Students celebrate I <3 GT Week

Over the past week, students were invited to celebrate I <3 GT Week, a week-long series of events across campus in an effort to increase and renew school spirit. “A lot of excitement is typically associated with Fall semester because it starts a new school year, there is football every week and plenty of days off of school worked in. Spring semester tends to be a bit more difficult, with significantly less breaks, often more demanding classes and students that are worn out from two semesters in a row of classes. Spring is a perfect time for I <3 GT Week for those reasons,” said Brooke McDaniel, undergraduate vice president of communications and third-year MGT major. Students were free to participate by going to events and were given pick-up stickers and free T-shirts throughout the week all around campus. The first event of the week was “Breakfast with the Reck,” which was held on Monday morning at 8 a.m. Students had the opportunity to meet and mingle with members from the Ramblin Reck Club to learn about Tech traditions and the school mascot, Buzz. Later that day, the Student Alumni Association (SAA) led the “Tradition Tours” around campus in an effort to further explain Tech history and traditions. The following day, the Student Center Programs Council (SCPC) held the “Sting Break Festival” at the Student Center. Due to construction, the festivities were moved indoors. Students were able to pick up a free T-shirt commemorating Sting Break and tickets that allowed them to do everything from receive free pizza, chicken biscuits, hot dogs and ice cream, to making stuffed animals. There were also various giveaways and roaming entertainment that included a stilt walker, belly dancer, juggler, mime and living statue. There were also various booths for henna tattoos, airbrush tattoos, engraved tags, snow globes, license plates and balloon art. In addition, students were invited to write a letter to alumni to thank them for donations and service during the “Alumni Thank You Letter Writing” event. The GT Ambassadors also hosted a “Thank a Teacher” event. Booths were set up around campus where students could write thank you notes to teachers. The notes were then delivered to the respective professors. The celebration will end on Friday following the “Jackets at the Diamond,” event to support the Jacket Baseball team during their game against Maryland, which will take place in the afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium. SGA planned the week and coordinated with other organizations including Ramblin Reck Club, SAA, SCPC, Ambassadors, freShGA and a number of other Freshman Leadership Organizations. This is the second year that this event has been held, following a successful initial inaugural run last year. “Students come to Georgia Tech for many reasons, and one of those reasons is undoubtedly that they like it here. Too often we get caught up in the difficulty of our courses, the stress of keeping up with the caliber of work that is expected of us and the pressure of finding perfect jobs, and we lose track of all the amazing aspects of being in the Tech community. I <3 GT Week aims to exemplify some of the many reasons we have to love this school,” McDaniel said.