Last Sunday, hundreds of freshmen gathered at McCamish Pavilion to get a comprehensive overview of Tech culture and tradition at Ramblin’ Reck Club’s annual Traditions Night. Also known as T-Night, it is held annually to provide incoming students with an introduction to the songs, organizations and folktales that are familiar to every student on campus.
T-Night was eye-opening for many freshmen who were gaining their first insight into a culture and tradition they had not experienced before.
“I didn’t really know much about Tech traditions,” said Samuel Duke-Barton, first-year CE, but at the T-Night festival, he became familiar with the story of the stolen “T” atop Tech Tower. “Would I steal it? We’ll see,” Duke-Barton said.
Many of the incoming freshmen shared Duke-Barton’s initial unfamiliarity with Tech tradition and morale.
“Georgia Tech has a lot of school spirit, and I didn’t realize that,” said Adeleine Ebert, first-year BCHM. “I come from a school that’s similar in academics to Tech, but there wasn’t a lot of school spirit. There’s definitely a lot here. If I didn’t go, I wouldn’t know what to do at football games.”
Indeed, the Ramblin’ Reck Club and Tech Cheerleading taught the freshmen classic Tech chants and songs, from the Good Word to Budweiser to Horse, and everything in between during the T-Night show.
Freshmen also discovered the Mini 500. Jacob Bennett, first-year ENVS, tried his hand at the infamous tricycles used in the race. He ultimately decided that he would just spectate the 500, but enjoyed experiencing a freshman rite of passage.
Traditions aren’t just about homecoming and sports events. For some students, attending Tech is a tradition in its own right.
“My grandpa went to Tech, then my mom went to Tech, then she had me and my brother,” said Emily Sapough, first-year ENVS, who attended T-Night to support her brother in the band. “Yes, [traditions] are a big part of my family. We even have a Tech Christmas tree.”
Even the mere act of coming together to enjoy well-meaning nonsense is also a form of participation in the community that defines Tech.
“As a student, you have to work with other people and learn to find community in different places. Traditions at Georgia Tech is part of that for me,” said Harrison Burnside, fourth-year BME and T-Night Chair at Reck Club.
Burnside manages the planning of T-Night, including finances and logistics. The Freshman Cake Race, Burnside explained, exemplifies the collaborative nature of Tech traditions.
“The number of first-years who woke up before 6 a.m.— before sunrise— to go run a half-mile up Freshman Hill to get a cupcake just because we’ve been doing it for 114 years, I think that’s something special,” Burnside said.
At T-Night, students braved the rain to attend the outside portion of the event, donning ponchos and umbrellas.
“That little pop-up rain shower came out of nowhere,” said Burnside. “I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who stayed and made it out in the rain and kept participating in the festival.”
T-Night is especially meaningful for students who don’t have much prior knowledge of Tech, but students who come from faraway places also bring something with them to Tech. At the festival, cultural organizations were also on display, teaching Filipino, African and even craft culture. Students at the Craft Community stand made bracelets as Burnside explained the connection to T-night.
“Traditions are coming from all of the students that are part of the community here. … [It’s a tradition of] telling stories that aren’t written or oral, but are in art,” Burnside said.
T-Night showcased Tech’s performance arts, too, and all the cultures that it consists of. Students watched Goldrush, the Institute’s official dance team, Tekstyles, Tech’s premier hip hop crew, Seoulstice, the electrifying K-pop dance squad, and Infinite Harmony, the resident co-ed acapella group.
“[Seoulstice] was really cool,” said Ebert. “It was different from all the other ones because it was a smaller group dancing and within a very specific style, but they all did very well.”
This Tech event couldn’t have been complete without an appearance from Buzz. Ever since his 1980 debut, Buzz has been a fan favorite among students, a sentiment that continues to this day.
“That was probably one of my favorite parts, watching him beat up u[sic]GA. That was really, really funny — me and my friend were dying laughing watching it,” said Ebert.
Indeed, Buzz took the court at McCamish to battle a Bulldog mascot. There was no question as to who emerged victorious. T-Night made it clear that the student experience is central to Tech’s traditions.
“Everything that we created for this event was done by students,” Burnside said.
To get involved with T-Night or the Ramblin’ Reck Club, visit reckclub.org. RECKruitment opens later this fall.