is something
audiences don’t often get to see
in popular media. But the show
ends up doing so a little too late
in the series and ultimately leaves
the intersectionality of male, LG-
BTQIA and POC fat experiences
drastically underexplored.
Throughout the last season,
the show seems to lose sight of
its original purpose due to An-
nie’s overwhelming desire to be in
Photo courtesy of Hulu
hit series "Shrill." The
as she navigates life.
// ENTERTAINMENT
out
a romantic relationship without
having actually done the work to
learn how to love herself first. The
end of the second season proved
hopeful for further character de-
velopment as Annie finally dumps
her toxic boyfriend, only for that
hope to be demolished as the
third season continued to revolve
around her search for romantic
love in lieu of her sitting down
and working on the self love she
preaches in her body positive jour-
nalism pieces. Annie’s insecurities
fester throughout the show and
manifest into multiple character-
defining, problematic moments,
including blowing up at Nick for
rejecting her romantic advances
and stalking Will’s ex-wife.
This lack of character develop-
ment haunts Annie until the fi-
nal moments of the show, which
closes with Fran and Annie seat-
ed next to each other on a park
bench, passing a bottle of alcohol
between them. With both char-
acters’ romantic relationships in
peril due to their own problematic
behaviors, Annie finally begins to
question why she sabotages every
relationship by leaning into her
insecurities. She concludes that
she can never fully believe that
anyone would actually love her
besides Fran, who has been by
her side since college, revealing
that she has yet to achieve a level
of self love that would help her
realize that she is deserving of a
healthy relationship.
Despite the show coming to
a screeching halt in its third and
final season, which could have
contributed to Annie’s major
character flaws as the writers at-
tempted to set her up for a fat
happy ending with Will, the last
moments of the show make the
story feel complete.
The audience gets to hang in
the balance of uncertainty with
Fran and Annie as they figure
out that they must first fix them-
selves before they can begin to let
anyone else in, thus bringing the
show back to what it should have
been about all along: an opportu-
nity for Annie to navigate her own
self-love journey.
// COMICS technique • July 2, 2021• 13

XKCD by Randall Munroe

SMBC by Zach Weinersmith

Channelate by Ryan Hudson

SUDOKU PUZZLE

by sudokucollection.com
14 • July 2, 2021• technique // SPORTS

Hawks soar to Eastern Conference Finals

Trae Young gets into the lane during the Hawks’ series win against the 76ers. Young
was instrumental in Atlanta’s eventual win, leading the team in points and assists.
RISH DESAI
STAFF WRITER
Fans of the Atlanta Hawks
have long been yearning for an
NBA Championship, and they
now find themselves just a hand-
ful of wins from playing in the
NBA Finals. The Hawks have
put together a memorable season
thus far. In March, the Hawks
had recently fired their head
coach and were in 11th place in
the conference.
From that point on, interim
Photo courtesy of James Lang USA TODAY Sports
head coach Nate McMillan been seen only from veteran play-
coached them into the playoffs ers. Phoenix’s young duo of Devin
where they knocked off the New Booker and Deandre Ayton made
York Knicks and the top-seeded big plays when it matters most
Philadelphia 76ers en route to a and have led their team to the
conference finals matchup against brink of the NBA Finals in their
the Milwaukee Bucks. first playoff appearance. On the
Rather than the perennial su- other side, in the Eastern Confer-
perstar names, this year’s NBA ence, Milwaukee’s Giannis Ante-
playoffs have been defined by the tokounmpo and Khris Middle-
up-and-coming young stars. In ton have led their team past the
the Western Conference, Dallas’ league’s top stars as they defeated
Luka Doncic and Utah’s Dono- the Brooklyn Nets’ big three of
van Mitchell put together record- Kevin Durant, James Harden and
breaking performances that had Kyrie Irving.
Likewise, the Hawks’ playoff
run has been spurred by their
young stars, namely Trae Young,
Kevin Huerter, John Collins and
Clint Capela. This confident
group of players has never been
fazed by the moment, shown
firstly in the first game of the
playoffs. In his playoff debut in
the famous Madison Square Gar-
den, Young hit the game-winning
shot with under one second left
in the game. This set the tone for
the team’s playoff run and showed
their ability to hit timely shots.
Throughout the series, the Hawks
were able to limit the production
of the Knicks’ leader and Most
Improved Player award recipient
Julius Randle with their stifling
defense. This helped lead to At-
lanta winning their first round
series in five games.
During their second-round
matchup, they saw more adversity,
but demonstrated their poise in
spite of it. After three games, they
found themselves in a 2-1 deficit.
In game four, Philadelphia took
an 18-point lead and appeared
to be headed in the direction of a
3-1 series lead, but the Hawks had
other plans. The team looked to
their stars to fight their way back
into the game, with all five starters
recording at least ten points. At-
lanta pulled off the comeback and
tied the series 2-2.
After giving up an 18-point
lead, Philadelphia came out strong
in game five, taking a command-
ing 26-point lead. Similar to the
previous game, the Hawks fought
back into the game. Young put up
39 points while also breaking the
defense through his passing with
seven assists.
Young’s ability to take over
games through his elite passing
and three-level scoring are what
have made him and Atlanta’s of-
fense juggernauts. The Hawks
completed a second consecutive
comeback win. From being on the
brink of a 3-1 deficit, the Hawks
went up 3-2.
After the series went to game
seven, the Hawks rose to the occa-
sion, led by Kevin Heurter’s career
game. While there were times in
the series where the Hawks were
not as efficient, the playoffs can be
more about the timing of big shots
and making the right play at the
right time. Big shots and timely
plays helped the Hawks return to
the Eastern Conference Finals.
In game 1 of the conference fi-
nals, the Hawks had a chance to
win game one on the road, con-
tinuing the trend set in the first
two rounds. Trae Young ensured
the Hawks did just that with
his performance, putting up 48
points and 11 assists.
He had a huge highlight play
when he crossed Jrue Holiday,
shimmied, and knocked down an
open three-point shot. He once
again showcased his high level
of confidence on the court and
showed that no moment is too big
for him.
The Atlanta Hawks have put
together an incredible postsea-
son run led by their young stars
that forecasts a bright future in
the years to come. The Hawks’
journey this season has been
filled with unique twists and
turns, including a mid-season
coaching change. They hope to
end their memorable season as
NBA Champions.

MBB FROM PAGE 16
Four-star shooting guard Miles
Kelly is ranked 115th nationally
and 27th at his position as the
second half of that duo. Round-
ing out the class is three-star small
forward Jalon Moore, ranked
157th nationally, and transfer De-
ivon Smith, who was a four-star
point guard in high school and
was granted immediate eligibility
by the NCAA, allowing him to
factor this year.
Tech came off of what may
have been its best season in over
a decade last year. Returning mul-
tiple starters from a tournament
team and fielding a top-30 re-
cruiting class should help keep the
Jackets in the thick of the ACC
and could land them back in the
tournament. Coach Josh Pastner’s
shifting defenses should continue
to be a problem for opponents,
and with some offensive firepower
to help, Tech will be on the path
for another strong year. Last sea-
son’s success may become more of
a norm for the program.
// SPORTS
Lightning, Canadiens face in Cup Finals
ALEX DUBE
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
This year’s NHL season has al-
ready been one like no other. The
shortened 56-game season had the
31 teams split into four divisions,
with every team playing eight
games against each team in the
same division. This layout reduced
travel by categorizing teams by
region, creating an all-Canadian
North division for the first time
in NHL history while adjusting
to the border closure. Repetitive
meetings between teams fueled
new rivalries between otherwise
non-divisional teams.
A new playoff format has led
to a number of exciting series that
have not and may never happen
again, along with plenty of up-
sets. The North division has seen
much of the drama, proving that
pure offensive dominance does
not win championships. Notable
underdog Montreal Canadiens
have made an unprecedented run
in their quest for the Stanley Cup.
Entering the playoffs with the
least amount of regular season
points and 500-to-1 odds, the
Canadiens have upset three im-
pressive teams for their bid in the
Stanley Cup Final. The Canadiens
became the first Canadian team
in the finals since Vancouver in
2011, and secured their first berth
in the finals since winning the
Stanley Cup 28 years ago.
Montreal’s stellar run for the
cup begins on the brink of elimi-
nation, down 3-1 in their best of
seven series against Toronto. A
heavily favored Toronto Maple
Leafs managed to fall to Mon-
treal in seven games, continuing
their cursed playoff drought, hav-
ing not won a series in 17 years,
and falling short of the Stan-
ley Cup for a record-tying 54
consecutive years.
In the second round, the Ca-
nadiens handily swept a favored
Winnipeg Jets team that had
just swept the Edmonton Oilers
in round one. After taking care
of the Vegas Golden Knights in
six games, the Canadiens have
gone 11-2 since game five against
Lightning players celebrate following a goal during game one against the Montreal
Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals. Tampa cruised to a 5-1 win to open the series.
Toronto in round one. The win
over Vegas occurred after the
Knights knocked off Stanley Cup
favorite Colorado Avalanche in
round two, securing their West
division victory.
The Canadiens enter the Cup
Final with a couple new faces.
At just 20 years of age, breakout
rookie Cole Caufield has contrib-
uted heavily to his team with four
goals and five assists despite being
among the smallest on the ice at
5’7”. On the coaching side, inter-
im head coach Dominique Duch-
arme took the helm following
the firing of Claude Julien mid-
season. Unfortunately, Ducharme
will not be present until game 3
of the series after testing positive
for COVID, after already missing
four games against Vegas.
On the other side of the Stan-
ley Cup Final is the defending
champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Their playoff story began as the
third seed in the Central division.
They faced the Florida Panthers in
round one, gaining a key player
back in their roster in the process.
Nikita Kucherov missed the en-
tire regular season following hip
surgery after winning the Stanley
Cup in 2020. His contributions
to the team have propelled the
Lightning, with Kucherov lead-
Photo by Douglas DeFelice USA TODAY Sports
ing all players in playoff points
and assists, with seven goals and
23 assists through game one of
the finals. The Lightning boast
the top five point leaders in the
2021 playoffs thus far, translat-
ing their offensive dominance into
playoff success.
The Lightning knocked off the
Florida Panthers in six games to
advance to the second round. The
Carolina Hurricanes finished off
the Nashville Predators after four
of six games in that series required
overtime. Tampa Bay took care
of the Hurricanes in five games,
facing the East division win-
ning New York Islanders in the
technique • July 2, 2021• 15
third round. This thrilling series
ended in seven games, with the
Lightning coming out on top to
advance to the Stanley Cup Final
once again.
The best of seven Cup Final
matchup between the Montreal
Canadiens and the Tampa Bay
Lightning promises to be an ex-
citing matchup. This is the first
battle between two tradition-
ally Eastern Conference teams
since 1980, as the rule changes
have made this possible for this
unorthodox season. The Light-
ning entered this series heav-
ily favored over Montreal, but the
Canadiens have proved resilient
time and time again throughout
the playoffs.
Notable statistics in this series
involve the phenomenal goaltend-
ing on both teams. Montreal goal-
tender Carey Price has impres-
sively held his own, allowing just
35 goals in 17 playoff games and
holding Vegas to two goals or few-
er in the last five games of round
three. Meanwhile, Lightning
goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has
given up 36 goals in 18 playoff
games, with shutouts in all three
series-clinching wins thus far.
Another key matchup in this
series stems from special teams.
Montreal’s solid defensive play
has led to them killing 93.5% of
their penalties, with 32 consecu-
tive penalty kills in a 14-game
span. However, Tampa Bay’ pow-
erhouse offense looks to break
through, scoring on a whopping
37.7% of their power plays.
Impressive numbers on both
sides make for a competitive series
that could very well come down
to rewarding the better goalten-
der. The Lightning continued
their goal-scoring success, put-
ting up five goals in their game
one win, Kucherov contributing
two of them along with an assist.
The physicality was ever-present
in the first game, with a combined
115 hits between the two teams.
The Canadiens look to bounce
back and generate more offensive
chances throughout the series,
while the Lightning fight to ex-
tend their 1-0 series lead.
Sports
It’s ‘Coming Home’ at Fado Irish Pub
EMILY SCHROEDER
ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
The clanking of beers, hearty
laughs and a soccer match on
every television screen; the fa-
miliar sounds of Fado Irish Pub
located in Midtown Atlanta and
Buckhead transport pub-goers
to that of a local pub across the
pond. A waitress walks by with
a plate of freshly made fish n’
Fans watch the England-Scotland match on June 18 at Fado’s Irish Pub. The Euros group stage game ended in a 0-0 draw, but fans of both sides were able to enjoy the game.
Changing tides for Tech mens’ basketball
WILL FUSS
SPORTS EDITOR
At around the halfway point of
the college basketball offseason,
last season’s stars are preparing for
their next chapter and newcomers
have begun to arrive. The NBA’s
Draft Combine was on June 21-27
and featured Tech’s Moses Wright
among its 69 participants. Wright
is one of two Tech players with
their names eligible to be called
on July 29 when the NBA holds
its annual draft. Jose Alvarado is
the other eligible prospect, and
was one of 40 prospects at the G
League Elite Camp that ran on
June 19-21.
Wright got off to a strong start
on day one of the combine. In
five-on-five play he recorded 14
points and five rebounds while
adding a block and a steal in 22
minutes. He had a balanced sec-
ond game, scoring eight points
and grabbing five boards, as well
as a pair each of assists, steals and
blocks. He measured at 6’7.75”
without shoes and had a stand-
ing reach of nearly nine feet. He
weighed in at about 226 pounds,
SPORTS EDITOR:
Will Fuss
sports@nique.net
chips as fans gather young and
old, proudly sporting their fa-
vorite player’s jersey to cheer on
their home country in the UEFA
European Championship.
With delicious food, an invit-
ing atmosphere and passionate
fan camaraderie, Fado offers an
authentic British pub experience
unlike any other sports bar in At-
lanta — the accent included.
Fado is known for support-
ing English Premier League soc-
cer teams, primarily Manchester
United in its Midtown location
and Liverpool in its Buckhead
location. Despite its Irish name,
Fado is a big England supporters
pub, with a large fan base of first
and second-generation English
people who love to come cheer on
The Three Lions.
On Friday, June 18, a 150 year-
old rivalry between England and
Scotland left Fado a house divid-
ed as passionate fans from both
sides brought their all to cheer on
putting him on the heavier end of
the power forwards, but his low
body fat percentage shows a player
full of lean strength.
Wright’s testing numbers were
generally strong. His 11.2 lane
agility time was good for third
among power forwards, but his
shuttle time was second slowest
among that group at 3.42. His
three-quarter court sprint, which
tests straight-line speed, was again
good for third among his position
group with a 3.15 time. His stand-
ing vertical of 31.5 was tied for
third in the position, and his max
vertical of 38 was third best as
well. These numbers should boost
his draft stock and cement him as
one of the more athletic players at
his position in the draft.
Alvarado measured at 5’11”
and 175 pounds, making him the
third shortest and second light-
est player at the G League camp.
His 7’10” standing reach was
the second smallest and his 6’1”
wingspan was the shortest among
all players. His testing numbers
were respectable, with a 27.5-inch
standing vertical and a 34.5-inch
max vertical. His three-quarter
Atlanta knocks off the Knicks and
76ers en route to an Eastern
Conference Finals berth414
their teams in a crucial match of
the Euros. Grown men in kilts
ordering a pint of Guinness at
the bar amongst a sea of white
England jerseys makes you blink
twice about being in the heart
of Atlanta.
Outside of being the oldest in-
ternational rivalry in soccer, this
particular England .v Scotland
game is significant because Scot-
land hasn’t made a major appear-
ance on the international soccer
stage in 23 years. Scotland had
lost their previous game in em-
barrassing fashion to the Czech
Republic, so this game had to
be a win or a draw if the Scots
hoped to have any chance of mak-
ing it out of the group stage of
the Euros.
This was a big game for Eng-
land as well because it was being
played at home in Wembley Sta-
dium in London, and England
was deemed the “favorite” of the
match, meaning they were ex-
court sprint was near the top
ten at the camp at 3.05 seconds,
and he posted a lane agility time
of 11.57 as well as a shuttle time
of 3.13.
During scrimmage play at the
camp, Alvarado recorded eight
points, three assists, and two re-
bounds per game, shooting well
from three point range but strug-
gling inside the arc and at the
free-throw line. He also blocked
1.5 shots per game, tied for third
most, and his two steals per game
was second most at the camp,
showcasing his elite defensive play.
Michael Devoe was the first
Tech player to test the draft wa-
ters after the 2021 season, but
eventually declared his intent to
return to Tech for another season
in early June. Devoe was the ACC
Tournament MVP for the Jack-
ets’ miracle run to an ACC title
and was the team’s third leading
scorer on the year. He averaged
about 15 points, four rebounds
and three assists per game and
shot at a 40-percent clip from
three-point range.
Alongside Devoe, Jordan
Usher, Bubba Parham and Kha-
Hawks soaring
pected to outperform Scotland,
especially after their previous 1-0
win against Croatia.
In addition, the last time Eng-
land played Scotland was in the
1996 Euros, when “cult-icon”
England player Paul Gascoigne
helped secure a dramatic 2-0
win, which had England fans cel-
ebrating in the streets and now
excited as ever for another victory
in 2021.
Just like how Fado was a soc-
cer madhouse in Atlanta, thou-
sands of Scottish and English fans
flooded the pubs of London to
watch the high-stakes match. Fans
arrived at Fado hours in advance
to sit down at a table because of
how busy it gets. All three floors
of Fado’s Buckhead location were
packed, with many fans opting to
stand in groups, beer in hand, to
watch the game.
Despite the hype, the game it-
self was disappointingly unevent-
ful on both sides and ended in a
lid Moore will be the returning
players with significant minutes
played. Saba Gigiberia and Rod-
ney Howard will likely battle for
the starting center spot.
Joining the returning play-
ers is a top-30 recruiting class,
Michael Devoe lays the ball in against Notre Dame. He
highlights Tech’s returning players for the upcoming season.
technique
16
Friday,
July 2, 2021
0-0 draw. The Scots defended
well and the English had some
half-chances, but the game overall
didn’t bring out the best playing
of both sides as fans had hoped.
While England was a bit down in
the dumps, the Scots celebrated
the draw almost like a win as a
way of making fun of the English.
Even if a soccer game doesn’t
turn out the way fans wanted,
watching a game at Fado is event-
ful in itself and well worth the
visit. Watching a soccer game at a
pub can make instant friends out
of strangers just by supporting the
same team.
In the UK, the neighborhood
pub gives people a sense of com-
munity, and living in the United
States can leave some feeling dis-
connected from their culture and
homeland. Fado is a place where
fans of all ages and backgrounds,
British or not, can come together
in a welcoming environment that
feels like home.
Photo by Emily Schroeder Student Publications
highlighted by a pair of four-star
shooting guards. Dallan Coleman
is ranked as the 64th-best pros-
pect by 247Sports and is listed
as the 13th-best shooting guard.
See MBB, page 14
Photo by Tuna Ergan Student Publications