In her new position, Gerrior will spearhead strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the Women's Resource Center, working closely with staff, stakeholders, and community partners to advance its mission of supporting and advocating for women's rights, well-being, and empowerment. 

"Melissa Gerrior's return to Georgia Tech as the Director of the Women's Resource Center is a homecoming for both her and the institution," said Dr. Kim D. Harrington, interim associate vice president for Arts, Belonging and Community. "Her extensive experience makes her the ideal leader to guide the center's efforts to cultivate opportunities for community building, transformative learning, collaborative leadership, and identity development for graduate and undergraduate women.”  

For the last ten years, Gerrior has worked at Georgia College, and currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Women's Center & LGBTQ+ Programs. She started her career at Georgia College State University with Project BRAVE (Georgia College's sexual violence prevention and education initiative). In Spring 2019, she received Georgia College's Inclusive Excellence Award as well as the Faculty/Staff LGBTQ+ Community Impact Award, and in 2020 received the Bobcat Award for RSO Advisor of the Year for her work with GCSU’s Pride Alliance.  

“I am thrilled to serve as the next Director for the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) at Georgia Tech,” Gerrior said. “My own involvement with the WRC, Residence Life, and Student Engagement were highlights of my time at Georgia Tech as a student as well as the catalyst for my pursuing a degree and career in Student Affairs. I am honored to be able to give back to a place that was such an important part of my journey as an undergraduate student, and I’m excited to come home. Go Jackets!” 

Outside of academia, Melissa is a lifetime member and current volunteer for the Girl Scouts of the USA and serves as the Inaugural Vice President for the PFLAG Milledgeville chapter. In her free time, Melissa likes to read, play cozy video games like Sims, learn various types of arts and crafts, and spend time with her two cats, Charlie & Sally. 

Please join us in welcoming Melissa Gerrior to Student Engagement and Well-Being as the new Director of the Women's Resource Center. Her appointment marks an exciting new chapter in our ongoing commitment to creating a more inclusive community. Melissa will start June 1, 2024, at the Women’s Resource Center in Smithgall Student Services (Flag Building) Suite 131. 

“Today’s Georgia Tech Dining program cannot simply produce quality food at a competitive price,” said Ryan Greene, Senior Director of Tech Dining. “It must operate with sustainable practices at the forefront, helping the institute meet its goal of zero waste as quickly as possible. For Tech Dining, the most exciting aspect of our sustainable priorities include innovation and technology, which closely align with Georgia Tech’s strategic plan.” 

LeanPath is instrumental in monitoring pre-consumer (kitchen) waste, providing important data on food wastage patterns and trends. One of its key features is the ability to train staff in effective food waste reduction strategies, empowering them to make informed decisions that contribute to waste reduction. By utilizing LeanPath, Tech Dining has reduced its overall carbon footprint by minimizing food usage. 

Since the implementation of LeanPath in each dining hall in May 2022, Tech Dining has: 

• Trained and developed staff in practices to reduce food waste. 

• Prevented $2,514 of food waste from occurring in 2023. 

Alongside the LeanPath program is Raccoon Eyes, a visionary initiative founded by Georgia Tech students.  

Utilized in each dining hall, Raccoon Eyes presents students with visuals of the food they waste as they dispose of it. This visual approach educates students about the impact of their actions and fosters a culture of responsibility toward food usage and waste reduction. Powered by vision and AI capabilities, the program streamlines feedback and analytics without the need for manual inputs or tedious processes. Since implementation, Racoon Eyes has:  

• Recorded over 51,015 lbs. of post-consumer waste. 

• Received 60,524 comments from students about their meals. 

• Helped managers on-site identify the top wasted food items so the chefs could adjust menus and recipes. 

• Helped managers identify the times of day when the most food is wasted. For lunch, it is between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. and for dinner, it is between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. 

Georgia Tech's Dining Services is taking the charge in sustainable food practices through initiatives like LeanPath and Raccoon Eyes. By leveraging technology, data-driven insights, and a commitment to environmental stewardship, they are setting a powerful example for other campuses and communities.  

To learn more about Tech Dining's sustainability efforts, please visit https://dining.gatech.edu/sustainability.  

In May, Georgia Tech’s R. Kirk Landon Learning Center will officially close. This announcement was recently shared with all R. Kirk Landon families by Student Engagement and Well-being’s Auxiliary Services department. The decision came after consideration of a few key factors impacting Georgia Tech’s child care services. Previously, the Institute operated two child care centers: the Children’s Campus (TCC), situated in Family Housing at 10th and Home, and the R. Kirk Landon Learning Center, located a few blocks away in the Home Park neighborhood. Managed by Bright Horizons, both centers offer a 10% tuition discount to Georgia Tech families.

Since the reopening of both centers after the pandemic, occupancy rates have not exceeded 67% at either location. Furthermore, while the centers are primarily intended to serve Georgia Tech employees and students, the percentage of campus families using these facilities dropped to less than 50% since the pandemic. One contributing factor to this decline in enrollment is the shift to hybrid work schedules, prompting employees to seek child care options closer to where they live.

Lower enrollment led to increased operational costs and inefficiencies; as a result, a consolidation of operations to enhance effectiveness was needed. The decision was made to retain TCC due to its on-campus location and modern facilities. Most Georgia Tech families at R. Kirk Landon will relocate their children to TCC. Bright Horizons is also equipped to accommodate children and teachers at one of their other nearby facilities.

As a result of the consolidation, the Institute will be able to redirect resources to offer a new service for all benefits-eligible employees: Bright Horizons Enhanced Family Supports. This online platform provides access to discounted services that can support working parents.

Enhanced Family Supports includes:

• Child Care: Preferred enrollment at Bright Horizons centers, tuition discounts at partner facilities, and assistance in finding trained and screened nannies.
• Summer Camp and School Break Programs: Activities from performance arts to coding, provided by Steve & Kate’s Camp.
• Academic Support: Discounts for virtual and in-person tutoring services to support children's academic performance.
• A+ Enrichments: Programs focusing on coding and early childhood learning to boost STEM and literacy skills.
• Elder Care Planning and Support: Caregiver search tools and one-on-one guidance from senior care experts.
• Even More for Families: Search tools for sitters, pet care services, housekeeping assistance, and before- and after-school programs.

This transition will provide new support services from trusted providers to Georgia Tech families facing diverse family challenges. This initiative also has the potential to contribute to employees’ personal wellness and productivity in the workplace. As organizations strive to create supportive environments for their workforce, programs like Enhanced Family Supports emerge as a vital component in fostering employee satisfaction and retention. The new program will be available by July to all regular employees working 30 or more hours per week, with plans to extend the program to graduate students by September.

Youth programs vary, from internships with high school students, to student organization outreach activities, to summer camps and mentoring/tutoring in local schools. Campus and lab tours, and school field trips to the Tech campus, are generally not considered youth programs. 

“The breadth and depth of youth programs at Georgia Tech are extensive,” said Kelly Cross, Institute policy manager in the Office of Ethics and Compliance. “Through conversations with program organizers, internship supervisors, building managers, and human resources representatives, it is clear to me that there is a passion for excellence in youth programming and outreach here.” 

According to Youth Programs Compliance, the exciting work occurring at Tech also presents unique risks. To help mitigate these risks, Youth Programs has been actively implementing the Youth Programs Policy, which mandates program registration, safety protocols, and more to assist everyone involved in working with minors. 

Programs are required to register every calendar year, at least 30 days in advance of the program start date. Failure to do so may result in the cancellation of programming. By registering, programs that work with minors will proactively receive information on the resources and policies developed for the protection of the minors and the program staff. 

This spring, online information sessions (see schedule in sidebar) will be conducted to clarify policies, process requirements, and how to register a program. Training will focus on key areas of responsibility for organizers of youth programs broadly, and specific sessions will also focus on requirements when minors want to intern or participate in research activities at Tech. 

Visit Youth Programs to learn more and register your program. Questions may be sent directly to Kelly Cross at kelly.cross@gatech.edu. 

The refreshed website introduces updated navigation, new ways to explore PTS programs and dedicated audience landing pages. Services found on the upgraded website include purchasing permits and a demand-response, shared-ride transportation service from the Stingerette. The upgraded website helps our campus community learn how to get to campus safely and sustainably with services such as the Commute Concierge program and regional transit passes like MARTA.  

The new PTS website includes numerous features that are more user-friendly and facilitate access to the most commonly used services and information that customers seek. These include, but are not limited to: 

• Locating the Customer Service office at 770 Spring St. (E81 parking deck) connected to the Georgia Tech hotel 

• Game day parking information 

• A Rules and Regulations button, making citations easier to avoid 

• Real-time tracking information from the TransLoc app 

• Route maps now broken down by route colors to easily find where you want to go 

In late spring, a new and improved experience for customers to purchase permits and pay citations is set to take place. Currently known as the Driver’s Seat, PTS has received feedback from customers on some of the difficulties of the current platform and is working to improve the customer experience by breaking down current barriers. Visit pts.gatech.edu to find all the answers to your questions about parking and transportation at Georgia Tech. Parking and Transportation Services is a department within the division of Student Engagement and Well-Being. For more information, please email support@pts.gatech.edu 

This year’s application for the 2023-24 academic year closes at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7.  

Hear from four current RAs about their experiences. 

It’s All Connected  

Purna Pratiti Saha is a third-year industrial engineering major and is an RA for Nelson Shell. She started working as an RA in her second year and is now in her fourth semester supporting residents.  

“I’m a Covid-19 first-year and my RA was really helpful during that time, and I wanted to pay it forward. The RA compensation package is good, we get free housing and meals, and we get to have a great community, so it’s a lot of fun.” 

Purna called the Nelson Shell building “love at first sight.” She likes how close the hall is to West Village, the CRC, and the shared courtyard with Maulding and Zbar.  

“We have a community of 430 residents here. We arrange events together, we go off campus, and we also have events on campus where we go together. It’s a great leadership opportunity and you get to make a one-on-one impact on each resident and get to know Georgia Tech on a deeper level.”       

Each year, RAs go through extensive training for their responsibilities, and they can meet with campus departments and learn about resources for students, giving them insight into the ecosystem at Tech that they can share with their residents. 

“It’s all connected, and I feel like I am actually a part of Georgia Tech and contributing to this community.”  

Wouldn’t Change a Thing 

Third-year neuroscience major Christina Whitehead is in her second year as an RA in Armstrong Hall.  

“I’ve loved working in Armstrong. We are a tight community among the RA staff and the residents. I’ve loved being an RA and realizing there are no strangers at Tech. I’ve met so many residents being a second year as an RA. I’m always passing someone I know, someone to wave at, someone in the dining hall, and it’s been a welcoming experience.” 

Christina originally became an RA because she wanted an on-campus job and was searching for a way to get more involved in the Georgia Tech community.  

“This is the best job on campus because you’re living where you work, and it completely enhances your campus involvement and community. I can say I’ve found the best community I could ever ask for and I wouldn’t change anything about it.” 

Live Where You Work 

Hector Collazo is a third-year biomedical engineering major and is in his first year as an RA in North Avenue Apartments South. He likes the convenience of being an RA there because of the amenities and being close to North Avenue Dining Hall.  

“This is my first semester being an RA and the thing I like most is that I get to meet all the residents and make new friends. I decided to be an RA because it’s convenient to live where you work, and you get free housing.” 

Hector was a first-year during the Covid-19 pandemic and had the chance to live in North Avenue Apartments, typically allocated to upper-class students. Most of his interactions with his RA were virtual during his first year, so he likes being able to connect in person on the other side of the experience.  

“Every time a resident passes by, I say ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ and ‘How are classes?’ I invite them to all the events, so I try to make it more fun and less stressful. After a long day of school, you go back to your room and keep studying, so at least that interaction in between can make it less stressful.” 

This year Hector is an RA for the Second Year Experience Program, a self-selected living option to help second-year residents, including transfers, access the services and resources that are relevant to their needs.  

“Being an RA for second-year experience and above is more professionally driven since they will come to you with internship questions, interviewing questions, or resume questions.” 

Paying It Forward 

Fourth-year industrial engineering major Jessie Turner is an RA in Howell, and this is her third year on staff. She has also had the opportunity to work in Cloudman and Towers residence halls and has a lot of experience supporting students. 

“I’m a big believer in paying it forward — someone was there for me, so let me be there for someone else.” 

Jessie was a summer first-year and had a hard transition to college, not knowing many other students when she got here.  

“I lived right next to my RA, and she was amazing, talking to me, dragging me out of my room, texting me to check on me, and I always felt very seen and welcomed. It was very crucial to my transition to college, and I wanted to be this for somebody else one day, and that’s why I applied.” 

She has many great memories from the events and connections when she joined Grand Challenges, one of the first-year Living Learning Communities (LLC). LLCs offer opportunities to further explore an interest through experiential and academic programming while residing with other students who share that interest.    

“It’s been one of the best things I’ve done. I’ve had five groups of first-years and it’s so great to see everyone out and about and be in class with them and play intramurals with them. Everywhere I go, there is one of my residents, and it’s fun to watch them grow and thrive and see them make an impact.” 

RAs are available to provide general information and support and make appropriate referrals as needed. They also have a responsibility for residential safety within the halls. They function as liaisons between residents and the administration. 

“Being an RA has helped me with conflict resolution, communication, de-escalating situations, supporting students, and pointing them to resources. I’m a caregiver and I didn’t realize how important it was to me.” 

Some of her favorite memories are coming back from winter break and reuniting with her residents. Her best friend was her co-RA, and she believes she wouldn’t have the friendship if she hadn’t been an RA. She’s hoping to continue supporting others after she graduates, getting involved, or volunteering with similar groups. 

“I want to be here, and I hope I’m enriching their lives because they are enriching mine. A lot of us come in for the free housing and stay because of the residents. I have no regrets, and I love it so much.” 

Apply by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 7 to join the RA community. Additional information and the application are available at housing.gatech.edu/reslife/employment. 

Photos by Catherine Rennell.

North Ave Dining Hall and West Village Dining Commons will remain open during this time and will prepare for an anticipated increase in customers. North Ave Dining will also extend weekday hours to 11:00 p.m. For a list of all dining locations and hours of operation, please visit https://dining.gatech.edu/hours.

“Flu viruses evolve quickly, so last year’s vaccine may not protect you from this year’s viruses,” said Dr. Ben Holton, Senior Director of Stamps Health Services. “New flu vaccines are released every year to keep up with rapidly adapting flu viruses, so it’s important to get the flu shot every year.” 

Stamps Health Services’ Fall Flu Shot Clinic is available to students on the following dates:  

• Thursday October 20, 2022, | 3pm - 7pm 

• Wednesday October 26, 2022 | 3pm - 7pm 

• Wednesday November 2, 2022, | 3pm – 7pm 

• Tuesday November 8, 2022 | 3pm – 7pm 

• Wednesday November 30, 2022 | 3pm - 7pm 

Faculty and staff can also get their vaccine at Stamps Health Services through the pharmacy.  The pharmacy accepts most prescription insurance plans. Faculty and staff can schedule an appointment by calling the pharmacy at 404-894-1430 ext. 5, Mondays through Wednesdays 8am to 4pm, Thursdays 9am to 4pm and on Fridays 8am to 4pm. Walk-in patients will take longer during lunch hours 11:30am-2pm.  

For more information about the flu and getting your flu shot on campus, please visit health.gatech.edu/flu. 

Georgia Tech has 1.5 miles of shared paths, or paths shared by riders and pedestrians, throughout campus, including the paths around Tech Green and the Campus Center, the EcoCommons, and Atlantic Drive, which connects Home Park to the north and Tech Green to the south. Atlantic was first closed to cars in 2004, and, as active transportation grew on campus, in 2019, marked granite pavers were added to help separate slower and faster traffic.  

Jason Gregory, a senior planner with Georgia Tech Capital Planning and Space Management, saw the effectiveness of the pavers during a trip to Amsterdam to study riding infrastructure with the School of Civil Engineering’s Sustainable Transportation Abroad class. “The pavers remind pedestrians to stay to the right, near the outside of the path, while riders pass on the left. The hills of Atlantic allow riders to move quickly, and, by separating traffic moving at different speeds, we can help to improve the safety of the corridor for all users.” 

During the week of Oct. 10, the student organization S.M.I.L.E. (Spreading Messages in Love and Encouragement), will bring an art installation to Atlantic Drive to help increase awareness of safety on shared paths. 

“Riding, walking, and being outside are great for physical and mental health, but they also represent ways for people to connect and engage,” said S.M.I.L.E. Committee Director Laavanya Rajesh. “We hope that this project will encourage community members to learn more about active transportation while working together to add color and creativity to the path.”  

More information about S.M.I.L.E. and the events they put on can be found on their Instagram @smile.gatech.  

S.M.I.L.E. will start the project on Monday, Oct. 10. On Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Georgia Tech community members are invited to add their foot and tire prints to connect the designs. Chalk will be available on Atlantic Drive outside of the College of Computing. Free helmets for participants in the online Ride Smart Bike/Scooter Safety Class will also be available for pickup.  

Shared Path Safety Reminders 

• Whether riding, walking, or rolling, minizine distractions such as phones and earphones, and focus on your surroundings. 

• Riders should travel at an appropriate speed for sharing the path with pedestrians.  

• Pedestrians should walk toward the outside of the path; riders should pass on the left. 

• Riders should announce that they are passing by ringing their bell or saying, “On your left.” 

• Riders should allow at least 3 feet of clearance when passing. 

• Before entering a path or changing directions on a path, riders and pedestrians should check in all directions for other people. 

• Additional riding safety information can be found at bike.gatech.edu.  

Riding Resources on Campus 

• Helmets are available for $12 from the Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) customer service center in the Tech Square parking deck, just inside the Spring Street entrance. 

• The monthly, in-person City Cycling class from PTS and Propel Atlanta provides students with the opportunity to ride on the road with an experienced instructor. The next class is Thursday, Oct. 27. 

• Help with bike maintenance and repairs is available from Aztec Cycles at the Community Market on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Starter Bikes on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. 

• The student organization Starter Bikes offers group rides and classes on Thursdays. Follow them on Discord for event information. 

• With the completion of the construction of the Campus Center, 39 new bike racks will be added north of the Ramblin’ Wreck garage, in addition to smaller clusters of racks located throughout the area.  

For more ways to safely ride around campus, visit campusservices.gatech.edu/news/maximize-your-campus-commute. 

Students and staff worked together to improve the process by removing gender and socioeconomic barriers for students wanting to apply to be a part of the student awards scholarship program. They conducted surveys and research, and met with stakeholders. Members of the Student Center Programs Council (SCPC) examined what other colleges practiced during their homecoming week, their homecoming award titles, and historical context for existing names and titles. SCPC also administered a survey to students in Spring 2022 about the name change. The majority of respondents reacted positively and believed it supported the Institute’s strategic plan and values.  

Several meetings with campus stakeholders in various departments and student groups took place over the past year to gain a better understanding of the change and to ensure the process was as inclusive as possible. This is not the first time the Homecoming scholarship program has changed its name. It began in the 1950s as a pageant for only women, some who were not even Georgia Tech students. It was not until the 1970s that a Tech student was crowned Miss Georgia Tech. In the 1980s, they allowed men to be a part of the program and changed the Homecoming awards to Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech. In 2022, students who do not identify with a Mr. or Ms. title can feel included and can participate in this program.  

This year’s finalists were announced on Sept. 30 at the Homecoming Gala. They include Sean Alexander, Doug Dillman, Emmett Halloran, Jacob Lewis, Hrydesh Patel, Ainsley Ronco, Sofia Vainikos, and Elizabeth Wright. Finalists will take the field at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 8, during halftime of the Homecoming game, when this year’s Ramblin’ Royalty winners will be announced. For more information, visit studentcenter.gatech.edu or follow @gthomecoming on Instagram. 

Chick-fil-A will have a new home on the bottom floor of the commons.  The building will host one of the first franchised campus locations in the nation which will be operated by Chick-fil-A and will accept the Chick-fil-A One rewards program. 

Twisted Taco and Panda Express will be moving from their temporary location in the Exhibition Hall to the Student Center.  Both concepts will be expanding their service footprints and menus.   

Blue Donkey, which currently has a location in the Sideways Café in Clough Library, will open an additional store in the Student Center. 

Local favorite food truck Gyro Chef Mediterranean will upgrade to a full-size store with a larger service footprint.  Those familiar with There on Fifth will be excited to try the restaurant’s second location on the Tech campus: There Burger Bar.  Bento Sushi will roll sushi fresh daily in addition to offering varied Poke Bowls, Bento Boxes and Ramen. 

In addition to these established franchise brands, Tech Dining will also self-operate several venues.  Campus Crust will be a pizza lover’s dream with pies straight out of the oven and Tech It To Go will provide expanded grab and go options for students and employees on the run.  At Test Kitchen, an experimental restaurant with a regularly rotating menu, Tech Dining will bring new recipes and concepts to students.   

The John Lewis Student Center and Stamps Commons will open in July and grand opening activities will occur on Thursday, September 29, 2022. 

“Student wellness was at the forefront of designing each feature and space,” says Student and Campus Event Centers Senior Director Lindsay Bryant. “Lounge spaces, outdoor seating, and connecting the experiential pathway to the building all contribute to fostering a sense of connection and belonging.” This advances one of the four goals of the new Cultivate Well-Being Action and Transformation Roadmap for students.  

A notable addition to the main entrance of the building on the second floor is the large mural of the late John Lewis, former U.S. representative. The Student Center was renamed after the civil rights leader, who was an influential student leader while in college. There is also an endowment named to honor Lewis’ legacy that will provide comprehensive, inclusive leadership development opportunities for student leaders, including some scholarships. 

The project itself was “student-centered.” “Students’ voices helped convey the need for an expansion, students voted on mandatory fees that funded the project, and students were included in the planning and management of the project,” said Luoluo Hong, vice president for Student Engagement and Well-Being. “It is this kind of student advocacy and leadership that we want to amplify through the John Lewis Student Leadership Pathways Program.”  

Renovated spaces on the first floor include Tech Rec and the Georgia Tech Post Office. Some new additions include a late-night eatery connected to the bowling alley and a theater to host guest speakers and events. Outside the first-floor entrance, construction continues on the Campanile. Completion of this campus landmark is set for late September. 

The Student Organization space has expanded to the second and third floors and is now referred to as the Student Organization Hub. Student Media has moved from the Smithgall Student Services (Flag) Building to the Student Center and WREK radio is back now that construction is complete. The move offers these organizations higher community and student interaction. 
 
Reservable meeting rooms are located on the third floor, named after streets in the 5th Congressional District, which John Lewis represented from 1987 to 2020. Also located on this floor is a 298-seat theater, which was once the ballroom in the previous Student Center, and the administrative offices, now known as the Student and Campus Events Center (SCEC). This team manages and hosts programs in several new spaces that include the Graduate Student Lounge and the Multicultural Lounge, as well as returning and expanded favorites such as the Reflection Space and Student Center Programs Council. The Center for Student Engagement is also located on the top floor of the building.  

The Student Center is just one space managed by SCEC. Other spaces managed by this team include the Exhibition Hall, the Historic Academy of Medicine, the Pavilions, and West Village. For information on how to reserve spaces in these buildings or to reserve outdoor and classroom spaces, visit studentcenter.gatech.edu/reservable-spaces. 

A formal dedication to honor the Lewis family will be held on Sept. 29, along with an event designed to bring the Yellow Jacket community together for celebration and rejuvenation. For more information, visit studentcenter.gatech.edu. 

TransLoc will provide fixed route bus tracking and on-demand Stingerette safety shuttle access all in one mobile application, shifting away from using two tracking apps. TransLoc is available in the App Store and Google Play.  

This enhanced technology is installed within the new bus fleet, providing a robust reporting suite that includes automated passenger counting and stop announcements. This new feature will help PTS improve service delivery and service planning. It will also help retrieve estimated real-time ridership data for the Stinger shuttle service. 

TransLoc is used locally by other Metro Atlanta institutions such as Emory, Kennesaw State, and SCAD. 

For more information and to download the app, please visit transloc.com/app/. Real-time route information can be found at bus.gatech.edu. 

The renovation has brought exciting new dining venues, lounge and study areas, and event spaces such as community favorite Tech Rec back to the heart of campus after more than two years of construction. To honor the building’s namesake, meeting rooms are named after streets in the 5th Congressional District, which John Lewis represented.

Tech Dining is offering faculty and staff a special sneak peek of the dining venues on Thursday, Aug. 4, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Employees will receive a 40% discount on mobile orders with the code STAFFTXS. Download the mobile ordering app at dining.gatech.edu/mobileordering. Employees can also enjoy free bowling and billiards at Tech Rec during the event.

The opening of the John Lewis Student Center is one phase of the larger project to renovate the area, which is comprised of several buildings including the Exhibition Hall, Pavilion, and Experiential Pathway. Over the next few months, the next phase of the project will take place. This includes the retrofitting of spaces in the Exhibition Hall and Pavilion, buildings that served as temporary locations for services during the past two years. Paper & Clay will also reopen in the Pavilion later this fall.

A formal dedication and grand opening celebration of the John Lewis Student Center will take place this fall. Find more information at the project website.

“Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in ridership of scooters, e-bikes, and skateboards on campus,” said Aaron Fowler, Director of Transportation with Parking and Transportation Services. “This has made alternative transportation more accessible to the Georgia Tech community and getting around campus much easier.” 

With the increase in the use of different riding devices, along with walking, traffic in some parts of campus will have a wide variety of commuting. 

The Division of Student Engagement and Well-Being departments of Stamps Health Services, Parking and Transportation Services, Health Initiatives, and Campus Recreation have collaborated to share tips to make your campus commute safer. 

Take a Class  

Get comfortable traveling by bike with a free city cycling instructional group ride sponsored by Propel ATL on July 28 at 4 p.m. This in-person class meets behind the CRC on Tech Parkway, near the turnaround parking area, and is expected to occur monthly. This class is designed specifically for members of the Georgia Tech community, including students, staff, and faculty. After a few quick drills, riders will hit the city or campus streets for a 45-minute ride of three to four gentle miles. Class attendance requires a liability waiver and registration. 

Ride Smart is a twelve-minute online class that offers an introduction to riding safety in an urban environment whether by bike or scooter. Participate in the comfort of your home and you can even receive a free helmet.  

“Riding is great for physical and mental health and can be very safe, but, just like driving, safety increases with knowledge and experience,” said Becky James, chair of Bike Georgia Tech. “The Ride Smart class introduces riders to the basics of riding in an urban environment, and the City Cycling class offers the opportunity to practice handling skills and ride on the road with an experienced rider, which is the best way to learn and build confidence.” 

Protect Your Brain & Body 

We have some of the best minds at Georgia Tech, so why not do everything you can to protect it! One of the best ways to prevent injuries while riding a bike, scooter, or skateboard is to wear a helmet. Did you know Parking and Transportation Services sells helmets for only $12? Visit their customer service center located on the Ground Level of the E81-Tech Square (the Georgia Tech Hotel) parking deck just inside the Spring Street entrance. 

“While wearing a helmet is one way to protect yourself, so is modifying how you use a riding device like reducing your speed, stopping at intersections, and riding in designated lanes,” said Dr. Benjamin Holton, Senior Director of Stamps Health Services. “This past academic year, we saw a significant number of riding injuries coming into Stamps, some of which were very serious. Equipping yourself with resources that teach you how to use your riding device, follow laws, and share the road can have a substantial impact on injury prevention.” 

Engage with Student Groups  

There are student organizations that you can engage with that provide resources and support riding on campus. Starter Bikes sells used bikes and teaches students how to repair and maintain their bikes. On Fridays, they are open from 4-7 p.m. in the CRC parking deck. On most Thursdays from 5-7 p.m., Starter Bikes offers workshops and group rides. Follow them on Instagram @starterbikesgt or on Facebook to learn more.  

Outdoor Recreation Georgia Tech (ORGT) offers mountain biking and bikepacking trips for beginning and intermediate riders. Visit crc.gatech.edu/adventure-trips-0 to learn more. These student organizations provide the opportunity to ride with experienced riders and gain time and experience in the saddle. 

Make Sure Your Ride is in Tip-Top Shape  

Aztec Cycles brings its mobile repair shop to the Community Market each Wednesday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters.  Maintenance of your ride is essential because often there may be students riding on bikes that are not fit for the road, which can cause accidents or injury. To learn more, visit www.aztec-cycles.com. 
 
Complete the ABC Quick Check! It only takes 10 seconds to check the air, brakes, chain, and quick releases before each ride. This is especially important with shareable scooters and bikes. Watch this short video to learn the steps to take to keep you safe. 

Tips for Riders  

While there are plenty of on-campus resources for you to take advantage of, here are the top tips to keep in mind:  

• Per Georgia law, bikes are considered vehicles, and riders must obey traffic laws. Stop at stop signs and red lights, yield to pedestrians, and don't ride distracted. 

• Riding on sidewalks can be more dangerous than riding on the road. Drivers are not expecting someone going as fast as a cyclist on the sidewalk.  

• When riding on a shared-use path, ride at the same speed as people walking; when passing, ring a bell or say, “on your left,” and give ample space. 

For more Smart Cycling tips, visit www.bikeleague.org/content/smart-cycling-tips-0.   

Tips for On-Campus Drivers  

On-campus drivers play an important role in the safety of all modes of transportation. Here are a few tips to increase safety for everyone: 

• Obey all traffic laws, including Georgia’s Hands-Free Act, and watch for people using all modes of transportation - bikes, scooters, skateboards, and walking.  

• When riding on a road with a bike lane, before turning, glance behind and beside you for a rider in the bike lane and check the crosswalk for pedestrians. 

• When passing a rider, slow down and pass with care. Per Georgia law, drivers must give 3-feet space when passing a person on a bike.  

• Bikes are allowed on all roads except limited-access freeways. Make sure to share the road respectfully with other users. 

Although you might commute to campus using various modes, PTS recommends finding alternative ways to get around campus once you’re here. Whether it is walking, taking the Stinger buses, or renting a bike or scooter, you can make it across campus without having to get back into your car. Move Georgia Tech shows you how long it takes to get from one part of campus to another and talks about the impact of active transportation on the environment and your health. 

Secure Your Ride  

Protecting your ride from theft is also important in maximizing your campus commute.  You can register your scooter or bike through the Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) at police.gatech.edu/registration or by bringing it to the police station in person. 

Use a U-lock. U-locks offer the best theft deterrence, as they better resist prying and cutting than a cable. U-locks are available on campus with Aztec Cycling. Lock your bike to a rack as they are designed to deter theft, and secure it through the frame or rear triangle. On-campus bikes may only be locked to bike racks, not to trees, railings, signs, etc. 

If you need to store your bike after your commute, overnight, or over a campus break, you can use one of the bike rooms on campus. The Dalney (W22) and Tech Square (E81) parking decks feature secure, covered bike parking for commuters. Students, faculty, and staff can access the bike rooms using their BuzzCard, however, bikes must be registered with GTPD. For information about bike storage over a campus break, email commute@gatech.edu. 

To learn more about steps to take to stay safe on every ride, the rules of the road, how to properly adjust and wear a helmet, and what to do if you are involved in a crash, check out this Bicyclists Pocket Guide produced by the Georgia Bikes. You can also visit bike.gatech.edu and pts.gatech.edu/bicycling-georgia-tech to learn about riding at Georgia Tech. 

• Retail services will shut down at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 27; reopening date is TBD.   

• Mail and package pickup will shut down at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28 and will reopen in the John Lewis Student Center on Tuesday, July 5 at 8:30 a.m. Mail and package pickup will be unavailable during the temporary closure.   

The Post Office will reopen in its new home on Tuesday, July 5 at 8:30 a.m., with limited services. We greatly appreciate your patience as we transition to our permanent home, and we apologize for the inconvenience.  

If you have questions about the change in your mailing address or our move to the new location, reach out to the Postal Services team at 404.894.4560 or at postofficeask@po.gatech.edu.

SHIP is available to enrolled undergraduate and graduate students and their eligible dependents who do not already have insurance. The plan includes comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription, and worldwide travel benefits administered by United HealthcareStudentResources (UHCSR). Fall Open Enrollment for the 2022-2023 Academic Year opens on July 25, 2022, and closes on September 26, 2022. The Plan coverage begins August 1, 2022, and ends July 31, 2023.

There are no changes to plan benefits for the upcoming year. There will be a premium increase of 10.1% across all categories of students and enrollees. This increase is due to the increase in claims costs related to Covid-19 testing, treatment, and pharmacy services.  Additionally, the use of benefits remained high in some categories, and there was an increase in costs for the treatment of serious medical conditions.

Georgia Tech was part of a USG advisory panel that worked closely with the USG and United HealthcareStudentResources to negotiate the lowest premiums possible. Premiums are charged on a per-semester basis. The updated semester rates are available here and complete SHIP information at health.gatech.edu/finance/insurance.

Tech students fall into one of two coverage groups: mandatory and voluntary. Students in the mandatory group like students on a fully-funded fellowship or that have a tuition waiver are required to carry health insurance coverage during their program at Tech. These students are automatically charged for SHIP through their student account along with tuition and fees. Mandatory students who have an alternative plan that meets USG requirements, like an ACA-compliant plan, can waive SHIP coverage to avoid being charged. Students can enroll or waive during the semester open enrollment periods (Fall, Spring/Summer, or Summer only).

Students who are not in the mandatory group and are taking at least four credit hours fall into the voluntary group and may enroll during the open enrollment periods. Voluntary students are not charged for SHIP as part of tuition and pay online during the insurance semester open enrollment periods.

To determine which group you are in, summer and fall enrollment dates, and learn how to enroll, visit health.gatech.edu/finance/insurance.

Graduate students holding a Graduate Research or Teaching Assistantship (GRA/GTA) are also eligible for a health insurance subsidy. More information on subsidized rates (when available) can be found on the Bursar's website at bursar.gatech.edu/tuition-fees.

Barnes & Noble at GT started its sustainability practices in the past three years. Merchandise like water bottles, shirts, hats and diploma frames are made from recycled materials. Improvements include using LED lights, recycling cardboard boxes and installing water bottle filling stations. Receipts are optional to reduce printing; this practice is also used in the BuzzCard Center.

Composting is Dining’s sustainable initiative. About 95 percent of Dining’s service wares are compostable last year. Compost is collected from North Avenue, Brittain and West Village dining halls and Rising Roll Café and the Exhibition Hall. With more than 26,000 pounds of compost generated in fall 2019, this practice diverted 260,000 pounds of waste from landfills, saved 1.5 million miles of driving for waste management, and equates to about 26,000 tomatoes planted.

Housing and Residence Life provides single-stream recycling dumpsters for all residence halls to encourage students to recycle all materials without sorting. LED lighting upgrades are scheduled for all residence halls. North Avenue North and South, Center Street Apartments, Zbar, Nelson Shell, Crecine, and Undergraduate Living Center have received lighting upgrades. The remaining residence halls will receive upgrades soon. Water bottle filling stations are replacing water fountains in all residence halls to reduce landfill waste.

Exam rooms and facilities at Stamps Health Services are outfitted with LED lighting, motion light sensors, low flow toilets and sink aerators to reduce water usage. Stamps received the LEED certification back in 2013 for its sustainability efforts.

In 2016, Parking and Transportation Services began converting parking deck lights to LED. All parking decks are scheduled to be outfitted with LEDs by the end of 2020. Carpool spaces have been designated in the Dalney parking deck (W22), which encourage customers to ride together and reduce carbon emissions. Drivers can recycle plastics in several parking decks using newly installed recycling bins. Bike rooms in the Dalney and Tech Square parking decks provide indoor storage for commuters and student residents. Electric vehicle charging stations allow EV drivers to charge while in class or at work.

Supporting Human Comfort

In a typical year, the Student Center buildings see over 17,000 visitors a day, not to mention the hundred or so occupants who make these buildings their office home. With all those humans planning to utilize the spaces created under the Campus Center project, it is important that the buildings were designed to comfortably accommodate the entire Georgia Tech community. 

The orientation of the exterior glass panels, as well as the high-performance glass itself, are optimized minimize the glare and temperature change that can plague occupants while also letting in more natural light and beauty affording views across campus. Additionally, the operable garage doors in the Exhibition Hall, Pavilion, and Rising Roll Cafe allow for natural ventilation for occupants when the weather allows. 

Universal access across the project site is improved. Walking through the site around the Student Center previously involved significant changes in grade that included inaccessible steep stairs. The future site will be focused around accessible pathways so the surrounding landscape can be enjoyed by everyone. Space utilization is improved to the entire community's benefit - making better use of functional circulation spaces and providing more shared meeting, office, and performance spaces that everyone can access. 

Promoting Fiscal Sustainability

Many sustainable elements of the Campus Center project are aimed at improving human comfort, but several of those choices and others were also meant to reduce cost over the lifetime of these buildings. 

A lot of attention was paid to the way daylight interacts with the building. Daylight studies helped optimize window placement, to minimize heat gain as well as identify locations to incorporate glare-minimizing glass frit. The all-LED lighting system is zoned to automatically turn off lights in unoccupied areas or to dim when daylight is abundant. 

Submetering and sensor-driven controls on the electrical and HVAC systems will allow for smarter utility usage through the site. Water will be saved across the site thanks to more efficient plumbing fixtures.  Rainwater captured in the Exhibition Hall's three large cisterns will be used to irrigate the landscaping which is planted with drought tolerant native and adaptive plants. 

Reducing Material Waste

Any time a project entails demolition and construction of buildings, there will be a lot of material in the mix. In this kind of project, the ability to reuse some elements and recycle the rest is essential to minimizing impact.  

The Design-Build Team worked to use the fewest raw materials possible, incorporating materials that contained recycled content (like the carpet and metal wall panels) and employing minimal interior finishes to use less material. Most notably, reusing the shell and structure of the Student Center's Wenn building that housed Tech Rec and the ballroom will save several tons of raw material and the associated energy in extraction and processing. 

The construction team has connected with the Lifecycle Building Company, Georgia Tech's Wreck Racing Team, and other groups to make use of the materials removed from the old Student Center that could not be used in the Campus Center project. Any materials that could not be salvaged were recycled. 

In the newly completed Exhibition Hall, Pavilion, and cafe, interior elements of recycled wood, salvaged from the old church on 10th Street were implemented. More reused materials are scheduled for install in the new Student Center. 

Keep an eye on the progress of the Student Center transformation and learn more at c.gatech.edu/CampusCenter.

The week invites first-years, new transfers, and new graduate students to become acquainted with campus, their peers, and Atlanta the week before classes start with the goal of a stress-free transition to college. First-year students begin to move into campus residence halls on Friday, August 12, with new transfers and new graduates moving in on August 13, and 15 – 20. 

Week of Welcome kicks off on Sunday, August 14 at Rock, Ramble, and Roll, a large outdoor kick-off dinner event full of food and fun after move-in. This will be the first official event held in the new Student Center when it reopens in the Fall after two years of renovations. The event is a partnership between Student & Campus Events Centers, Student Center Programs Council (SCPC), and Tech Dining. 

From August 15 to 20 new students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops, events, and outings organized by the campus community. Departments, colleges, campus offices, and student organizations are invited to host engaging, and informative workshops during business hours to help share information with the new students. Workshops can be informative about the work that an office or organization does on campus or about particular topics of interest to students. 

“Week of Welcome was an amazing, stress-free way for me to transition to college and become familiar with campus, my peers, and Atlanta,” says Jeffrey Kramer, SCPC’s 2022 Week of Welcome Committee Chair. “From the moment I set foot on campus, I felt like I was a part of the amazing Georgia Tech community. Week of Welcome inspired me to join SCPC and get involved, and now I have the incredible opportunity to help organize it for future students.” 

Student organizations and groups are not the only people who can plan and implement workshops for new students during Week of Welcome. Faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in workshop offerings, as well.  

“The Georgia Tech Library hosted our historic Week of Welcome event, RATS Night, along with 7 other workshops and tours during the 2021 Week of Welcome,” said Public Programming & Community Engagement Librarian Catherine Manci. “We had over 1,300 students come to the Library for RATS Night alone. While pulling off these events took lots of coordination, the payoff was worth it to welcome students into our Library buildings and familiarize them with our services.” 

The Georgia Tech Library will once again be hosting its signature event for the week, RATS Night, for Recently Acquired Tech Students or RATS again this year.  

“Students are truly our top priority, and kicking off the year with an exciting Week of Welcome event like RATS Night set the tone for the semester,” said Leslie Sharp, Dean of Libraries. “While the Library is a focused academic space, it can also be a space of joy and community.” 

Afternoons and evenings during the week will be filled with social events for new students to engage with one another and get to know their community. GT Athletics’ House Party at Bobby Dodd, Taste of Tech Square, CRC’s RecFest, and other large signature events and small events are being planned for the nights that week to allow students variety in their experiences. 

If you are interested in planning an event or facilitating a workshop to help introduce our incoming students to life at Georgia Tech in August, fill out the Week of Welcome Program Submission Form by July 15, 2022. Events and workshops will be featured on the Week of Welcome Guide through the Georgia Tech Guidebook app that students download to attend FASET. 

For the latest about Week of Welcome as planning evolves, visit welcomehome.gatech.edu. For questions about Week of Welcome, please email Brett Hulst at hulst@gatech.edu or Carly Bloomingdale at carly@gatech.edu.

During this time, the entrance and exit gates, as well as visitor pay stations, at the W02 Student Center Parking Deck will not be operational. Annual W02 permit holders, including those with SmartPark and Flex permits, will continue to park as normal. Visitors will need to pay for parking upon arrival to the garage using ParkMobile Zone 8631. During this time, the Charge Point electric vehicle chargers in the W02 lot will also not be operational.

Currently, contractors are not anticipating disruption to cell phone coverage. More information will be provided if the situation changes.

The practice reopened last week with a new provider on staff, Dr. Brittany Buchanan, DDS. She received her dental degree from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry in 2011 and joins the Tech Dentistry team from private practice. Dr. Buchanan is in-network with the Georgia Tech employee and student dental insurance and those enrolled in those plans. 

With the reopening, hours have been expanded to Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. To make an appointment, call 404-733-2022. For more information about Tech Dentistry, visit techdentistry.com. 

While Stamps Health Services primarily serves Georgia Tech students, other services are also open to the campus community. Pharmacy services and travel visits are available to the campus community. All members of the Tech community can get Covid-19 vaccination through the Covid vaccine clinics offered by Stamps at no cost. Flu vaccinations are available to employees through the Stamps Pharmacy with payment through an accepted insurance plan. For more information about the services for students, staff, and faculty, visit health.gatech.edu. 

“This new collaboration will support the expansion and accessibility of bicycling options on campus,” said Aaron Fowler, director of transportation with PTS. “In conjunction with the many other bicycling initiatives and resources we have on campus, this will be a great opportunity for the community to have another way to get around.”  

The partnership includes incentives to Georgia Tech users if you sign-up with your "gatech.edu" email address when registering. Riders may park the e-bikes throughout campus, ideally at the nearest bike rack or Spin's designated locations. Spin will offer riders discounts off future rides for returning bikes to designated parking locations on campus. Additionally, discounts will be offered to Tech users for e-bike trips that originate from campus. 

Spin e-bikes will be placed at these five staging locations each morning, fully charged and ready for campus use.   

• Near the entrance to the Curran parking deck on Turner Place 

• Techwood Drive near Ferst Drive 

• Techwood Drive across from Bobby Dodd Stadium 

• Ferst Drive in front of the CRC 

• Near the entrance to the Area 4 parking lot at Ferst Drive/State Street 

Trips starting on campus are $1 to start, 20 cents per minute. Riders who park in one of the designated parking points on campus get a 50-cent ride credit on their next ride.  

To start a ride:     

1. Find a nearby device using the Spin app.

2. Scan the QR code on the device.   

3. Acknowledge safety and rider rules.  

4. Unlock the device.

5. Use the device to your destination.  

Safety reminders: 

• Avoid parking a bike or scooter in a way that blocks doorways, sidewalks, or travel routes that could create a hazard for others. 

• Wear a helmet while bicycling and scootering. Discounted helmets can be purchased at the PTS customer service center for $12. 

• If you are new to bicycling or scootering in Atlanta or want a refresher on safe riding practices, Georgia Tech offers a 12-minute online safety class for free. 

If you need assistance when using a Spin e-bike, please email support@spin.pm, call 1-888-249-9698, or get live support in the Spin app. 

For more information about bicycling at Tech, visit pts.gatech.edu/bicycling-georgia-tech. For questions about the new Spin partnership, reach out to commute@gatech.edu.  

1. Schedule a weekly walk with a co-worker or friend. Follow the Pi Mile course or learn more about the sculptures and history of campus through tours available on the Campus Map. 
2. Switch to an alternative commute one day per week. From regional bus service to riding your bike or MARTA, explore your transportation options with PTS's Commute Concierge and learn more about incentives for choosing a cleaner commute from Georgia Commute Options.  
3. Incorporate local, seasonal produce into your meals with the new Farm Share program, which delivers personalized boxes of produce and much more from Rise N Shine Farm to campus each week. 
4. Volunteer in your community. STAR (Students' Temporary Assistance and Resources) is a network of programs dedicated to connecting students with the resources that they need to thrive, and they need volunteers to participate in food recovery shifts, sponsor food collection events, or you can contact Steve Fazenbaker for help with facilitating a service project. 
5. Join one of Georgia Tech's seven Employee Resource Groups (ERG), organized around common dimensions of diversity. ERGs are designed to offer forums where like-minded employees can enhance their employment experiences. 
6. Try the CRC's recreational fitness classes. Discover classes that help develop strength, get you moving, or provide a time to release tension and focus on the breath. 
7. Conduct a meeting or class outside once per week; consider the EcoCommons and different gardens and green spaces throughout campus. 
8. Deepen your appreciation and understanding of the universe by attending a public night at the Georgia Tech Observatory. 
9. Learn more about the dimensions of well-being by participating in a workshop through Be Well, Georgia Tech’s Benefits Education and Wellness series, or exploring their library of past presentations. 
10. Join a Tapping Circle for Stress and Calm. Tapping Circles are offered weekly online. 
11. Make sure that your bike is ready to ride. Learn to repair and maintain your bike with Starter Bikes on Fridays from 4 - 7 p.m. or bring it to Aztec Cycles at the Community Market on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
12. Go meatless one day a week and prioritize seasonal produce; use the Nutrislice app to explore Dining's daily vegetarian options and explore recipes from Health Initiatives. 
13. Watch a two-minute video to learn about office recycling through the AWARE (Actively Working to Achieve Resource Efficiency) program and empty your desk-side containers each afternoon. 
14. Each day, walk or ride to one place that you would normally drive. Consider using a Relay Bike for a meeting across campus. 
15. Try 3-5 minutes of meditation each day. Browse the Counseling Center's list of free podcasts and apps for options. 
16. Try a new adventure outdoors. ORGT (Outdoor Recreation Georgia Tech) rents camping and boating equipment to the Georgia Tech community. 
17. Explore learning opportunities through the Campus Learning Directory and participate in a program, event, or activity that excites or inspires you. 
18. Connect with co-workers each week at $5 Friday in North Ave and Brittain Dining Halls, where employees can enjoy a reduced door rate of $5 for lunch. Open to faculty and staff using Faculty/Staff Dining Dollars. 
19. Identify your personal strengths and opportunities as a people leader with PLAT (People Leader Assessment Tool). PLAT provides a personalized learning roadmap, which serves as a year-long professional development plan. 
20. Create a self-care plan and schedule the time into your week. Consider a yoga class, walk, or schedule a massage therapy session at the CRC.
21. Write a letter of support to a fellow Yellow Jacket. Each week until Feb. 15, Georgia Tech Arts will be partnering with a different group on campus to uplift our community through a campus-wide letter-writing campaign. 
22. Commit to volunteering to support fellow Yellow Jackets this semester. Whether it's through Commencement, Move-In, Week of Welcome, or events like Midnight Breakfast, find a way to engage with the campus community.

Reload your balance today mealplan.gatech.edu.

Did you know:

• Dining Dollars can be used for vending machine purchases across campus.
• Dining Dollars can be used at any dining location on campus.
• Purchases made with Dining Dollars are tax-free, so you save even more!
• Dining Dollars roll over from the fall semester to spring.

Follow Tech Dining on Facebook, and Instagram!  
 

Improving Housing’s Campus Footprint 

Housing and Residence Life has the largest carbon footprint of any Campus Services division and therefore has the biggest opportunity to make an impact. Efforts to retro-commission older buildings to improve their efficiency and indoor air quality, and long-term plans in the new Housing Master Plan will ensure that a sustainability lens is used when looking for improvements to current buildings and future development. 

Several residence halls now have options for composting, with plans to expand the program. Residents are encouraged to consider their utility consumption through energy competitions and a peer-to-peer educational program called the EcoReps that trains RAs on sustainability topics to inform their residents through programming. Learn more about Sustainability in the Halls here. 

Sustainability through Well-Being 

"Good health and well-being" was one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The Center for Assessment, Referral, and Education (CARE) offers programming that promotes mental health and well-being and provides practical skills and resources that support sustainability. The CARE Student Ambassador program allows students to partner with CARE to increase the utilization of mental health and well-being resources on and off-campus. The program amplifies students’ voices in reducing mental health stigma on campus and promoting help-seeking behaviors among peers. CARE Ambassadors create outreach events for the Tech community. 

Coffee with CARE is a drop-in opportunity for students to learn about campus and community resources and ask questions in a non-clinical setting. This outreach focuses specifically on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to help reduce barriers to access to mental health resources for traditionally marginalized groups. Events are hosted throughout the school year on a variety of topics. 

Learn more about CARE’s offerings at care.gatech.edu.  

Sustainability Opportunities in Dining’s New Operation 

Georgia Tech’s new in-house dining program began in July of this year. Tech Dining’s operation presented new opportunities to prioritize sustainability. The department has committed to sustainability by hiring a sustainability specialist and student employees to support the implementation and growth of its sustainability program across campus. 

Tech Dining prioritizes local, sustainable, and ethical purchasing whenever possible, supporting the local economy and community farmers while increasing the availability of fresh, nutrient-dense produce across campus. Additionally, they work to purchase compostable to-go wares and cutlery as much as possible and seek to identify recyclable alternatives when necessary. Dining also manages institution-wide composting collections at the Exhibition Hall, Brittain and North Avenue Dining Halls, and West Village. 

Through regular sustainability tabling at the Community Market, Tech Dining’s local, ethical, and plant-forward offerings are highlighted and often sampled, during regular sustainability tabling at the Community Market. This approach allows students to learn about Tech Dining’s sustainability practices while exploring opportunities to incorporate sustainable habits into their own lives.

Learn more about Tech Dining’s sustainability operations at dining.gatech.edu/sustainability-dining.

Serving Students Sustainably 

The Students’ Temporary Assistance and Resources (STAR) program provides stability for students to pursue a fulfilling college experience. The program collaborates across campus to support students and increase campus awareness of its resources. Klemis Kitchen is an initiative that serves as a food pantry for Georgia Tech students with dietary needs and financial concerns that limit their access to proper nourishment. Tech Dining provides regular donations to Klemis Kitchen, thereby directly increasing the accessibility of fresh, wholesome meals to students who are experiencing food insecurity. 

Campus Closet is another initiative that lends appropriate clothing to students who are prospective hires without proper business attire. Learn more about the STAR program at studentlife.gatech.edu/content/star-services. 

Options for Commuters and Planning for Transit’s Future 

Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) has implemented and planned several initiatives to increase energy efficiency and reduce Tech’s impact on greenhouse gasses. Through updating the existing infrastructure with more efficient LED lighting, energy costs have been reduced by up to 80%. When campus transit brings its new fleet to campus, a portion of the new transit fleet is expected to be hybrid electric.

PTS primarily uses virtual permitting without a physical hangtag, is considering all-electric options for parking enforcement vehicles, and allows campus commuters flexible options to support teleworking and alternative work schedules. Alternative commute programs, like Commute Concierge, help the campus plan different ways to get to and around campus by encouraging biking, walking, transit use, carpooling, and ridesharing. 

Click here for more information about PTS’s sustainability initiatives.  

Encouraging Active Transportation 

Move Georgia Tech is a new initiative from Campus Services seeking to encourage the campus community to choose “active,” or human-powered transportation for traveling to, from, and around campus. By choosing active transportation, the initiative hopes to connect the community through an increased sense of well-being and belonging. Learn more about Move Georgia Tech at crc.gatech.edu/move  

Green Goodbyes 

Through a partnership between Housing and Residence Life, the Students’ Temporary Assistance and Resources (STAR) program, and the Office of Campus Sustainability, materials donations drives are held around move-out to ensure that residents can donate the reusable clothing, food, and household goods they no longer need instead of throwing them away. These items are then donated to local charities or given back to the student community before the fall semester. Learn more about Green Goodbyes here. 

Sustainability Alignment with the Campus Center Project  

The Campus Center project has been an important opportunity for the Student and Campus Event Centers team to realign sustainability efforts throughout their portfolio of buildings and services. As each of their facilities is built or renovated, the design-build team focuses on meeting ASHRAE standards by opting for a low-finish design that uses fewer materials, outdoor elements that support natural water management, and flexibility of program so that facilities can fulfill multiple needs to maximize space-efficiency.  

Waste and recycling practices are also being standardized across the portfolio to ensure that the composting or waste sorting experience is consistent and optimized in all of their buildings. As the project concludes this summer with the completion of the Student Center's transformation, the community can expect to see more examples of sustainable practice in action. 

Savings at the Bookstore 

Barnes & Noble @ Georgia Tech has made efforts to improve energy savings in the bookstore and paper savings for students. The lighting has been replaced with high-efficiency bulbs to reduce energy consumption. More ebooks and digital course materials were provided than in previous years, reducing the need for paper to produce the materials. The Bookstore is also saving water bottles in two ways, by implementing touchless water filling stations and providing graduation regalia that is made from recycled water bottles.  

Upgrades at the CRC 

The Campus Recreation Center has undergone and is planning future upgrades to the facility to support its sustainability goals. Lighting in the Fitness Center, Basketball Courts, and the Leisure Pool were converted to LED in 2017 with plans to convert the Competition Pool and Stamps Recreation Fields in the future. All program waivers and transactions for patrons have gone digital. Stamps Recreation Fields is a rainwater infiltration area that allows 44,500 cubic feet of water to be gradually released into the ground, recharging the basin’s groundwater system. 

To support sustainable transportation, the CRC launch the Commuter Shower Pass to expand access to showers on campus for active commuters. Learn more about the CRC’s sustainability efforts here. 

FASET Goes Green 

New Student and Transition Programs (NSTP) has made an effort to go digital with FASET schedules since 2019. Before Covid-19, approximately eight thousand schedules were printed for FASET. Other programming for FASET, like resource fairs and information sessions, also went digital due to the pandemic. NSTP is evaluating the shift to digital resources and programming as they plan to support new students in the coming year. 

Changes to dining hall hours will allow Tech Dining to better allocate staffing resources.  Staff will now have more time to prep stations for major meal periods and ensure enough food is available throughout meal rush periods.

Retail hours are being expanded at select locations to meet demand and provide students with additional dining options throughout the day.  

Dining Halls (West Village, Brittain, North Avenue)

• Expanding hours at Brittain, now open for breakfast, weekdays 7-11a.
• Limited service at all dining halls daily from 3-5p.
• During limited-service hours, some stations will be closed. 
• Station hours will be posted in each location.  
• Vegan and Vegetarian selections will be available.
• All dining halls closing at 9:30p Monday – Thursday and at 9p on Friday.
• North Avenue and West Village will close at 9p on Saturday and Sunday.
• Weekend breakfast at North Avenue will be continental service from 9-11a.

Kaldi’s

• Expanding hours to 9p Monday – Thursday.

Cluck N Mooh

• Expanding hours to 11a-9p Monday through Wednesday.
• Expanding hours 11a-10p Thursday and Friday.
• Expanding hours to 4-10p Sunday.

Rising Roll

• Now open weekends from 9a-3p.

The Dive (located in the CRC)

• Opening new dining location on 10/13, 8a-8p Monday – Thursday, 8a-3p Fridays.

The Dining Hub (located in the Ex Hall)

• Opening a new Wreck Stop Express location on 10/13, 11a-7p Monday – Thursday, 11a-2p Fridays.

In the coming weeks, Tech Dining will be opening locations in the Petit Institute for  Bioengineering and Bioscience buildng (IBB) and the Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB).  Please follow Tech Dining on Facebook, and Instagram for details.  
 

11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Location Change: Exhibition Hall - Home Park Room, 2nd Floor 

If you’re looking for a higher level of campus involvement, take part in this special campus job fair featuring the units from Student Engagement and Well-Being. Representatives will be available from a variety of campus departments, including Tech Dining, Student Diversity, Student Center, and more, to discuss jobs and service opportunities. Plus, fill out our job interest form for a chance to win great prizes. Bookmark this page as more jobs and details about this event are posted.

Fill out this interest form to get started.

CURRENT JOB OPPORTUNITIES

BARNES & NOBLE @ GT

Current Opportunities:

• Temporary part-time booksellers (cashiers, textbooks department, trade books department, technology, and general merchandise/clothing. This could turn into a seasonal or part-time position depending on performance and availability.)
• Burdell's bookseller
• Licensed Starbucks café barista booksellers
• Licensed Starbucks café barista supervisor
• Technology Store part time supervisor/repair technician
• Technology Store Department Manager
• Customer Service Department Manager

Hiring Timeline: Immediately

Perks for Working Here:

• Flexible schedules based around classes
• Ability to work 8 to 20 hours a week
• Generous employee discount of 20-35% off most items
• Accrued paid time off

CAMPUS RECREATION CENTER

Current Opportunities: Lifeguard positions and Spring 2021 student employee positions

Hiring Timeline: Open interviews for lifeguards – every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. year-round. Spring 2021 hiring applications open October 4. Intramural hiring offered in early October and early January.

Perks for Working Here:

• Work where you play!
• Flexible working hours.
• Personal and professional development opportunities in a dynamic team environment.

CONFERENCE SERVICES

Current Opportunities: Student positions for summer conference season (25-35 positions available in early May to mid-August). Duties include customer service; front desk; meeting room set-up; check-in/out of guests; and on-call duty shifts. Conference Services retains 10-12 students for the fall and spring semester to assist at the front desk and to take care of set-up/breakdown of all Housing/Residence Life meeting spaces on campus.

Hiring Timeline: New staff are hired for the summer; some are retained for spring and fall. Hire dates for the summer are usually the first weekend in May to the second weekend in August (around housing transition dates). Advertising and interviewing will begin in February.

Perks for Working Here: Competitive wages; flexible schedule; career learning opportunities; summer housing for full-time staff.

GEORGIA TECH ARTS

Current Opportunities: Ushers and box office ticket sellers.

Hiring Timeline: Currently hiring rolling basis based on needs. Generally, will hire at the end of one semester for the following semester to fill spots being vacated.

Perks for Working Here:  Free shows at the Ferst Center

HOUSING

Current Opportunities: Resident Assistant positions for 2022-2023. Must be eligible to work on campus. Must have 2.5 GPA for undergrads, 3.0 for graduate students and be in good standing.

Hiring Timeline: Applications open online at housing.gatech.edu, October 30 and are due December 8 by 11:59 p.m. Hiring process includes application, interview, grade and conduct checks.

Perks for Working Here: 

• Build community on campus, serve the campus residential community, gain leadership skills, and serve on diverse teams and plan fun events for peers.
• Move in first and move out last.
• Earn additional money for undergraduates working holiday breaks.
• Compensation includes meal plan, rent exemption and a stipend of $1,000 per fall/spring for undergraduates.

JUMPSTART

Current Opportunities: Jumpstart at Georgia Tech serves five preschool classrooms at two preschool partners located in our community. Jumpstart offers the potential to earn a Federal Work-Study award during term of service.

Hiring Timeline: Ongoing

Perks for Working Here:

• Unique opportunity to join a national network of individuals serving young children
• Extensive training in the field of early childhood education
• Invaluable opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young children.
• AmeriCorps members will be eligible to receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon completion of a 300-hour service term

OFFICE OF STUDENT INTEGRITY

Current Opportunities: Two (2) Federal Work Study student positions

Hiring Timeline: Immediately upon successful completion of interview, review of required documents, and completion of candidate consideration process

Perks for Working Here:

• Engagement in professional activities within the new Division of Student Engagement and Well-being
• Participation in creating and implementing the unit’s community-wide marketing and social media identity
• Interaction with other student leaders
• Work with a supportive team
• Ability to expand knowledge of staff and administrative responsibilities with student conduct

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

Current Opportunities: IT Assistant, Special Events Assistant, and Customer Service Assistant.

Hiring Timeline: Will fill the special events and customer service assistant positions immediately. The IT assistant position will be filled within the next two weeks with a potential start date of October 18.

Perks for Working Here:

IT:

• The opportunity to bring energy, enthusiasm, and the ability to offer new ideas and perspectives to the workplace and incorporate the viewpoint of students.
• Specialized project work related to field of study and the opportunity to develop real-world skills.

Special Events and Customer Service:

• Campus engagement involving parking needs.
• Engagement with their peers and the campus community.
• Opportunity to offer innovative ideas and expertise to aid in process improvement.

STUDENT CENTER

Current Opportunities: Paid positions for students across several different areas within the Student Center. Post office, event services,

Hiring Timeline: Applications are open now through October 15.

Perks for Working Here:

• Variety of positions
• Flexible hours
• Opportunities to contribute to student and campus life
• Opportunity to be a part of the opening of the new Student Center in summer 2022

TECH DINING

Current Opportunities: Positions for cooks, food service workers, baristas, and dishwashers

Hiring Timeline: Now through November 1, 2021

Perks for Working Here:

• Complimentary meals on each shift
• Good pay
• Opportunities for learning on the job

Tech Dining has been re-engineered this fall to offer more options, better quality, and meal plans that meet your needs.  Maybe it’s an everyday plan?  Maybe just a few swipes and some Dining Dollars?  Whatever your choice, it’s a delicious decision.  

This fall, Tech Dining has introduced:

• Unlimited meal plans for all-you-care-to-eat dining in Brittain, North Avenue, and West Village
• More Dining Dollars included with each meal plan for use at on-campus retail dining
• Block meal plans starting as low as 50 meals 
• Better food and more choices
• More options for vegan, vegetarian, and special dietary needs
• Expanded retail dining options across campus
• Hours that meet the schedule demands of college life
• Mobile ordering for convenient grab and go at retail locations 

To be a part of the new Tech Dining experience, sign up for a meal plan today at mealplan.gatech.edu.

Follow Tech Dining on Facebook, and Instagram!  
 

To use Text and Tell, text 55744 and start your message with the location code. For example, Brittain, Cluck, or Kaldis. Each location has its code posted in multiple areas throughout the operation. 

Once a message is sent, the guest receives an automated response letting them know the message has been received. That message is reviewed in real-time by a manager on duty who can address any concerns. 

Follow Tech Dining on Facebook, and Instagram!  
 

Georgia Tech’s campus can be traversed in twenty minutes on foot and is considered “very walkable.” With a Walk Score of 73, most errands on campus can be completed without the use of a car. Georgia Tech is also recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Gold Level Bicycle Friendly University, while Atlanta is included on Bicycling Magazine’s list of the “50 Best Bike Cities.” There are over 120 miles of riding infrastructure in the city, including a new protected Light Individual Transportation (LIT) lane on Spring Street through Tech Square.     

Move Georgia Tech will promote the efficiency of active transportation and encourage the campus community to consider the impact of their transportation choices on their physical and mental health and the environment. 

“Only 20% of the adult population get the 150 minutes of weekly exercise recommended by the American Heart Association,” says Caroline Dotts, interim senior director of Campus Recreation. “Walking to class or meetings and commuting by bike are convenient ways to integrate activity into your day and have proven just as effective at improving physical and mental health as a structured workout.”  

Active transportation has been found to reduce stress and anxiety and increase positive mood, but you do not have to rely exclusively on an active commute to get the benefits. People who commute using public transportation average 19 minutes of activity per day, as they move between stops and their destination, and enjoy the same social connectivity as active commuters. 

Walking and riding emit a fraction of the carbon emissions of driving. Georgia Tech is committed to being carbon neutral by 2050, and, as the transportation sector is responsible for 29% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, attainment of carbon neutrality will require that more members of the campus community choose sustainable transportation options. A 2021 study revealed that just swapping one car trip per day with a form of active transportation can have a significant impact on personal carbon emissions. 

“The message of active transportation is empowering,” says Move Georgia Tech organizer Becky James. “The daily choice to walk, ride, or roll versus drive may seem small, but it is a change that we can implement now that will not only benefit the planet but our personal health. When you consider the potential for the collective impact of our campus community, it is exciting.”   

Learn More and Get Moving 

• Signage throughout campus will provide walking, riding, and rolling times to common destinations. Use the QR code to learn the most efficient route to your destination or create your own route incorporating the Tyler Brown Pi Mile, EcoCommons, and greenspaces throughout campus. 

• Visit Move Georgia Tech to calculate the financial and environmental impact of your current commute and total carbon footprint. 

• Join the Georgia Tech Biketober workplace team and help the team by riding and encouraging others to ride. 

• Download the Citymapper app to compare routes and transportation options.   

• Take the online Ride Smart class to learn about riding bikes and scooters in an urban environment. 

• Discover campus resources for active commuters, such as shower locations, secure bike parking rooms, and bike repair and maintenance options.     

• Learn about living more sustainably as a student with the Sustainable Living Guide. 

The original Kaldi’s location, named for a legendary Ethiopian goat herder, opened on Demun Avenue in St. Louis in 1994. According to folklore, the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of coffee beans. He noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not sleep at night.

In 2008, Tricia and Tyler Zimmer bought the shop and quickly began expanding. In addition to their flagship store in St. Louis, they now have over 20 locations, with Atlanta as a “second home base.” As they expand their operation, they want to play a bigger role in the Atlanta community. “This is a family business, and we focus on relationships,” says Tricia. “We love how a cup of coffee brings people together and builds community.”

Coffee and a Focus on the Community

Kaldi’s is not a cookie-cutter operation. The style of each café is different, and the experience fits the communities they serve. The employees at each location strive to be more than a cup of coffee; they want to be a part of the surrounding community. “We focus on getting guests engaged and excited about what we’re doing,” Tricia shares. “We are using design aesthetics to fit inside the Clough Building. We worked closely with our designer to select finishes and colors to complement the existing building. We also want to make sure we utilize soft seating and other comfortable features to give it a warm and inviting environment.”

The company takes a three-pronged approach to meet their goal of community partnership, supporting philanthropy, health and wellness, and education. They work with Akilah Institute/Davis College in Rwanda, currently donating proceeds from their Rwandan coffee sales to the school in addition to developing a longer-term internship program and experiential learning program. 

Kaldi’s has a unique program with one of their university partners where they provide an experiential learning platform for business school students to work at Kaldi’s and earn course credits. The students gain access to the business data and have real world examples to use for their courses. Kaldi’s also works with student organizations and classes to provide inside views of business practices, including field trips to visit farms to learn about sourcing.

Sourcing and Sustainability

In 2008, when the Zimmers purchased that first shop, the coffee industry looked very different than it does today. Although coffee consumers had begun requesting fair-trade and organic coffee, there was little interaction between farmers and roasters. Farmers sold their beans in bulk to brokers who then sold by the pound to roasters.

Wanting to build relationships with farmers, Kaldi’s pioneered a game-changing approach to purchasing coffee beans. The Zimmers began meeting with the farmers in person, talking openly about pricing and negotiating directly with them. They initiated regular visits to farms for tastings with farmers.

This new buying process had several benefits for both the farmers and Kaldi’s. Farmers had more control and involvement in the process and better understood what roasters needed. They began focusing on establishing relationships with roasters to earn return business and changed their practices to meet expectations for quality and sustainability. Many farmers have now added their own coffee taste-testing kitchens, called cupping labs, to monitor and improve their crops. For Kaldi’s, they have gained access to a reliable, sustainable source of high-quality beans. In Columbia Monserrate, for example, Kaldi’s buys half of the entire village’s annual coffee production.

Los Tablones Farm

One of the farms Kaldi’s has partnered with is Los Tablones. Kaldi’s has purchased their entire annual crop for the past seven years. Located in El Salvador, Los Tablones is a more than fourth generation family farm owned and operated by the Markwort family.  Two generations of the Markwort family happen to be Georgia Tech alumni and supporters, including Herb Markwort, Jr., ‘75 who holds a degree in Industrial Management, and his wife Marielos Markwort, ‘76 whose degree is a Master of Science in Industrial Management. Both are avid Georgia Tech supporters.  Together they wear their GT gear proudly and their son, Brett, ’07, who holds a degree in Chemical and Bio Engineering, and never misses an opportunity to promote GT to his three daughters, whom hopefully will continue the legacy.  

With the opening of the Georgia Tech location, all Los Tablones beans will be specially dedicated to the Georgia Tech store, which will be the only place coffee sippers can get this exact brew. Kaldi’s is excited about this new arrangement. “As a family-owned business Kaldi’s can make long-standing relationships with farmers, who depend on what we purchase,” Tyler explains.

Marielos’ brother, Rene Cornejo, lives in El Salvador and manages the day-to-day operations of the farm. The farm’s premium location in Concepcion de Ataco, in the Quitachapan region allows it to produce high-quality beans. Its high altitude (1,300m) produces a perfect climate for growing coffee beans. It has a long growing season and fertile, volcanic soil. 

Coffee beans do not all ripen at once, so the harvest season extends from December to April. The beans at Los Tablones are all hand-picked. This allows pickers to select only perfectly ripe fruit, which at its peak looks like dark cherries. The fruit is then washed and sun-dried on a large patio where workers rake the beans regularly to ensure they are dried consistently.  The beans are then delivered to Kaldi’s in 69 kilo burlap sacks, at a rate of 8000 pounds per year. The entire harvest will go toward serving the Georgia Tech campus.

Los Tablones has implemented a variety of sustainable farming practices. The coffee bean trees are grown under a natural shade canopy of Cuje trees. This shade canopy provides a habitat for birds and bees, which in turn act as natural fertilizers and pollinators for the coffee plants, reducing the amount of fertilizer the Markworts must apply. In addition, the farm refuses to use pesticides or allow any hunting or wood burning on the property. 

All Los Tablones beans are now specially dedicated to the Georgia Tech Kaldi’s location, which will be the only location customers can get this exact brew. The location will open with the start of the fall semester.  

With much of campus back in person, look out for impacts to traffic and additional congestion on Wednesday, August 18, and Friday, August 20. Here’s what you need to know:

• Residents moving in will enter campus heading westbound on North Avenue and turn right on Tech Parkway to get to the back of the CRC Parking Deck for check-in. There will be additional congestion on these routes, expect delays.
• After check-in, residents will turn left onto Ferst Drive from the CRC Parking Deck and take either a left onto 6^th Street for West Campus or stay straight on Ferst Drive, turning right onto Techwood Drive for East Campus and North Avenue Apartments. Ferst Drive will remain open to through traffic. Please use caution as GTPD officers and volunteers will be on-site directing traffic.
• Expect additional delays and congestion throughout West Campus, on Techwood Drive, Luckie Street, Pine Street, and Centennial Olympic Park Drive for East Campus and North Avenue move-in.

Additionally, please abide by all parking notices and posted signage as these areas are needed for resident check-in, unloading, and long-term parking. This includes:

• W10 permit holders, who can park in W02-Student Center deck.
• ER54 permit holders, who can park in ER54-North Ave. South deck (levels 2 and 3).
• West campus on-street parking can park in WR30-Curran deck and W31-IPST lot.
• East campus on-street parking can park in E52-Peters deck and E65-McCamish lot.

For more information about move-in, visit housing.gatech.edu/move-in. Welcome home, Jackets!

Here’s a preview of some of the events happening during the week. For the full event list, download the Georgia Tech Guidebook App in the Apple or Google Play Store, or explore the 2021 Week of Welcome Guidebook on your desktop. 

Sunday, August 15 

Green Good(buys)  

Green Good(buys) is a no-cost market at the Kendeda Building from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. All items, which will be free to any student, were collected during last spring’s move-out, cleaned, and brought to Kendeda specifically for this event. Find something useful and reduce the overall materials purchased and thrown away in our residence halls each year. 

Rock, Ramble, and Roll! 

First-years can kick off Week of Welcome and the fall 2021 semester at Rock, Ramble, and Roll! Come to the Student Center's Exhibition Hall from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for dinner before heading over to Tech Green for inflatables, games, and so much more. Hosted by the Student Center, Tech Dining, and Housing and Residence Life, Rock, Ramble, and Roll is the perfect opportunity to jump-start your first college semester, have some fun, and make new friends. This event is open to first-year students only. 

Monday, August 16 

Yellow Jacket Mega Mixer  

Playfair brings new students together for the first time for the ultimate icebreaker. Get to know your fellow classmates and make connections for first-years on August 16 and for second-year and transfer students on August 19 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. on the CRC Stamps Field.  

Covid-19 Vaccine Clinic 

We now have a powerful new tool in the fight against the coronavirus. COVID-19 vaccines will be available at McCamish Pavilion from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for those who are eligible. Visit mytest.gatech.edu to schedule an appointment. Review these instructions to prepare for your vaccination. 

The Circulator 

Catch a ride on one of Georgia Tech’s Stinger buses to different parts of Atlanta for grocery, room furnishings, events, and attractions. Use the PassioGo app to find the “Charter” bus on the map. 

Atlantic Station – August 16, 17, 19, and 22 from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. 
Piedmont Park and Ponce City Market – August 17 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 
Centennial Olympic Park – August 19 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

For the full schedule, check the Week of Welcome Guidebook. 

Tuesday, August 17 

Campus Resource Fair 

The Campus Resource Fair will allow students to interact with a variety of different offices and departments at Georgia Tech to support the student experience. Come get your questions answered, meet our staff members, and pick up some free swag on Tech Walkway from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. 

Traveling While Black 

Traveling While Black is a 20-minute virtual reality documentary that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities. Take a seat in Ben’s Chili Bowl, the famed DC restaurant, and experience the stories of African American visitors as they sit and share a moment of honest discussion, reflecting on their experiences of restricted movement and race relations in the U.S. Travelling While Black will be installed in the Richards Gallery at the Ferst Center for the Arts from August 13 through November 12, 2021. Students can present their BuzzCard for free admission from August 14 - 22.  

Taste of Tech Square 

Tech Square is where the campus meets Midtown Atlanta’s bustling retail and technology district. With dozens of restaurants, Tech Square offers a variety of options, from pizza to sandwiches, Asian fusion to Mexican, waffles, and sweet treats. Head to Tech Square to meet up with other first-year students to redeem a complimentary meal using your BuzzCard from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Full steps and directions are available here. 

Wednesday, August 18 

Community Market 

This semester the Community Market will run every Wednesday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. outside of the Exhibition Hall. In addition to food, the Market will include student entrepreneurs, campus organizations, and other community members. Come hungry and bring a friend! 

RATS Night at the Library 

Take over the Georgia Tech Library from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for a late night of fun-filled snacks, video games, trivia, arts and crafts, and free giveaways. In addition to the fan favorites, this year features samples from Blue Donkey and Kaldis Coffee, the newest addition to Clough. There will be team trivia, board and video games, personalized posters, and custom videos in the Multimedia Scholarship Commons, and the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking in AIRspace. This is one party you will not want to miss before classes start. 

Thursday, August 19 

Dining Halls Open – Meal Plans Begin 

Dining on campus this year is all-new with Tech’s new in-house dining program, Tech Dining. Dining Halls open for normal operating hours for the school year starting August 19. Come try a reengineered dining experience and start using your meal plan. For more about the new dining program, visit dining.gatech.edu.  

Grad Expo 

GradExpo is Georgia Tech's resource fair for new graduate students. On Clough Commons from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., join campus departments and student organizations for information about programs, services, and activities they have to offer. Information sessions will also be offered. Join us for this lively, annual event! Learn more here. 

CRC RecFest 

RecFest is a signature event of the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) that takes place at the start of every academic year. For three hours, students have an opportunity to learn about all the CRC has to offer. Campus Recreation champions health and wellbeing through dynamic and transformative experiences, and RecFest is where it starts. Join the CRC team for food, giveaways, and fun in Couch Park from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. 

Friday, August 20 

Sophomore and Transfer Welcome Event 

Join us at a welcome celebration specifically for second-years and transfer students. Come meet some new folks from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. at Peters Parking Deck and then catch the movie at Bobby Dodd Stadium.  

SCPC Presents: Avengers Endgame at Bobby Dodd Stadium 

Get ready for an epic night of superheroes and memes! Join the Student Center Programs Council (SCPC) at 8 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium for a FREE outdoor screening of the grand finale of the Avengers series: Avengers Endgame. Stick around after the movie to enjoy Marvel-related memes made by your fellow students! You can create and submit your own meme anytime during the Week of Welcome including during the movie here. The funniest memes will be displayed on the big screen at the end of the movie! Reserve your FREE tickets to bring your own blanket and watch the movie through Campus Tickets!  

Saturday, August 21 

Welcome, International Yellow Jackets 

Come connect with fellow Yellow Jackets and learn about the student organizations that serve international students on Tech Green from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. There will be games, tables with information about the organizations, a gift card giveaway, Buzz, the Ramblin’ Reck, and snacks. Students will get a chance to meet other international students, as well as church and community volunteers. 

SCPC Presents: Silent Disco 

Boogie the night away at SCPC’s Silent Disco! Join us on Tech Green from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. with your dancing shoes, play some lawn games, and reconnect with campus once again. Get tickets here and look for the purple tent to check in. 

Sunday, August 22 

New Student Convocation 

New Student Convocation is a welcome ceremony for Georgia Tech incoming students on August 22 at 5:30 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion. Held on the day before the first day of classes, all incoming students will receive their RAT cap, T-Book, and Georgia Tech pin. Doors open at 4 p.m. The event will be live-streamed at specialevents.gatech.edu/convocation.

To get a head start on Week of Welcome events, complete the Week of Welcome Waiver, which is mandatory for events like Rock, Ramble, and Roll, Yellow Jacket MegaMixer, RecFest, and more.

Step 1:Download the CORQ app.
Step 2:Select “Engage @ Georgia Tech” and log in using your GT credentials.
Step 3:RSVP for the “Week of Welcome Mandatory Waiver” event and complete the RSVP.

“Our students told us that they wanted better quality and value,” said senior director of Tech Dining Ryan Greene. “After years of working with contractors, we knew that bringing the operation in-house was the opportunity to improve the dining program. When we put Georgia Tech talent and resources to work, we can provide the very best for our students.”

Turq Daniels, director of dining retail operations, described the process of gathering student feedback. “The entire process was student-driven. We started by asking students what types of dining options they wanted on campus,” said Daniels. The dining team discovered that students were interested in more vegetarian and vegan options, as well as expanded international cuisine. In addition to reviewing the results of multiple surveys, Daniels and the Tech Dining team brought more than 40 vendors to campus for the Taste of Tech Dining sampling event in late April. Students cast more than four thousand votes for their favorite foods and vendors.

The Team

Greene knew that quality personnel was critical to a quality product, so his first step was to create a team of top-notch culinary professionals. This team includes formally trained chefs who direct menu planning and food preparation. In response to input from students, the culinary team developed new menus focusing on high-quality entrees, authentic international flavors, and expanded vegan and vegetarian dishes. 

Culinary director Scott Bruhn, who received his training at Johnson & Wales, is passionate about the freshness of the food served at all campus locations and strives to provide a quality of food that is higher than normally expected on a college campus. “We have assembled outstanding culinary talent for Georgia Tech,” said Bruhn. “We want to give these team members every opportunity to work with the best ingredients so they can demonstrate their skills. Whenever possible, we make things from scratch as opposed to simply assembling frozen or pre-packaged ingredients.” Examples of this effort include the dining team grinding spices on-site to improve freshness and quality, fresh fruit for juicing, and the bakery at West Village running 24/7 to produce baked goods, sweets, and fresh buns and bagels on campus. Bruhn also plans to add smokers, a popcorn kettle, and homemade donuts.

Bringing the team in-house has benefits for employees as well as students, faculty, and staff. Food-service employees, previously paid as contract employees, are now state employees with competitive wages and benefits such as retirement plans, health coverage, and tuition assistance. Opportunities for employee growth and development are available as well.

Meal Plans

The Tech Dining team built the dining program from the ground up, going back to the very basics of what is offered and how it’s provided. One of the first major changes was to the structure of the student meal plans. Switching to unlimited dining hall visits either five or seven days per week for on-campus first-years gives students better value for their money. In the unlimited dining system, a student can visit a dining hall as many times as they wish per day. While there, they can enjoy all-you-care-to-eat dining. Upper-class students can either choose an unlimited plan or a meal pass plan that allows a limited number of meals on a block plan.

Changes to Dining Venues

Tech Dining will operate three all-you-care-to-eat dining halls and more than nine retail dining locations across campus. Both Brittain and North Avenue dining halls are featuring new concepts, and West Village has transitioned from a food court to an all-you-care-to-eat model. All three dining halls offer a convenience store, WreckStop or WreckStop Express, where patrons may use cash or credit instead of a meal card to purchase select grocery items, assorted beverages, and other convenience items.

Tech Dining has partnered with PJ’s Coffee in New Orleans to create a signature blend of coffee exclusively available at Georgia Tech. Called Burdell’s Brew, the rich, flavorful blend is named after Tech legend George P. Burdell. Both Brittian and North Avenue dining halls will offer the coffee, freshly ground, iced, cold brew, and brewed to order.

Brittian Dining Hall

Brittian Dining Hall boasts all-new food stations. With one swipe of their meal card, students have access to nine different serving areas. Home Network provides homestyle foods, such as meatloaf and chicken tenders. Diners can enjoy fresh greens with a plethora of vegetables and toppings at Engineered Salads. Those who crave waffles, scrambled eggs, or a pancake at four o'clock in the afternoon can find it at Sideways Diner which offers a full breakfast all day and traditional fare of burgers and fries. Students with a multi-cultural palate can find international food at Global Connection. Pi Zone, featuring a variety of pizzas, is a favorite of Bruhn. “Pizza is my favorite dish to cook,” he states. “It’s such a versatile food. You can really get creative with it.” Bruhn has brought his passion for pizza to life at Georgia Tech by using fresh dough, made in-house. For those focusing on eating healthfully, Wellness Innovation offers vegan and vegetarian entrees that go beyond a basic salad. The finishing touch is Hi Rez Pastries where pastry chef Allison Polaski bakes up a variety of cookies, pies, cakes, and other desserts.

North Avenue Dining Hall

Like Brittain Dining Hall, North Avenue Dining Hall has been equipped with all new serving stations. New York Pi offers New York-style pizza, flat & floppy, the kind you have to fold over to eat. Build your own sandwiches are created at Techwich. Vegetarian and vegan options can be found at Vega-Byte. Firewall Grill provides burgers, fries, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Flavors from around the world can be found at International Import, and Action Expo serves a rotation of stir fry, pasta, rice bowls, and more. Fresh Cuts salad bar displays a wide range of salad vegetables with just-picked freshness. HTML Eats homestyle food station proffers home cooking options such as chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, and greens. Finally, CADfections Bakery station allows diners to satisfy their sweet tooth with desserts including brownies, cookies, cupcakes, pies, and hand-scooped Mayfield ice cream.

West Village Eatery

West Village, which previously operated as a food court model, is now, like Brittan and North Avenue, an all-you-care-to-eat dining hall with brand new station concepts. Modeled after Ponce City Market, it has the modern feel of a converted industrial warehouse with concrete floors and raw wood. Guests can enjoy a variety of diverse menus, including Asian and Indian-style cuisine at Ginger and Spice, Mexican-inspired cookery at Tech Taqueria, or Italian food at The Leaning Tower of Tech. Those seeking more traditional fare can head to the White & Gold Grill. Mindful Bytes is the place for students in search of vegan, vegetarian, and healthy food. Ramblin’ Coffee and Sweets is a full-service coffee shop where baristas make drinks to order and serve an extensive number of freshly made pastries, scooped ice cream, and assorted desserts.

Retail Vendors

The changes coming this fall aren’t limited to the dining halls. Retail dining across campus will also be changing. The Dining Hub, located in the Exhibition Hall will house two vendors: Panda Express and Twisted Taco. Local Atlanta favorites Cluck N Mooh and Kaldi’s Coffee will also be welcomed to campus.

Kaldi’s will set up a full coffee shop in Clough this fall, replacing the current Starbucks. Kaldi’s co-owner Tyler Zimmer is excited about the partnership with Georgia Tech. “We are thrilled to bring our coffee and culture to Tech,” said Zimmer. Kaldi’s takes special care in sourcing coffee. The beans for the Georgia Tech location will come from Los Tablones in El Salvador.  The sustainable Los Tablones farm is operated by Georgia Tech grads, members of the Markwort family who have been farming coffee in El Salvador for over four generations. Kaldi’s has been buying coffee from their award-winning farm since 2015.

Cluck N Mooh, a restaurant known for its burgers, wings, and fries, with locations around Atlanta, is developing special menu items for their Georgia Tech location. “Partnering with Tech has allowed us the perfect opportunity to develop new vegan and vegetarian items such as made-from-scratch black bean and falafel burgers that will appeal to the students,” said Cluck N Mooh owner Rinku Patel.  

Rising Roll Gourmet Café is returning for a second year on campus. Owner Mike Lassiter is excited about serving students. “Based on our success despite the pandemic last year, we expect the Georgia Tech Rising Roll location to be a staple among students,” said Lassiter. “We are expanding our brand to new college campuses across the nation and Georgia Tech is being used as the model for those new locations.”

In the Sideways Café in the Price Gilbert Memorial Library, Blue Donkey is also back for a second year. In addition to the library location, a coffee cart will also be on campus, primarily at Tech Square and IC Lawn.

The Blue Donkey cart joins a fleet of food trucks that will be on campus five days a week.  In addition to favorites like Chick-fil-A and Gyro Chef Mediterranean, new vendors will be offering lunch on a rotating schedule.

A new concept in the Tech Tower, replacing Highland Bakery, is Whistle Bistro. The new restaurant offers both sit-down dining and takeout entrees and will serve Boar’s Head deli sandwiches, brew specialty coffee, and offer fresh baked goods. 

By paying careful attention to detail and responding to student feedback, the Tech Dining team has created an assortment of high-quality dining opportunities for Georgia Tech’s students and staff members. “Throughout each step of the creation of Tech Dining, we have focused on expanding quality, variety, and value for the Tech students,” said Greene. “We’ve pulled together an amazing team that has the talent and skill necessary to make Tech Dining one of the premier college dining operations in the nation.”

To learn more about Tech Dining, visit dining.gatech.edu.

Brittain is the first location to be opened by Georgia Tech's new in-house dining program. While the new department officially takes over all dining operations on July 1, Brittain opened June 14 to serve on-campus summer students, summer camps, and the Tech community.  

The stations and menus in Brittain have all been re-vamped by the newly assembled culinary team.  

“We’ve focused on improving the quality and variety we provide students,” said Scott Bruhn, Culinary Director. “We’re introducing new offerings such as the Hi Rez Pastries station, featuring baked goods made in-house by our pastry chef."

Additional culinary features of Brittain include Global Connection focusing on international cuisine and Engineered Salads, a full salad bar with multiple types of protein for vegans and vegetarians.  

Brittain is open to the campus community daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The door rate is $10.85 for all-you-care-to-eat dining. 

Visit dining.gatech.edu for more information about summer dining operations and meal plans. 

“There is no better way to welcome our newest students than through a wide variety of events that reflect the diversity of our incoming student body,” said Runyi Wang, Student Center Program Council’s Week of Welcome Committee Chair. “We hope that incoming students will be able to find their community at Georgia Tech. By working closely with our campus partners, we are excited to offer events that cater to students’ varying interests and needs to do exactly that.” 

The second annual Week of Welcome kicks off with first-year move-in on Saturday, August 14, and Sunday, August 15, with events and programming starting the night of August 15. Second-year, new transfer, and new graduate students are invited to move in on Wednesday, August 18, with remaining upper-class residents moving in August 20 – 21. 

From August 16 – 22, students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops, events, and outings to help get acclimated to life at Georgia Tech. New programming will be offered for second-years, new transfers, and new graduate students beginning Thursday, August 19. 

Afternoons and evenings will be filled with opportunities for students to engage with one another and get to know their community. RATS Night at the Library, FASET Social, RecFest at the Campus Recreation Center, student organization fairs, Greek Recruitment, Grad Expo and Convocation, are some of the many events planned for the week.  

“I loved the experience of presenting workshops in 2020 and can't wait to do it again this year,” said Bryan Gomez, Residence Hall Association President. “As upper-class students, we sometimes forget how much we know about this campus and how much we have to share with the incoming class. Week of Welcome is the perfect time to share the experiences you've gathered over your semesters here, calm a few nerves, and excite the next group of Yellow Jackets about all that there is to offer here at Tech!”  

Departments, colleges, campus offices, and student organizations are invited to host engaging and informative workshops to help share information with students. Programming will be featured on the event schedule in Guidebook. 

Dr. Chris Reaves, Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities & Student Innovation Programs held a workshop during Week of Welcome last year that was so well-attended it was offered multiple times throughout the week. 

“Week of Welcome was a great way to kick off the fall semester. We had 680 students attend the workshops we offered in the Office of Undergraduate Education. Though mostly virtual, the week was a wonderful way to welcome our students back to campus after being mostly away from Tech for five months.” 

To follow along as Week of Welcome planning evolves, visit welcomehome.gatech.edu. 

Plan Programming for Week of Welcome 

If your office, department, or organization would like to create events and workshops to welcome our incoming first-year, second-year, and transfer students, fill out the Week of Welcome Interest Form by July 6. Programming will be featured on the event schedule in Guidebook. 

For organizations that want to plan an event for incoming students during Week of Welcome but are unsure about how to proceed, email weekofwelcome@gatech.edu. 

Volunteer to Help with First-Year and Upper-Class Move-In

Housing and Residence Life invites campus partners and student organizations to sign up to help students and their families move into their residence hall communities for first-year move in August 14 and 15, second-year, new transfer, new graduate move-in on August 18, and upper-class move-in August 20-21. 

Students, faculty, and staff who are interested in volunteering can sign up through the Volunteer Interest Form. 

Student organization volunteers for move-in who will live on-campus this fall have an opportunity to move in early on August 13. Interested organizations should complete the Student Org Move-In Volunteer form by June 20. 

Families are invited to participate in a virtual information session Mon., April 19 at 10 a.m. via Bluejeans. Teachers and staff will be on hand to answer questions about enrollment, curriculum, nutrition, and safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Enrollment options for the Georgia Tech community will be shared as well as special registration fee waivers, discounts, and referral credits. Participants will be entered in a drawing for an activities basket. 

Operated by Bright Horizons Family Solutions, the R. Kirk Landon Learning Center is currently open for enrollment. The Children’s Campus @ Georgia Tech is accepting applications for Fall 2021 enrollment. Both centers provide care to infants as young as six weeks up to pre-K. Summer camps are available for children ages five to eight.  

The learning centers are operated based on curriculum philosophies designed to provide an environment that “captures the joys of childhood,” nurture development, and prepares students for school and life. Students are taught using the World at Their Fingertips curriculum, which focuses on science, technology, engineering, art, and math and is aligned with Georgia Tech’s learning initiatives.

Special activities like virtual field trips and STEM fairs offer an interactive and fun learning environment. With small classroom ratios, teachers can interact with students to help them get the most out of their learning experience. The centers are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and are Quality Rated (level two) by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.

To keep students safe, the centers have implemented enhanced Covid-19 protocols based on CDC guidelines to put the health of students, families, teachers, and staff first. Daily health screens and temperature checks are required, class sizes have been reduced, cleaning practices have been enhanced, and masks are required for all staff among other practices. Additionally, Georgia Tech has partnered with the centers to offer vaccines for all Bright Horizons teachers and staff.

Providing nutritious meals and snacks is paramount. Food is prepared on-site by chef Amber Gilbert, trained at Le Cordon Bleu, who works with families to meet their children’s individual dietary needs, religious restrictions, and preferences. The centers are nut-safe environments with allergy and food intolerance policies in place.  

Keeping the lines of communication open is a priority for the centers. Daily email communication from teachers and staff keep families informed of their child’s progress and center activities. The My Bright Day mobile app notifies families about meals, naps, diapering, and other updates.

The centers meet the needs of the entire family, offering festivals, art shows, and the Parent Partnership Committee to share information with other families and assist with events and special projects.

Interested families are invited to schedule virtual tours by calling 404-249-1500 or sending an email to georgiatech@brighthorizons.com. Join one of four live sessions to interact with teachers and staff. Learn more about Tech’s child care options here.

Georgia Tech Childcare Information Sessions

Monday, April 19, 10 a.m., Bluejeans

Monday, May 24, 10 a.m., Bluejeans

Tuesday, June 15, 10 a.m., Bluejeans

Tuesday, July 20, 10 a.m., Bluejeans

“This last year presented numerous challenges, but I am so proud of our residential community for the way we found creative ways to navigate and grow together as a community,” said Jenny Cotton, senior director of Housing and Residence Life. “Our residents and staff found ways to spend time together safely, to encourage one another to get tested weekly, and to support each other despite any distance. ”

That sense of community is one of the primary reasons residents of campus housing see greater success in the classroom and beyond — a fact made more apparent in a time of distanced activities and limited social contact — and why Cotton hopes even more students apply in the coming year.

While applications for the 2021-22 academic year are open, Housing and Residence Life’s website and social media are focused on information for students about the application process and timeline, as well as more on why they should choose to live with the swarm next fall. In addition to the support and sense of belonging that residents get from living with their peers, benefits of living in the residence halls include:

• Proximity to campus and city life
• Leadership opportunities
• Furnished room
• Free laundry
• Supportive student and professional staff

Applications for current students to live on campus for the 2021-22 academic year are open until Feb. 28 at housing.gatech.edu. Students who complete their housing application and sign the 2021-22 contract by the deadline will be able to participate in roommate search and self-assign later in the semester. Students can still submit their application after that date, but will not have the same roommate and self-assign opportunities. Applications are open to all current students, even if they are not currently living in campus housing.

To learn more about the perks of living on campus next year, and how to apply, visit housing.gatech.edu or watch the recording of our Fall Housing Information Session here.

Willie Mae Brooks
Willie Mae Brooks served Georgia Tech for 34 years in Housing and Residence Life as an administrative professional III. Antonio Stith, assistant director of Custodial Services said, “The best way to describe Willie Mae Brooks is no nonsense, straight to the point, but the most genuine person I’ve ever worked with.”

Michael Edwards
As the Campus Recreation Center’s senior director, Michael Edwards curated a campus culture of healthy living for 28 years. By demonstrating the effects that a healthy lifestyle has on students with high GPAs, Edwards is responsible for developing a $12 million endowment that revamped the CRC without increasing student fees. President emeritus Bud Peterson believed that Edwards’ impact shaped students’ views on health and well-being by providing easy access to fitness classes and state-of-the-art facilities, outdoor experiences and leadership training through their student staff program.  “Under his direction and leadership, the CRC continues to be one of the finest facilities of its kind in the country and one that has played a meaningful role in the life of our campus.” Learn more about Edwards’ historical contributions to CRC here.

Gwendolyn Greenlee
With 26 years of service, Gwendolyn Greenlee retires as an administrative professional II in Housing and Residence Life.  Jennell Tompkins said Greenlee was the first person to embrace her when she began working as a community supervisor. “We shared many lunches and celebrations together and sometimes served as a mentor to each other,” Tompkins said. “She was professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and very supportive.”

Gerard Hauck
Gerard “Jerry” Hauck has served for 23 years as Housing and Residence Life’s lock/access foreperson. Tammy Wright, assistant to the executive housing office, said, “Jerry takes his job to heart and always puts the safety of Georgia Tech students’ first.”  Not only is Hauck regarded as an honest and respectable team member, but he is also an artist whose photos have been featured in the Office of the Arts staff art exhibit.

Pamela Patmon
Care and quality are hallmarks of Pamela Patmon’s service as custodian II in Housing and Residence Life. For 10 years, Patmon has served Tech’s students with diligence and reliability. “She is always willing to work the long tireless hours needed between semesters to make sure the rooms in her buildings were ready for move-in,” said Tammy Wright. “She is a dependable and hard-working employee who is always willing to assist in any way she can.”

Dr. Frank Pickens
With 38 years of service as a primary care physician at Stamps Health Services, Dr. Frank Pickens has served as co-chair of Stamps’ Covid-19 Recovery Task Force, chair of its Infection Prevention and Control Committee, and as Tech baseball’s team physician. Stamps Health Services senior director Dr. Benjamin Holton said, “Dr. Pickens has always been a strong advocate for students and their interests related to medical care. He has dedicated his career to the health and well-being of the students of Georgia Tech.”

Carol Pulliam
Georgia Tech Cable Network’s Manager Carol Pulliam was responsible for bringing HDTV to campus. Pulliam served 15 years as GTCN’s manager and cultivated a team atmosphere with her staff. Scott Sergent who serves as GTCN’s video producer/director said, “Carol put us in a position to succeed. We were able to accomplish great things that will never be forgotten on campus because she told us we could.”

Janine Vienna
In just five short years at Tech, Dr. Janine Vienna implemented a comprehensive strategic assessment plan across the Campus Services units. As director of unit planning and assessment, Vienna created interactive dashboards for the Campus Services’ satisfaction survey, developed and taught Qualtrics training courses, and was the co-creator of Campus Services’ Mid-Level Managers Leadership Development Program (ML2DP).

ML2DP co-creator and CRC associate director Caroline Dotts said, “Janine brought her expertise and passion for developing others to the table, and, together, we delivered a top-notch leadership development program to 17 managers in the Campus Services portfolio.”

Campus Services thanks each of the retirees for their invaluable service and extraordinary contributions to Georgia Tech. “As we say goodbye to our retirees and reflect on their amazing careers, we can only celebrate the remarkable impact they’ve made on Tech’s students and our division,” said associate vice president for Campus Services Kasey Helton. “We are grateful for their dedication and wish them the best in the next phases of their lives.”

Click here to learn more about Campus Services’ retirees.

In the last decade alone, ORGT has engaged 14,000 students on 1,400 regional adventures and filled 1,200 spaces on 116 student-led expeditions to 22 countries. ORGT expeditions have even taken students to each of the seven continents.  

In 1970, Jay Wickson, Student Center recreation coordinator and an outdoor enthusiast, purchased a small amount of outdoor gear and provided a closet in which to store it. Shortly thereafter, Wickson left Georgia Tech and responsibility for that closet full of gear and for outdoor activities was transferred to Miller Templeton, assistant dean of students.

In the early days, there was little to suggest that the cache of gear in the Student Center would be the start of something big. Since then, however, ORGT has become one of the premier campus outdoor programs in the nation. Despite lacking a name, the fledgling organization grew and steadily attracted more and more committed students, many of whom happily signed on as long-term volunteers and enthusiastically trained as trip leaders.

Unaware of copyright law and the existing program in the United Kingdom called “Outward Bound,” students adopted the name Outward Bound Georgia Tech (OBGT). Soon after labeling their equipment with the new acronym, OBGT, the organization received a “cease and desist” letter from Outward Bound International, demanding they stop using the name. The students had to come up with another name and unfortunately, every piece of equipment had been labeled OBGT. Being adept at problem-solving, they grabbed steel wool scouring pads, scrubbed off the bottom of the letter “B” which left an “R” where the “B” had been. OBGT became ORGT and Outward Bound Georgia Tech became Outdoor Recreation Georgia Tech.

From that point forward, ORGT continued to thrive as a student favorite for weekend trips and weekly kayaking roll schools, first in the Student Activities Center pool, and later in the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) pool.

Under Templeton’s direction, ORGT adopted what they called the “SST” model. It established the three priorities of Safety, Structure, and Training as foundations for the organization. Volunteer leaders embraced these pillars and continued to build the organization, engage more students, and to push boundaries in the field. The SST model made a splash with campus programs when presented at several national conferences in subsequent years. 

In the late 1970s, as ORGT grew quickly, only Georgia Tech staff could drive Institute vehicles. In order to serve more students, volunteer trip leaders needed to be able to drive Institute vehicles. Students worked with Templeton to submit a formal proposal to the state-level risk manager, which was not only rejected but also accompanied by an order to stop “inherently dangerous” outdoor activities. ORGT offerings ground to a halt.  

The ORGT students took their case to Tech President Joseph Pettit who sided with them, laying out the case for why outdoor recreation was vital for students. Not only were students granted permission to drive Institute vehicles, but the University System of Georgia's Board of Regents, impressed with the scope and impact of the outdoor program at Georgia Tech, encouraged the expansion of activities like those offered through ORGT.  

Through the years, it became clear that being an ORGT volunteer was a powerful complement to a Georgia Tech education. Getting off campus and immersing in the out of doors had health benefits for participants, too. The language of the organization changed from solely being about outdoor activities to being about building leadership-related skills like coaching, teaching, managing risk, leading effectively, planning and preparation, and problem-solving.   

ORGT Today

ORGT has grown through the years and continues to offer formative experiences for Tech students. Even during a global pandemic, ORGT volunteers are busy training to lead their next adventures in adventure sports — caving, climbing, cascading, backpacking, sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, bike-packing, and mountain biking. ORGT recently added a ninth sport, Mindfulness Outdoors, which engages students in the outdoors in a unique and restorative manner. ORGT has fully embraced its role in well-being, healthy lifestyles, and promoting positive mental health on campus. 

Fifty years after its founding, ORGT continues to profoundly impact students. While travels in the last decade have taken students around the globe, and outdoor recreation experiences impacted 5,000 individuals in the year before Covid-19, ORGT’s success is the product of 50 years’ worth of effort and generosity by thousands of student volunteers and alumni who have invested significantly in creating healthy opportunities for other Tech students.

These excursions – paddling, hiking, climbing, caving -- add value to the Tech experiences of so many.  

ORGT currently rents camping gear, is leading self-directed day and overnight adventures, operate the CRC climbing wall, and the GT Leadership Challenge Course, and offers a variety of specialty adventures. Visit crc.gatech.edu to learn more.

Special Recognition

This month, Campus Recreation recognizes generations of ORGT volunteers for inspiring others, for working tirelessly to plan and manage trips, and for making campus life at Tech just a little richer. Current ORGT volunteers and participants stand on the achievements and contributions of the earliest student volunteers.

Miller Templeton can name a thousand “giants” from the early days: Bobby Gaar (ME c.1972), David Flanagan (IE c.1976), Bruce Cox (Architecture c.1972), and Clint Thompson (ME c.76). 

David Knobbe, current assistant director of Outdoor Recreation at the CRC, recognizes John Traendly (ME ’68), Ahsan Khan (AE ‘14), Austin Ward (ECE ’13), Sid Agarwal (AE ’13), Erin Hayward (Ph.D. NE ‘12), Rob Hayward (Ph.D. NE ‘12), Rebecca Morrissey (Bio ‘18), Shawn Gregory (Ph.D. MS In progress), and Mark Jones (EE Ph.D. ’94). Thousands more have contributed to ORGT over the last fifty years in both big and small ways. 

John Traendly (ME ’68) still consistently out-paddles students a quarter of his age – every single one of them! Since 2012, he has led more than 100 sea kayaking and stand up paddleboarding day trips, overnights, and expeditions with ORGT. Not only is John likely the most prolific ORGT trip leader of all time, but we’re still waiting for the student who can match his prowess. 

David Flanagan (IE ’76) was one of the original ORGT students and established an endowment early in the 2000’s supporting ORGT’s pursuit of “the extraordinary.” Since then, every individual who has participated in an ORGT-led expedition to places like Alaska, Montana, Iceland, Corsica, Croatia, Nepal, Ecuador, and one-hundred other locations, in part owes part of their experience to David Flanagan. Thanks to David’s investment and vision, over 1,200 students have caught glimpses of other ways of living both domestically and abroad that chip away at narrow-mindedness and build better leaders.

Clint Thompson (ME’76) continues to support culture-building efforts. Not only does he make quarterly awards dinners possible for current “ORGTeers,” but he attends and sometimes tells stories at these important events.

Michael Edwards, current senior director of the CRC, has been an important advocate for and supporter of ORGT. As early as 1994, when part of Capital Planning and Space Management at Tech, Edwards worked with students to build ORGT’s first climbing wall in the O’Keefe Gym. In 2010, he spurred an explosive expansion when he asked full-time ORGT staff David Knobbe and Matt Marcus two questions — “If what you do is so important to health and well-being, why don’t we do more of it?” and “What’s stopping us from leading expeditions on all seven continents in the next seven years?” By 2018, ORGT was able to claim to have visited all seven continents in seven years and to have led over 100 one to two-week expeditions. In 2019 alone, ORGT had 243 active volunteers and over 180 day and weekend trips engaging almost 2,000 students.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the creation, sustainability, and future of ORGT. Here's to fifty more years.

One Student Center, Many Locations

Construction of the new Student Center is underway. The new Exhibition Hall is open and features Panda Express, Graze salad bar, Kaplan Test prep, and the Post Office. Many of its previous offices and services have new homes in temporary spaces. Click here to locate restaurants, the Student Engagement Office, Burdell’s bookstore, and other services.

High-Density Mail

The Student Center’s traditional mailboxes have been replaced with an efficient high-density mail system in the Exhibition Hall. Students will receive email notifications when they have mail and can access it using their BuzzCards.

New Eats at Food Trucks and Exhibition Hall

New dining options are featured in the Student Center Exhibition Hall, including Rising Roll, Panda Express, Yahala! Mediterranean Kitchen, and Grab & Go. The Homestyle line features new menu options each day. Meal swipes are accepted for lunch and dinner. Also, a variety of food trucks are available across campus (BuzzCard Funds, Dining Dollars, and credit/debit accepted).

Tech Trolley’s Last Ride

This summer, PTS said farewell to the iconic Tech Trolley. Due to social distancing guidelines on campus transit, the Trolley was replaced with Stinger buses, which can hold more passengers than the Trolley while maintaining a safe distance. Now called the Gold Route, the former Trolley route continues to provide service from the main campus to Tech Square and MARTA.

Get Fit Virtually

Over the summer, the CRC developed a virtual fitness program to support the Georgia Tech community. Work out remotely with CRC’s virtual fitness program. Log on to view the Workout of the Day or specialty workouts like yoga, boot camp, strength training, and kickboxing. The program also includes fitness advice, weight alternatives, and tips for staying healthy.

Improved Housing Maintenance Request System

Housing and Residence Life implemented a new system for submitting maintenance requests. Students can link their requests to their individual rooms or shared spaces and submit photos. They can monitor project progress, receive status notifications, and reopen requests that need additional attention.

Recycling on the Go

Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) installed new recycling bins in several of its parking decks. As part of the department's ongoing sustainability efforts, customers can now recycle plastic in each location. Recycling bins will be installed in all 14 decks in the coming months.

Residence Halls Face Lift

More than 850 rooms in seven campus residence halls were given a makeover just in time for fall. Updates included fresh paint, flooring upgrades, LED lighting, and themed interior design. New sprinkler systems were installed in Field, Hanson, Hopkins, and Perry/Matheson. Several residence halls are scheduled for upgrades later this year.

Burdell’s Moves to Pavilion

Online textbook orders can be picked up for free at both Burdell’s in the Student Center Pavilion and Barnes & Noble @ Tech Square during the first two weeks of classes. Textbooks, supplies, computers, and other course materials can be paid via Bursar’s accounts.

Short-term Parking

To accommodate the needs of students and employees who take virtual classes or telework, PTS offers several convenient short-term parking solutions. Pay per use or on a weekly or monthly basis in most campus lots or decks. Most parking permits are now virtual and do not require a physical hangtag. To purchase a permit or update license plate information, access The Driver’s Seat using your Georgia Tech login.

Mobile Ordering and Reservations

Order food or make reservations in campus dining halls with the Georgia Tech Mobile Ordering app. The app allows users to pre-pay using BuzzFunds, meal plans, or credit cards. Customize orders, track delivery, get ready notifications, earn rewards, and rate your experience all on the go. Download Transact Mobile Ordering from the Apple Store or Google Play Store and choose Georgia Tech Mobile Ordering.

This year’s clinics will have a greater capacity than in years past. Last year, each clinic, held at Stamps Health Services, administered 200-300 shots daily; this year they are aiming for as many as 1,200 shots per day.

Students who want to get a flu shot do not need to make an appointment beforehand and can simply walk up to McCamish during the clinic’s hours of operation. Temperature and symptom checks will be administered at the door. In accordance with the University System of Georgia’s (USG) guidelines, masks will be required inside McCamish.

Flu shots are also available to faculty and staff and will be free for those enrolled in a USG healthcare plan. Employees are required to pre-register at health.gatech.edu/flu, and those enrolled in a Kaiser plan will only be able to receive shots on Sept. 22. Shots administered to faculty and staff members will be capped at 150 per day.

“While it is always important to get a flu shot, this year is particularly important,” said Dr. Benjamin Holton, senior director at Stamps Health Services. “The symptoms of flu and the symptoms of Covid-19 are very similar, and the two illnesses cannot be distinguished based on clinical criteria alone.”

This similarity in symptoms could cause a strain on Tech’s medical resources, including testing, isolation capacity, and overall medical care. Holton noted that those who have both the flu and Covid-19 tend to be sicker than those who have one or the other.

“A flu outbreak increases the risk that students and staff will attribute symptoms of illness to the flu instead of Covid-19 and choose to attend class or go to work with symptoms, increasing risk of exposure of others to Covid-19 and increasing its spread,” Holton said.
Learn more about flu symptoms and how to get your flu shot here.

More clinic dates will be scheduled later in the semester. For those who can’t attend or wish to make an appointment, call Stamps Health Services Pharmacy at  404.894.1430, extension 5. For those insured through a USG plan, flu shots will be free of charge. For those not insured by a USG plan, additional charges may apply.

Specifics for employees:

If you are insured with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield:

• Flu shots are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion on Sept. 21 and 22.
• Flu shots will be limited to 150 per day.
• Faculty and staff must pre-register. Sign up for Sept. 21 here, and for Sept. 22 here. Click here to sign up if you are insured with Anthem.

If you are insured with Kaiser Permanente:

• Flu shots are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion on Sept. 22 only.
• Faculty and staff must pre-register. Click here to sign up if you are insured with Kaiser.

Administered by United Healthcare Student Resources (UHCSR), SHIP includes comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription and worldwide travel benefits for 2020-2021.

Students and dependents currently enrolled for Spring/Summer 2020 coverage must enroll for Fall coverage, which is valid August 1 through December 31, 2020. Eligible dependents include domestic partners and eligible dependents (children, stepchildren, foster children, and legally adopted children up to 26 years old).

There are two student classifications:

• Mandatory –Students in the mandatory group are required to carry health insurance coverage during their program of study. To determine classification, visit www.studentcenter.uhcsr.com/gatech. Mandatory students must enroll themselves and their eligible dependents twice a policy year (both fall and spring/summer). Spring/Summer 2020 coverage period ends on July 31, 2020.  Students must enroll during the Fall 2020 open enrollment period (7/20/20 - 9/14/20).   Students who are charged for mandatory student health insurance who have existing health insurance coverage that meets/exceeds insurance requirements can receive a waiver. A new requirement for Fall 2020 calls for international students to enroll in the Mandatory SHIP or waive insurance with an ACA-compliant plan. Waivers using PGH or non-compliant ACA plans are no longer allowed as in previous years. 
• Voluntary - Students taking at least four credit hours (including Postdoctoral Scholars, J1 Scholars, and OPT) may also enroll during the Fall 2020 open enrollment period (7/20/20 - 9/14/20).  Go to uhcsr.com/GaTech to begin the enrollment process.  Students do not need to enroll for Fall 2020 if they have purchased 2020-2021 annual coverage.

After September 14, 2020, enrollment will be unavailable until Spring/Summer 2021 enrollment opens. Coverage does not roll over each semester/year.

For more information and insurance rates, visit http://health.gatech.edu/finance/insurance or contact Jennifer White, jennifer.white@health.gatech.edu.

August 8 through 16 was to be the first to see students move in a week earlier than in years previous, allowing students to build greater familiarity with the campus and a stronger sense of community with a full week of programming and events before classes begin. Now those extra days are proving critical for spacing out the move-in process and adapting other traditionally high-volume activities to maintain social distance.

Following move-in on August 8 and 9, the week will include virtual and in-person workshops and events from FASET, Campus Services, Student Engagement, and other campus partners to introduce students to resources and traditions while building community.

Despite the absence of large scale and in-person events like the involvement fairs and spirit festivals typically associated with weeks of welcome, the team of departments has still found ways for students to get to know their hallmates, the campus, and the resources available to them.

“Given the new campus partner collaboration for programming, Week of Welcome was already going to be a big shift from previous move-in experiences,” said new Housing Executive Director Jenny Cotton. “The need to adjust our plans for safety is even more possible within this new model. Our partners are working to find creative ways to still provide as rich and robust of an experience as these distanced times allow.”

Many in-person programs will be self-guided or in small groups that will allow students the flexibility to go at their own pace, while other elements will be virtual to limit contact. Plans for large events that can be done at a social distance, such as an outdoor movie screening, are being carefully worked out. In recognition of the still-evolving state of campus operations during the pandemic, organizers note that many aspects of the week are still subject to change in the interest of the safety of the campus community.

“We’ve learned through our on-campus resident surveys that some students are craving more connection and community building and need more time to engage with resources to support their time at Georgia Tech,” said Associate Vice President for Campus Services Kasey Helton. “With an opportunity to interact with all of our on-campus services both in person and virtually, participate in job and student organization fairs, learn campus traditions, and interact with their peers and support systems all before classes begin, we believe first-years will have a stronger foundation to set themselves up for academic success.”

Learn more about Week of Welcome at welcomehome.gatech.edu.

Get Involved with Week of Welcome

If you are interested in offering a virtual or in-person open-house, information session, or event during the Week of Welcome, or are interested in volunteering for first-year move-in August 8 and 9, please fill out this form or email weekofwelcome@gatech.edu.

Move-in Focus on Safety

Week of Welcome begins with first-year move-in on August 8 and 9. Details on the process are being finalized now to maximize safety when the expected 3,000 residents arrive on campus.

• Students will have an assigned move-in time and appointments for move-in will be widely spaced out to allow Housing to limit the number of people in one space at any given time.
• There will also be a drive-through check-in process that will minimize contact and touchpoints.
• Sanitizing stations and enhanced surface area cleaning will also be incorporated into this year’s move-in process.
• Volunteers will be present to assist and will be wearing masks.

Students who are planning to move in can find details at housing.gatech.edu.

“Students, faculty, and staff often depend on the CRC and its programming to support their well-being,” said Caroline Dotts, associate director of Healthy Lifestyle Programs for Campus Recreation. “Wellness and self-care have been incredibly important to focus on during the Covid-19 pandemic and we wanted to make sure we can still offer similar programming, even though we are closed.”

Content is uploaded regularly and includes workouts of the day, on-demand fitness classes from boot camp to yoga, as well as other online resources for the Tech community to check out. The workouts of the day, also available on Instagram at @crcatgeorgiatech, offer participants quick, 20 minutes-or-less challenges that get the heart pumping with minimal to no equipment. There is even a virtual leaderboard where participants can submit their scores or times and see how they stack up to fellow Yellow Jackets. 

“We have found that these challenges and a little competition have helped students maintain some connection to campus and their peers,” Dotts said.

On-demand fitness classes have been added to the CRC resource library, offering 20- to 60-minute classes from some of CRC's favorite instructors. Participants can take a yoga class with Will, a HIIT class with Becky, Muay Thai Kickboxing with Troy, and Zumba with Dana. Saidah, one of the CRC's Level 3 Personal Trainers and fitness instructors, also shares fitness tips. 

Visit crc.gatech.edu/virtual-fitness to get started. Check back regularly for new classes and content or let us know what you would like to see next from the CRC. Follow the CRC on Instagram and Facebook.

The survey takes approximately 10 minutes. It should work on most mobile devices but may be easier to navigate on a larger screen. Instructions on how to use the survey are posted on the welcome screen.

Information gathered from the survey will also be used to inform a 10-year strategic plan for the Tech Square district, being developed by Capital Planning and Space Management.

The survey will close at midnight on Monday, Jan. 20. Click here to participate.

In August, Georgia Tech announced that Tech Square Phase III would include Scheller Tower, a new building for the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business. Last spring, Georgia Tech received approval from the Board of Regents, the state legislature, and Gov. Brian Kemp to provide state funding for the architectural design of Tech Square Phase III. Pending full project funding and approval by the Board of Regents and the governor, construction could begin as early as the summer of 2020 and could conclude by the end of 2022.

Tech Square Phase III will be located on the northwest corner of West Peachtree and Fifth Streets and will include an additional tower for the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, as well as for other programming.

To help these employees, volunteers with the “Heroes Helping Heroes” Face Covering Initiative are fabricating cloth face coverings and do-it-yourself (DIY) sewing kits to be donated to any interested on-campus staff member by request. The first batch of face coverings and DIY sewing kits were delivered for distribution on April 14.

“I am continually inspired by the Georgia Tech family’s ability to create and innovate, as well as our deep appreciation for each other,” said JulieAnne Williamson, assistant vice president for Administration and Finance. “A team of leaders, sewers, and experts came together from across the Institute and got this initiative ready in just four days. From those who make the face coverings to those who need them as they work on campus, Georgia Tech’s caring spirit shines through.”

While the cloth face coverings are neither surgical masks nor substitutes for medical-grade personal protective equipment, they can still be helpful in reducing the diffusion of respiratory droplets in situations where social distancing cannot be maintained in the optimal manner. For more information about the effectiveness of cloth face coverings, consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s cloth face covering guidelines and frequently asked questions.

If you are interested in supporting Heroes Helping Heroes, fill out the Volunteer Survey. Volunteers may donate their finished products at a no-touch drop-off location at Georgia Tech’s Environmental Health and Safety department.

If you’re an on-campus employee and would like a cloth face covering, please visit Heroes Helping Heroes for instructions on how to request one.

For more information about creating, donating, requesting, wearing, or cleaning cloth face coverings, visit Heroes Helping Heroes.

If you have questions about Heroes Helping Heroes, contact JulieAnne Williamson at julieanne@gatech.edu.

Read more about how Georgia Tech is joining the battle against COVID-19 with our expertise, innovation, and indomitable spirit: https://c.gatech.edu/COVID19Help

Following the live sessions, the town halls will be posted for online viewing. Questions may be submitted in advance at townhall@gatech.edu. They may also be submitted during the events.

Two employee town halls will take place April 15. Both will feature President Cabrera; Rafael L. Bras, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs; Chaouki Abdallah, executive vice president for Research; Kelly Fox, executive vice president for Administration and Finance; and Kim Harrington, associate vice president and Chief Human Resources Officer.

John Stein, vice president for Student Life and the Brandt-Fritz Dean of Students Chair, will join President Cabrera for town halls with current students and their families on April 16 from 2 to 3 p.m. and again from 8 to 9 p.m.

A town hall for teaching and research faculty, along with GTRI, will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 17. Hosting with President Cabrera will be Bras and Abdallah. A town hall for students accepted to Georgia Tech and their families will be held Thursday, April 23 at 5 p.m. Hosts will be Rick Clark, director of Undergraduate Admission, and President Cabrera.

Dates and times:

All Georgia Tech Employees

• April 15 at 9:30 a.m. — c.gatech.edu/staff1
• April 15 at 3:30 p.m. — c.gatech.edu/staff2

Current Georgia Tech Students and Families

• April 16 at 2 p.m. — c.gatech.edu/students1
• April 16 at 8 p.m. — c.gatech.edu/students2

Georgia Tech Faculty and GTRI

• April 17 at 11 a.m. — c.gatech.edu/faculty-gtri

Accepted Students and Families

• April 23 at 5 p.m. — c.gatech.edu/accepted-students

To better support a reduced student, faculty, and staff population on campus and follow the recommended social distancing guidelines, here is what you need to know about Campus Services changes.

Dining

This week, Dining Services will provide meal delivery services for both residential and non-residential students at two on-campus locations in accordance with social distancing recommendations.

Students can order lunch and dinner meals here, and food will be delivered to Brittain Dining Hall and Woodruff Hall South from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.

This service is in addition to the remaining dining locations that are open for meals. Hours are available here.
 

Postal Services

The Georgia Tech Post Office continues to operate. The postal services team has enhanced its daily cleaning of both the Post Office and 711 Mail Processing Center in accordance with CDC guidelines and has provided personal protection equipment for staff at both locations.

Post Office, Student Center 1^st Floor:
Monday – Friday
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. (retail window)
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (package window)

711 Mail Processing Center (711 Marietta St)
Monday – Friday
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

• Residents with mailboxes need to clean out their mailbox and pick up any packages remaining at the Post Office to assist with the Student Center’s impending closure for renovation.
• Residents are asked to forward their mail (using this link for those living in the residence halls, and this link for those living in Greek housing — please do not attempt to forward through USPS), and to have any critical packages such as perishables and medications redirected to their current place of residence.
• Faculty and staff are asked to call 404-385-4174 and arrange for pickup of their packages at the Mail Processing Center as soon as possible. To ensure the health of our team, mail and packages will be delivered curbside.

For questions about package pickup, mail forwarding, or for alternate arrangements, email postofficeask@po.gatech.edu or visit postoffice.gatech.edu. 
 

Parking and Transportation

Parking permit registration has been rescheduled to accommodate the on-campus changes to our services.

• Permit Renewals: June 1 – 10, 2020
• Wait List Awards: June 12 – 17, 2020
• General Permit Sales: June 19 – July 10, 2020

Visit pts.gatech.edu for more information.

MARTA Transit pass
Monthly MARTA pass sales for April 2020 will be offered online at driverseat.gatech.edu instead of in the Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) office. Online sales will be available Wednesday, March 25, through Tuesday, March 31. Customers will receive an email confirmation with a date and time to pick up passes from the PTS office.

Until further notice, monthly MARTA passes will not be available for purchase from the PTS office.  Customers who want to purchase passes for May and beyond should work directly with the transit provider. Customers who purchase monthly MARTA passes via payroll deduction will receive a pass for April as these have been already processed by Human Resources.

Learn how to purchase MARTA passes online or cancel payroll deduction here. Questions about MARTA passes may be directed to commute@gatech.edu.

Campus Transit
Beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2020, Stingerette will operate on a modified schedule from 6 p.m. until midnight seven nights a week. Reserve rides at stingerette.com or via the Stingerette mobile app.

Additional transit services are in place to help students who are on campus:

• Grocery Shuttle — provides trips to Publix at Atlantic Station Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. View route information here. Track the Grocery Shuttle at bus.gatech.edu or with the Passio GO! mobile app.
• Airport Shuttle — offers direct transportation to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (South Domestic Terminal only) through Tuesday, March 31, 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. View route information here. Track the “Airport” shuttle at bus.gatech.edu or with the Passio GO! mobile app (no time predictions will be available).
• MARTA/Airport Access via Campus Transit — Airport access is also available via MARTA. Students may use the Tech Trolley to access the Midtown Station or the Tech Square Route to access the North Avenue Station. Use the Red or Gold rail lines heading south to travel to airport.

All other transit services will operate on a reduced schedule, which can be viewed here.

Operations
The PTS office will be closed starting Wednesday, March 25, 2020. The PTS Customer Service team will be available to assist customers via email at info.parking@parking.gatech.edu during normal business hours (7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday). Parking account management is available at driverseat.gatech.edu.
 

Bookstore

Barnes & Noble @ Georgia Tech will close until further notice. Here is what you need to know about the bookstore’s various services:

• Online orders: We will continue to fulfill online orders within a 24-48-hour period. We will offer store pickup via appointment only from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. We will notify you to schedule an appointment. Orders to be shipped will not be affected, and will continue to be sent via ground shipping.
• Regalia orders: We will accept returns on unopened master's and bachelor's regalia until April 30, 2020, with a receipt or order number. All online orders for bachelor's and master's regalia will be processed unless you notify us to cancel. Reply to your order confirmation to request cancellation. Please ship your unopened regalia back to us via trackable means and notify us via email by replying to your order confirmation. We will not provide shipping labels for a return.
• Ph.D. regalia orders: All Ph.D. rental orders will be canceled. Ph.D. custom regalia purchases will be fulfilled and are not returnable.
• Textbook rental returns: You can print a prepaid label to return your textbook rentals to us by April 30, 2020. See our Textbook rental FAQs page for details.
• Faculty textbook orders: Faculty should continue to place their book orders for Summer and Fall via facultyenlight.com.
• Mac service and repair: We will continue to offer repairs for Mac and iPad via appointment. Please send an email to techstore@gatech.edu to schedule an appointment.
• Starbucks: Our Starbucks cafe is now closed to the public as well.
• Free online textbook access for students: In partnership with VitalSource, Barnes & Noble Education will offer access to free eTextbooks for the remainder of the Spring 2020 term. Visit VitalSource at their help page to get started.
• Free online academic support: Through June 15, students will have access to 10 free, step-by-step solutions and tutoring, per month, from bartleby learn, as well as free premium access to a 24/7 virtual writing center through bartleby write. Visit bartleby.com to get started.
   Please contact us at sm225@bncollege.com for all other questions or concerns.

For more information, visit our customer service page.
 

Campus Recreation Center (CRC)

The CRC has closed all recreational facilities and programming until guidance is given for it to reopen. Many of our students, faculty, and staff depend on the CRC to support their well-being. During this closure, there are several on-campus and virtual resources to take advantage of. From outdoor options like the Tyler Brown Pi Mile and Roe Stamps Recreation Field and Track to workout facilities in the residence halls, there are plenty of ways for students to stay active on campus.

The CRC has launched eIntramurals for students to stay connected to other Tech students in their Intramurals. Registration is now open and closes Friday, March 27, at noon. Sign up here.

A full list of resources is available here.  
 

Student Center

The Student Center is open with limited operations to allow access to the Post Office and dining options inside the building. The Student Center administrative office and information desk are currently closed. A valid BuzzCard is required to access the building before 11 a.m. or after 1 p.m. West Village remains closed until further notice.

If you have art pieces in Paper & Clay, you can visit Tuesday, March 24, and Thursday, March 26, from 3  to 6 p.m. to pick them up. Due to our limited operations and efforts to maintain appropriate social distance, you will only be able to collect your things; you will not be able to work on incomplete projects or start a new one.

If you are not able to pick up your pieces during this time, you will have another opportunity at the end of the semester. Details on additional dates and options will be announced in the future. If you have any questions, email gtpaperandclay@gatech.edu.

Stamps Health Services

Mon. March 16 – Wed. March 18 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thurs. March 19 | 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Fri. March 20 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Georgia Tech Dining

Meal swipes can only be used as Ferst Place in the Student Center.

Full hours are available here.

Georgia Tech Bookstore

Sun. March 15 | CLOSED
Mon. March 16 – Fri. March 20 | 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sat. March 21: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Starbucks Tech Square

Sun. March 15 | 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Mon. March 16 – Fri. March 20 | 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sat. March 21 | 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

BuzzCard Center

Sat. March 14 – Sun. March 15 | CLOSED
Mon. March 16 – Wed. March 18 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thurs. March 19 | 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Fri. March 20 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. March 21 – Sun. March 22 | CLOSED

Burdell’s

Mon. March 16 – Thurs. March 19 | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Fri. March 20 | CLOSED

Campus Recreation Center

Sat. March 14 | 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sun. March 15 | 12 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Mon. March 16 – Fri. March 20 | 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sat. March 21 | 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sun. March 22 | 12 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Student Center Building                              

Fri. March 13 | 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sat. March 14 | 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sun. March 15 | 9:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Mon. March 16 | 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Tues. March 17 | 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Wed. March 18 | 7 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Thurs. March 19 | 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Fri. March 20 | 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sat. March 21 | 10:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sun. March 22 | 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

The building is accessible 24/7 with a valid BuzzCard.

West Village Building

Fri. March 13 | 7 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Sat. March 14 - Sun. March 22 | Closed
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

Information Desk

Fri. March 13 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. March 14 | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sun. March 15 | CLOSED
Mon. March 16 – Fri. March 20 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. March 21 – Sun. March 22 | CLOSED
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

Tech Rec

Fri. March 13 | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. March 14 – Sun. March 22 | CLOSED
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

Paper & Clay

Fri. March 13 | Noon – 6 p.m.
Sat. March 14 – Sun. March 22 | CLOSED
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

Under The Couch

Fri. March 13 | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. March 14 – Sun. March 22 | CLOSED
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

Post Office

Fri. March 13 | 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. March 14 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (package window only)
Sun. March 15 | CLOSED
Mon. March 16 | 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tues. March 17 | CLOSED for staff training
Wed. March 18 – Fri. March 20 | 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. March 21 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (package window only)
Sun. March 22 | CLOSED
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

Transit

Reduced Service:

The following routes will operate using reduced schedules:   

Red Route: 7:10 a.m. – 9:50 p.m., Monday-Friday, arriving approximately every 28 minutes

Blue Route: 7:10 a.m. – 10:05 p.m., Monday-Friday, arriving approximately every 30 minutes

Green Route: Monday-Friday

• 6:45 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. arriving approximately every 36 minutes
• 8:00 a.m. – 6:10 p.m., arriving approximately every 18 minutes
• 6:10 p.m. – 8:50 p.m., arriving approximately every 36 minutes

Tech Trolley: Monday - Friday

• 5:45 a.m. – 7:25 a.m., arriving approximately every 35 minutes
• 7:25 a.m. – 9:25 a.m., arriving approximately every 10 minutes
• 9:25 a.m. – 4:25 p.m., arriving approximately every 14 minutes
• 4:25 p.m. – 6:40 p.m., arriving approximately every 10 minutes
• 6:40 p.m. – 7:35 p.m., arriving approximately every 14 minutes
• 7:35 p.m. – 9:25 p.m., arriving approximately every 18 minutes
• 9:25 p.m. – 10:15 p.m., arriving approximately every 35 minutes

Saturday: 10: 00 a.m. – 6:40 p.m., arriving approximately every 35 minutes
Sunday: 3:00 p.m. – 9:50 p.m., arriving approximately every 35 minutes

The following routes will operate on their normal schedules:

Midnight Rambler: 8:00 p.m. – 2:20 a.m., Sunday - Saturday, arriving approximately every 15 minutes

NARA/TEP Shuttle: 7:20 a.m.-6:20 p.m., Monday - Friday, arriving approximately every 18 minutes

GT-Emory Shuttle: 7:15 a.m. – 7:15 p.m., Monday-Friday, as scheduled

Grocery Shuttle: 10:17 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Saturday - Sunday, as scheduled

Stingerette

Stingerette service will be available for rides between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. each night.  To schedule a ride, please use the Stingerette web interface, mobile iOS or Android app.

Parking

Normal parking regulations will be in effect during Spring Break. Please be sure that your parking permit is displayed properly to avoid citations or towing.

Housing

Assignments Office

Mon. March 16 – Fri. March 20 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Area Offices

Mon. March 16 – Fri. March 20 | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Georgia Tech Library

Sat. March 14 | 12 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sun. March 15 | CLOSED
Mon. March 16 - Friday, March 20 | 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sat. March 21 | CLOSED
Sun. March 22 | 8 a.m. - 12 a.m.
Mon. March 23 | Regular hours resume

Full list at library.gatech.edu/hours.

While the majority of students are away during summer, campus departments remain buzzing with activity. If you plan to be on campus this summer, here are the top ways to stay engaged through Campus Services.

Work for Us!

Campus Services departments employ the highest number of students on campus. Almost 1,000 students work in the areas of Housing, Dining, Campus Recreation, Parking and Transportation, the Student Center, BuzzCard, and Conference Services. They are a critical part of running many of our operations during all semesters. Our services depend on student staff to keep things moving. Here are five ways to work in Campus Services this summer:

• Campus Recreation Center (CRC) – The CRC employs about 150 students over the summer, and almost 400 in the fall and spring semesters. You can apply to be a camp counselor, swim instructor, or for many of the other CRC positions by visiting crc.gatech.edu/about/employment.
• Housing and Residence Life – Housing employs almost 80 resident advisors (RA) every summer to support the students who live on campus. Positions are available for current RAs and for those who want to be an RA during the 2020-21 academic year. You can apply in March at housing.gatech.edu and click on ‘My Housing.’ Housing also hires students to support the area offices. Apply now by submitting your resume at one of the area offices.
• Conference Services – About 25 students are employed over the summer to support summer conferences. On-campus housing is provided for full-time staff. If you feel like you’re outgoing and reliable, apply by April 15 at conference.gatech.edu/apply.  
• Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) – Interested in the inner workings of PTS? Apply to be a student worker and support some of our summer functions while the campus is quiet. Applications go live at the PTS office in April for roles beginning May 18.
• Student Center - The Student Center is now hiring for a small number of positions as we prepare to move out this summer. If you'd like to join the best team on campus to learn useful skills and support your campus community, complete this application to apply by Friday, April 3. Visit our student employment website for more information. 

Take a Trip

Outdoor Recreation, a part of Campus Recreation, hosts many opportunities where students can venture outdoors to learn important life skills and create community.

First-Year Students

Incoming first-year students can take a Tech Trek! Tech Treks are multiday summer trips to Alaska, Montana, or to the Southeast (in Georgia, Alabama, or Tennessee) that help you build decision-making and critical thinking skills — and establish friendships before the first semester at Tech. Staff and student guides offer advice and information for success at Georgia Tech and assist you in familiarizing yourself with the Tech culture.

In general, Tech Trek adventures challenge you to push yourself and to think about the traits that make you strong in tough situations — all in an effort to prepare you to thrive at Tech. These trips, which include visits to incredible locations, build skills in backpacking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and more! Trips take place in June and July. Sign up today at crc.gatech.edu/outdoor/treks.

Current Students

Current students can take a summer adventure trip! Led by skilled Georgia Tech students and alumni, adventure trips are outdoor experiences that challenge you and connect you with peers. Whether you’re a beginner or are more advanced, you will have the opportunity for caving, cascading, backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing, and more!

Summer adventure trips will be updated in April. Registration opens 30 days before the start date. Trips  are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis and fill quickly. Prices range from $35-$45. Learn more at crc.gatech.edu/adventure-trips.

If you need gear for your outdoor adventure, the Wilderness Outpost located at the Outdoor Recreation office (at the back of the CRC) has everything you need to rent equipment for your upcoming trip.

Check Out the New Campus Center Buildings

Phase I construction of the new Campus Center buildings wraps up this summer, and these spaces will serve as the temporary location for important functions and offices while the current Student Center is renovated in Phase II starting in July. Visit the new Exhibition Hall, Pavilions, and Cafe to find the post office, food court, and more. Stay tuned for details about our soft opening events in late summer. Learn more at c.gatech.edu/CampusCenter.

Get Physical

The CRC is still fully operational during summer — but with slightly modified hours. Here are some ways for you to stay active during your summer at Tech:

• Swim Lessons — The CRC offers instructional swim programs for members and non-members. Classes are available for children ages five and older, and adults. Learn more: crc.gatech.edu/aquatics/lessons
• Group Fitness Classes — The CRC offers non-credit group fitness classes ranging from boot camp, to cycling, HIIT, Pilates, power yoga, Zumba, and more. Students, faculty, and staff holding a membership and who are current on the group fitness fees can attend. Learn more: crc.gatech.edu/fitness/group
• Massage Therapy — Georgia Tech offers full-service massage therapy in the CRC. The program is designed to offer supreme massage services at affordable prices. Enjoy a 30- or 60-minute massage therapy session from licensed massage therapists. Learn more: crc.gatech.edu/services/massage
• Personal Training — This is available to members of the Georgia Tech CRC community. Trained staff provide fitness programs designed to meet your goals. Learn more: crc.gatech.edu/fitness/training
• Summer Intramurals — Georgia Tech Competitive Sports, a part of Campus Recreation, provides students, faculty, and staff with the opportunity for competition and fun in a variety of team and individual sports activities. With 20 intramural sports and over 40 sports clubs, you’re bound to find one that suits you. Registration begins in May for summer intramurals. Learn more: crc.gatech.edu/sport/intramural

Vote for and Watch Your Favorite Movies

Flicks at Tech is the Student Center’s campus summer movie series. The series screens three movies in June and July, hosted in the best outdoor venues on campus including the CRC Stamps Recreational Fields and Bobby Dodd Stadium. Voting to select the films for this summer will start in April. Visit studentcenter.gatech.edu for more information.

Eat on Campus

During summer, Georgia Tech Dining Services will modify their hours to better serve the reduced student population on campus and decrease food waste. Additionally, the food options in the Student Center will close in preparation for the renovation starting in May, and several dining concepts will transition to service in the new Exhibition Hall. Specific locations and hours for select dining halls and other food options over the summer will be available at dining.gatech.edu.

Block meal pass and dining dollar summer meal plans for students will be available for purchase starting in April. Select summer programs for first-year students have a pre-defined meal plan. Meal service begins May 10 for the summer semester. Learn more at georgiatech.campusdish.com/MealPlans.

Grand Challenges student assistants Madison Reddic and Ramsey Cook helped initiate the program after meeting with Malte Weiland, senior sustainability project manager for Auxiliary Services.

“There’s already a lot of progress being made in composting on Georgia Tech’s campus,” Cook said. “The first step is rolling out opportunities for interested students to compost. If the entire campus community composted, we could drastically reduce our impact on global warming.”

To compost, students simply collect their compostable waste, either in their room or the common area kitchen, and empty it into the black compost collection bins closest to their residence hall. They can use any type of container to collect the compost waste, and those who want to use compostable containers can contact a Residence Life staff member.

Additionally, staff members at Brittain, North Avenue, and the Student Center will now be sorting and extracting compostable materials.

Both Housing and Dining have partnered with CompostNow, an organization that assists businesses and individuals in diverting waste from landfills into composting. The material resulting from East Campus food waste will be returned to the Georgia Tech community garden and delivered to area farms by CompostNow to replenish nutrient content naturally.

Since September, the three major dining halls and Student Center have diverted more than 129,000 pounds of waste from landfills and into composting centers. The Student Center led the way, with over 38,000 pounds collected both from its day-to-day operations and various catering events.

“This is just one step in our fight against food waste,” said Jordan Barron, sustainability director for Georgia Tech Dining Services.

Dining wants to continue to expand its composting program, including making all food and containers from the second-floor West Village micro-restaurants compostable and adding signage in both Brittain and North Avenue. The signs will describe the composting process and explain its benefits for the environment and the people who receive the recycled material.

In addition, Housing is hoping to expand its composting program to West Campus residences.

“We want to help make this a normal practice for students, and hopefully they will take some of that with them when they leave campus,” said Weiland.

Dining and Housing both have open-door policies when it comes to composting. Students are encouraged to ask about the impact that each department’s program has had on campus and the environment. CompostNow also offers residential services for anyone living off-campus who’s looking to start composting on their own.

To learn more about Georgia Tech’s composting programs and other campus sustainability initiatives, visit:

• The Office of Campus Sustainability.
• The Office of Solid Waste Management and Recycling, including its 2017 composting pilot program in the Engineered Biosystems Building.
• Serve-Learn Sustain.

Why Waste?

Each year, approximately 130 billion pounds of food are discarded in the United States, including an estimated 22 billion pounds from U.S. Colleges and Universities. With nearly 50 million Americans regularly experiencing food insecurity, we understand we have both an environmental and social responsibility to fight food waste on a daily basis as we serve the Georgia Tech community.

Fighting Food Waste

We believe that the best way to fight food waste is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Following the guidance of the EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy, we begin with source reduction, minimizing our operational food waste through careful preparation, creative product utilization, and menu forecasting. We also empower students and guests to join us in our efforts to fight food waste through sustainability tabling and events like “Weigh the Waste.”

“Weigh the Waste” allows us to track the average volume of food wasted per meal while identifying ways to improve our guest’s dining experience and collecting real-time feedback on why waste is occurring in the first place. These events also allow us to engage directly with the Georgia Tech community and share easy starting points for anyone interested in minimizing their own food waste percentage.

Looking to take the first step in fighting food waste when dining on campus?

Here are a few ways to get started:

1. When dining at Brittain and North Avenue Dining Halls, try starting with smaller portions or sampling new offerings before filling up your plate. Both locations are all-you-care-to-eat facilities and you can always come back for more!
2. Hydration matters! When we are dehydrated, our body sends signals that we’re hungry, when we really need something to drink. Try drinking a glass of water with or before your meal, you might not be as hungry as you think.
3. Join our To-Go box program at North Avenue or Brittain, or ask for your meal to go at West Village! You can eat whenever you’re ready and store any leftovers in the fridge for the next time you’re hungry.

Increasing Food Access

When we do have excess food, we prioritize the donation of safe and ready-to-eat food items through our bi-weekly donation program at Brittain Dining Hall. We work closely with Georgia Tech Campus Kitchen, a student-led volunteer initiative that packages and delivers donations from GT Dining to Klemis Kitchen, Georgia Tech’s on-campus resource and food pantry for students that are currently experiencing food insecurity. Through the combined efforts of GT Campus Kitchen and the GT Dining Operations team, we were able to donate over 2,000 meals to Klemis Kitchen in fall 2019.

Campus Composting

While our fight against food waste starts with prevention and donation, we understand that some food waste is unavoidable. On September 23, 2019, GT Dining launched a campus-wide composting program with Compost Now that resulted in over 129,000 pounds of compostables and food waste being diverted from landfills by December 2019.

Once the composting process is complete, all finished compost is donated throughout the metro Atlanta community to school gardens, small farms, nonprofits, and community gardens, with 200 pounds of compost available for use at Georgia Tech each year. Our fall compostable collections will amount to roughly 13,000 pounds of finished compost that will be returned to enrich the soil throughout our community. We look forward to supporting campus garden projects like the Kendeda Living Building’s rooftop garden and the Georgia Tech Community Garden as we strive to “close the loop” of our composting program and support the collaborative success of Institutional sustainability efforts.

What’s New on the Menu?

GT Dining kicked off the spring semester with an expanded hot-foods menu at “Umami Shoppe” in West Village and the opening of “Republic of Spice”, a new concept featuring Indian cuisine that is located on the first floor of the Student Center. Whether you are enjoying a Butter Chicken Rice Bowl from the Student Center or warming up with a steaming bowl of freshly prepared Ramen in West village, both concepts feature a range of compostable vessels that allow guests to dine in or take their meal to go, all while minimizing the environmental impact of single-use disposables.

Interested in learning more about these or other GT Dining Sustainability Programs? We’d love to connect!

Dining

Dec. 16 - 22 | Hours available here
Dec. 23 - 29 | All locations closed
Dec. 30 - Jan. 5 | Hours availale here
Jan. 6 - 12 | Hours available here

Wing Zone

Monday, Dec. 16 – Monday, Dec. 23 | Regular Hours
Tuesday, Dec. 24 – Wednesday, Dec. 25 | Closed
Thursday, Dec. 26 – Tuesday, Dec 31 | Regular Hours
Wednesday, Jan. 1 | Closed
Thursday, Jan. 2 | Return to regular hours

Campus Recreation Center

Monday, Dec. 16 – Thursday, Dec. 19 | 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 20 | 5:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21 – Sunday, Dec. 29 | Closed
Monday, Dec. 30 | 6 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 31 | 6 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 1 | Closed
Thursday, Jan. 2 - Friday, Jan. 3 | 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4 | 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 5 | 12 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Housing and Residence Life Offices

Dec. 23 – Dec. 27 | Closed
Jan. 1 | Closed

Student Center Building              

Monday, Dec. 16 | 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec 17 | 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 18 – Friday, Dec. 20 | 7a.m. - 10p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21 | 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 22 | 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 23 | BuzzCard access only
Tuesday, Dec. 24 | 6 - 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 25 | BuzzCard access only
Thursday, Dec. 26 | 8 - 10 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 27 | 5 - 10 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28 | 8 - 10 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 29 | 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 30 | 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 31 | 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 1 | 6 - 8 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 2 | 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 3 | 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4 | 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 5 | Return to regular hours
*Outside of the listed times, the Student Center will be accessible with a valid BuzzCard 24 hours a day.

West Village Building                   

Saturday, Dec. 14 – Thursday, Jan. 3 | Closed
Friday, Jan. 3 | 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4 | 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 5 | 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 6 | Return to regular hours

Information Desk

Monday, Dec. 16 – Friday, Dec. 20 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21 – Wednesday, Jan. 1| Closed.
Thursday, Jan. 2 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 3 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4 – Sunday, Jan. 5 | Closed
Monday, Jan. 6 | Return to regular hours

Tech Rec

Saturday, Dec. 14 – Sunday, Jan. 5 | Closed
Monday, Jan. 6 | Regular hours of operation resume

Paper & Clay

Friday, Dec. 13 – Sunday, Jan 5 | Closed
Monday, Jan. 6 | Regular hours of operation resume

Under The Couch

Monday, Dec. 9 – Sunday, Jan. 5 | Closed
Monday, Jan. 6 | Regular hours of operation resume

Post Office

Monday, Dec. 16 | 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 17 | Closed for staff training
Wednesday, Dec. 18 – Friday, Dec. 20 | 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 21 – Sunday, Dec. 29 | Closed (departmental mail pickup available at 711 Processing Center by appointment)
Monday, Dec. 30 – Tuesday, Dec. 31| 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 1 | Closed
Thursday, Jan. 2 – Friday, Jan. 3 | 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 4 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (Package Pickup Window Only)
Sunday, Jan. 5 | Closed
Monday, Jan. 6 | Normal hours of operation resume

Stamps Health Services

Dec. 16 – Jan. 3 | Closing at 4:30 p.m.
Dec. 23 – 27 | Closed
Jan. 1 | Closed

Parking and Transportation Services

Dec. 14 – Jan. 4 hours are available here.

BuzzCard Center

Dec. 16 - 19 | Regular hours
Dec. 20 | 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Dec. 23 - 27 | Closed
Dec. 30 | 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Dec. 31 | 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Jan. 1 | Closed
Jan. 2 | Regular hours resume

Burdell's

Dec. 16 – 20 | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Dec. 21 – 29 | Closed
Dec. 30 – Jan. 3 | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Closed on Jan. 1
Jan. 6 | Regular hours resume

Georgia Tech Bookstore

Dec. 16 - 20 | 8am-6pm
Dec. 21 - 22 | 10am-4pm
Dec. 23 | 10am-6pm
Dec. 24 | 10am-4pm
Dec. 25 | CLOSED
Dec. 26 - 27 | 10am-6pm
Dec. 28 - 29 | 10am-4pm
Dec. 30 | 8am-6pm
Dec. 31 | 8am-4pm
Jan. 1 | 10am-4pm
Jan. 2 | Regular hours resume

Starbucks Tech Square

Dec. 16 – Jan. 6 | Open 7 a.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. weekends/holidays. Closes same time as main store.

This plan includes comprehensive covered benefits (medical, dental, vision, prescription, and worldwide travel) for the 2019-20 policy year administered by United HealthcareStudentResources (UHCSR).

If you are currently enrolled in the SHIP for Fall 2019, you must re-enroll for Spring/Summer coverage which begins January 1, 2020 and ends on July 31, 2020.

Eligible dependents, including domestic partners of enrolled students, may participate in the SHIP and must enroll during this period. Eligible dependents include a student’s spouse and eligible children up to 26 years of age (including stepchildren, foster children, and legally adopted children, providing the student is fully enrolled and eligible for coverage).

There are two classifications of students:

• Mandatory - Fall 2019 coverage period ends on 12/31/19.  You must enroll during the Spring/Summer 2020 open enrollment period (12/16/19 – 2/9/20).  To determine if you fall under the mandatory groups, please visit www.studentcenter.uhcsr.com/gatech. Students who are charged for mandatory student health insurance who have existing health insurance coverage that meets/exceeds insurance requirements can receive a waiver (12/16/19 – 2/9/20). Students can waive/enroll using the same link: www.studentcenter.uhcsr.com/gatech. 
   
• Voluntary - Students taking at least four credit hours (including Postdoctoral Scholars, J1 Scholars, and OPT) may also enroll during the Spring/Summer 2020 open enrollment period (12/16/19 – 2/9/20). Go to uhcsr.com/GaTech to begin the enrollment process.  If you purchased 2019-2020 annual coverage, you do not need to re-enroll for Spring/Summer 2020.

If you miss the Spring/Summer 2020 open enrollment period, you will not be able to enroll until the next enrollment period in Fall 2020.

Coverage terms ends on July 31 every policy year and all eligible students must enroll each Fall to keep the coverage active from one policy year to the next as the coverage does not “roll over” from policy year to policy year.

For more information, visit http://health.gatech.edu/finance/insurance.

The theme of the conference is “Strategy and Culture” and will focus on improving processes through organizational alignment, innovating with technology to adapt to changes in the workplace, and inspiring people to build and thrive in their communities.

Featuring keynote speakers, a leadership panel, entertainment, and ample networking opportunities, the 2020 conference will provide an array of learning offerings and experiences to empower attendees across various industries to tackle their greatest organizational challenges. Participants will benefit from customized breakout sessions tailored to their career level:

Level I: Responsible for leading change in the workplace at an individual level.
Level II: Responsible for leading change in the workplace at a team level.
Level III: Responsible for leading change in the workplace at the enterprise level.

To register, and for more information as well as highlights from the 2019 Organizational Effectiveness Conference, visit oe.gatech.edu.

• Take advantage of sales tax exempt Dining Dollars included on most plans.
• Utilize the flexibility of BuzzCard Funds, available at over 200 locations on campus including all dining locations.
• You can use your Meal Swipes at 14 locations on campus.
• With an Everyday or Weekday Plan, you get 5 free White & Gold event passes and five guest passes.

Meal plans are designed to meet your unique needs. If you are looking to enjoy a meal with friends or just a snack on the go – we’ve got a plan to fit every appetite! See how a meal plan can upgrade your campus experience -> mealplan.gatech.edu

On behalf of the Institute, Campus Recreation Center, Student Center, CEISMC and the Ferst Center we thank you in advance for your cooperation in hosting these campus events that will take place on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 through Sunday, December 8, 2019.  Please do your part to provide parking spaces for our off-campus guests by adhering to the following instructions:

SWIMMING U.S. OPEN

The 2019 Toyota U.S. Open Championships will take place in the CRC on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 through Sunday, December 8, 2019. Several parking locations will be used for guest parking.

W10 Customers: During this event, there will be uncommon congestion in W10.  You are welcome to park in the following alternate locations during this event.

• W02: Student Center deck
• W22: Dalney deck
• Any ungated, nonresidential parking lot (E or W lots)

Note: E44, ER51, W06-Habersham/781 Marietta are no longer alternate parking areas

Please be sure your permit is displayed properly. Access will be added to your BuzzCards or Carpool Permit for gated locations.

W22 Customers: During this event, there may be uncommon congestion in W22.  You are welcome to park in the following alternate locations during this event.

• Any ungated, nonresidential parking lot (E or W lots)

Note: E44, ER51, W06-Habersham/781 Marietta are no longer alternate parking areas

W01 Customers: Please remove your vehicles from the marked W01 spaces (on Ferst Drive between Regents and 6^th Street, CRC side only) by 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. You are welcome to park in the following alternate locations during this event:

• W01: any unmarked W01 spaces
• W02: Student Center deck
• Any ungated, nonresidential parking lot (E or W lots)

 Note: E44, ER51, W06-Habersham/781 Marietta are no longer alternate parking areas

Please be sure your permit is displayed properly.  Access will be added to your BuzzCards or Carpool Permit for gated locations.

W06 Customers: Please remove your vehicles from the marked W06 spaces (on Tech Parkway between Northside Drive and the CRC Service drive) by 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. You are welcome to park in the following alternate locations during this event:

• W06: any unmarked W06 spaces
• W01: Tech Parkway, Wallace Street & State Street ONLY
• Any ungated, nonresidential parking lot (E or W lots)

 Note: E44 and ER51are no longer alternate parking areas

Please be sure your permit is displayed properly.

W02 Permit Customers: You do not have to move your vehicles for this event. However, there may be uncommon congestion in these parking locations. If you cannot find a parking space in your assigned area, you are welcome to park in the following locations:

• W22: Dalney deck
• Any ungated, nonresidential parking lot (E or W lots)

Note: E44, ER51, W06-Habersham/781 Marietta are no longer alternate parking areas

NOTE: To avoid heavy traffic, we encourage you to walk or use campus transit. Due to the large number of attendees, Trolleys and Stingers are expected to be congested.  

Questions on the CRC events may be directed to the Campus Recreation Center at 404-385-7529.

GATE CONFERENCE

The Gate Conference will take place at the Student Center on Friday, December 6, 2019. Guests will park in W02-Student Center Deck.

W02 Customers: You do not have to move your vehicles for this event. However, there will be uncommon congestion in these parking locations. If you cannot find a parking space in your assigned area, you are welcome to park in the following locations:

• W22: Dalney deck
• Any ungated, nonresidential parking lot (E or W lots)

Note: E44, ER51, W06-Habersham/781 Marietta are no longer alternate parking areas

Questions on the Student Center event may be directed to the Student Center at 404-385-4275.

KIDS CLUB

The CEISMC-KIDS Club will take place on Saturday, December 7, 2019. Guests will park in W21: Physics/Boggs lots

W21 Customers: During this event, there may be uncommon congestion in W21. You are welcome to park in other open spaces in W21.

Questions about this event may be directed to CEISMC at: 404-894-0777

RHYTHM DANCE

The Rhythm Dance event will take place at the Student Center on Sunday, December 8, 2019. Guests will park in W02-Student Center Deck.

W02 Customers: You do not have to move your vehicles for this event. However, there will be uncommon congestion in these parking locations. If you cannot find a parking space in your assigned area, you are welcome to park in the following locations:

• W22: Dalney deck
• Any ungated, nonresidential parking lot (E or W lots)

Note: E44, ER51, W06-Habersham/781 Marietta are no longer alternate parking areas

Questions about the Ferst Center event may be directed to the Ferst Center at: 404-894-2787

We understand that these events may be an inconvenience to you. On behalf of Georgia Tech, Campus Recreation Center, Student Center, CEISMC and the Ferst Center we appreciate your patience, cooperation and continued support.

Starting Tuesday, December 26, the operational hours for Campus Services departments will be adjusted for Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend. Read on for the changes from Dining, Student Center, CRC, Bookstore, Parking and Transportation, Stamps Health Services, and BuzzCard Center.

Dining

Operational hours for dining are available here.

Student Center Building                             

Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. (BuzzCard access only after 9 p.m.)
Thursday, Nov. 28 - BuzzCard Access only
Friday, Nov. 29 - 1 p.m. – 10 p.m. (BuzzCard access only after 10 p.m.)
Saturday, Nov. 30 - 9 a.m. – 11 p.m. (BuzzCard access only after 11 p.m.)
Sunday, Dec. 1 - 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. (BuzzCard access only after 11 p.m.)
Monday, Dec. 2 - Regular hours resume

West Village Building

Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 7 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.  
Thursday, Nov. 28 – Saturday, Nov. 30 - Closed
Sunday, Dec. 1 - 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 2 - Regular hours resume

Information Desk

Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 28 - Sunday, Dec. 1 - Closed
Monday, Dec. 2 - Regular hours resume

Tech Rec

Tuesday, Nov. 26 - 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 27 - Sunday, Dec. 1 - Closed
Monday, Dec. 2 - Regular hours resume

Paper & Clay

Tuesday, Nov. 26 - 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 27 - Sunday, Dec. 1 - Closed
Monday, Dec. 2 - Noon – 6 p.m. (finals hours begin)

Under The Couch

Tuesday, Nov. 26 - 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 27 - Sunday, Dec. 1 - Closed
Monday, Dec. 2 - Regular hours resume

Post Office

Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 28 – Sunday, Dec. 1 - Closed
Monday, Dec. 2 - Regular hours resume

Campus Recreation Center (CRC)

Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 5:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 28 – Saturday, Nov. 30 – Closed
Sunday, Dec. 1 – 12 p.m. – 12 a.m.

Georgia Tech Bookstore

Thursday, Nov. 28 – Closed
Friday, Nov. 29 – 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Satruday, Nov. 30 - 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Burdell's

Tuesday, Nov. 26 - 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 28 - Closed
Friday, Nov. 29 - Closed
Saturday, Nov. 30 – 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 1 - Closed

Stamps Health Services

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 28 – Closed
Friday, Nov. 29 - Closed

Parking and Transportation Services

If you are leaving your vehicle on campus during the break, please move your vehicles from the following lots to accommodate for football parking by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27: 

• E40
• E44 
• E45
• E46
• E48
• E49
• E52 
• E65 (Softball Field)
• E65 (Coliseum Lot; including all state and ROTC vehicles/trailers)
• E63 (including all service and government vehicle spaces)
• ER51: 4th Street
• ER51 (Techwood Drive from North Avenue to 5th Street; Brittain Drive; both sides of Fowler Street from Bobby Dodd Way to 5th Street)
• ER55 (Fowler Street from 5th Street to 10th Street)
• W01 (Ferst Drive between Cherry Street and the driveway to Student Center deck)
• W01 (Disability/service lot outside Student Center Commons)
• W02
• W04: Procurement/Business Services
• W04: OHR
• W10: CRC
• W21
• Visitors Areas 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 10 (8th Street Meters)
• Service vehicle spaces on 8th Street

For special exceptions, please call 404-385-7275. 

Transit

Wednesday, Nov. 27

• All GT transit services will operate reduced schedules starting on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
• Midnight Rambler will continue as normal until 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 28.
• Stingerette Nighttime will operate until 3:15 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 28.

Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29

• There will be no GT transit or Stingerette services during this time.

Saturday, Nov. 30– UGA Football Game

• Tech Trolley will operate regular transit service.  Grocery Route will not operate due to football road closures. Stingerette will operate starting at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Sunday, Dec. 1

All GT transit services will operate their normal schedules and routes.

BuzzCard Center

Wednesday, Nov. 27 - 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 28 - Closed
Friday, Nov. 29 - Closed

• E40
• E44 
• E45
• E46
• E48
• E49
• E52 
• E65 (Softball Field)
• E65 (Coliseum Lot; including all state and ROTC vehicles/trailers)
• E63 (including all service and government vehicle spaces)
• ER51: 4th Street
• ER51 (Techwood Drive from North Avenue to 5th Street; Brittain Drive; both sides of Fowler Street from Bobby Dodd Way to 5th Street)
• ER55 (Fowler Street from 5th Street to 10th Street)
• W01 (Ferst Drive between Cherry Street and the driveway to Student Center deck)
• W01 (Disability/service lot outside Student Center Commons)
• W02
• W04: Procurement/Business Services
• W04: OHR
• W10: CRC
• W21
• Visitors Areas 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 10 (8th Street Meters)
• Service vehicle spaces on 8th Street

For special exceptions, please call 404-385-7275. 

Transit

Wednesday – Sunday, Nov. 27 – Dec. 1, 2019 — Thanksgiving Break

• Wednesday, November 27

All GT transit services will operate reduced schedules starting on Wednesday, November 27.

Midnight Rambler will continue as normal until 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 28.

Stingerette Nighttime will operate until 3:15 a.m on Thursday morning, November 28.

• Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29
  There will be no GT transit or Stingerette services during this time.
   
• Saturday, November 30, 2019 – UGA Football Game
  Tech Trolley will operate regular transit service.  Grocery Route will not operate due to football road closures.  Stingerette will operate starting at 7 PM Saturday evening.
   
• Sunday, December 1, 2019

All GT transit services will operate their normal schedules and routes.

The exhibition hall will serve as the premier meeting and conference space on campus, designed to enhance the conference and large-event experience at Georgia Tech with:

• A 12,000-square-foot ballroom that will be divisible into five smaller spaces.
• 11 meeting spaces with full conference and teleconference audiovisual capabilities.
• Expanded pre-function space.
• Co-location of Georgia Tech Catering Services.

The exhibition hall is part of Phase I of construction, expected to last until summer 2020. During Phase II of the project when the Student Center is under construction, the exhibition hall will serve as temporary space for essential dining functions, Kaplan Test Prep, and the Georgia Tech Post Office. Spaces that are not serving temporary functions will be available for reservation, including seven multipurpose meeting and event spaces of various sizes, and one boardroom.

The building will appear in the Georgia Tech Event Management System (EMS) beginning November 4. The community is also encouraged to visit the exhibition hall’s website to explore the building, rooms, facilities, and functions. Each room, named after an Atlanta neighborhood, has a page that includes renderings of the room, capacities by available setups, and comparisons to rooms with which the community is already familiar. For example, the Centennial meeting room in the exhibition hall is approximately the size of the Piedmont room in the current Student Center Commons.

Please note that the reservation rate structure for the exhibition hall differs from that of the Student Center and West Village. The new rate structure is intended to increase utilization and efficiency, and will help accommodate more reservations using less space. Details on reservation rates for the exhibition hall will be available on the website.

More details on the building’s progress and planned soft openings in Summer 2020 will be available in spring. Further information on the Campus Center project is available at c.gatech.edu/CampusCenter.

Dining Services

Fall Break hours are available here.

Campus Recreation Center

October 13 | 12 p.m. – 10 p.m.
October 14 | 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
October 15 | 5:30 a.m. – 12 a.m.

Stamps Health Services

October 14 & 15 | 8 a.m. – 5 pm.

Georgia Tech Bookstore

October 12 & 13 | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
October 14 & 15 | 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Student Center (Staffed)                             

Friday, October 11 | 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 | 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Sunday, October 13 | 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Monday, October 14 | 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Tuesday, October 15 | 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Accessible 24 hours a day with a valid BuzzCard.
Regular fall hours resume on Wednesday.

West Village (Staffed)                  

Friday, October 11 | 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 | 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunday, October 13 | 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Monday, October 14 | 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Tuesday, October 15 | 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Accessible 24 hours a day with a valid BuzzCard.
Regular fall hours resume on Wednesday.

Information Desk

Friday, October 11 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Sunday, October 13 | Closed
Monday, October 14 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Tuesday, October 15 | 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Regular fall hours resume on Wednesday.

Tech Rec

Friday, October 11 | 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday, October 12- Tuesday, October 15 | Closed

Regular fall hours resume on Wednesday.

Paper & Clay

Friday, October 11 | Noon - 6 p.m.
Saturday, October 12- Tuesday, October 15 | Closed

Regular fall hours resume on Wednesday.

Under The Couch

Friday, October 11 | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday, October 12- Tuesday, October 15 | Closed

Regular fall hours resume on Wednesday.

Post Office

Friday, October 11 | 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 12 | Closed
Sunday, October 13 | Closed
Monday, October 14 | 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Tuesday, October 15 | 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Parking and Transportation Services

Normal hours and operations.

“This outbreak is particularly concerning because it affects otherwise healthy young people, in the age group of the majority of our students,” said Dr. Benjamin Holton, senior director of Stamps Health Services.

Approximately two thirds of the lung injury cases reported to the CDC have occurred among 18 to 34 year olds; three quarters of cases have occurred among males. Locally, the Georgia Department of Public Health has confirmed eight cases of severe respiratory illness in individuals who reported a history of vaping, with additional cases being reviewed. Symptoms of the illness include cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, all of which worsen over time.

“This is a complex investigation,” explained Dr. Ann Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, during a telebriefing on Sept. 19. “This may turn into finding multiple issues that are of concern rather than a single product or substance.”

Until more is known about these lung injuries and their causes, the CDC recommends that individuals consider not using e-cigarette or vaping products.

Beyond this specific public health crisis, e-cigarettes are not considered safe for children, young adults, pregnant women, or adults who do not currently use tobacco products.

“There is still so much we don’t know about the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes or vaping products,” Holton said. “E-cigarettes can contain other harmful substances besides nicotine.”

Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deeply into lungs, flavorings, volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing chemicals are just some of the other substances that one may inhale when using e-cigarettes.

“We strongly encourage students to avoid using them,” he concluded.

For more information about e-cigarettes, vaping, and the outbreak, visit the CDC's website.

“More people are biking on and around campus, and we want to encourage the use of greener transportation methods,” said Lisa Safstrom, campus transportation planner with PTS. “We are supporting this trend by including high-quality bike parking in new campus development opportunities.”

Located just inside the deck from the Dalney Street entrance, the bike room features 36 Dero Swerve bike racks built to hold two bikes each. The room also includes benches and a fix-it station with a pump.

Users can swipe their BuzzCards to enter and secure their bikes to the racks using their personal locks. Bikes may be stored day-to-day during the fall and spring semesters and for longer periods during the summer.

PTS included the bike room in its construction plans for the deck in response to the campus community’s request for larger and protected bike storage. The concept of enclosed bike rooms is trending among peer universities and housing developments in metro-Atlanta. The Dalney Deck’s bike room is the first bike storage facility outside of Georgia Tech on campus residential housing. PTS plans to implement a second bike room in the Tech Square parking deck later this year.

For more information about bicycling, visit http://pts.gatech.edu/bicycling-georgia-tech.

Bike Commuter Shower Pass

The CRC now offers a Bike Commuter Shower Pass that will allow riders to have access to locker rooms from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. Monday through Friday for $5 per month. Smart Park pass holders and those that do not have a parking permit are eligible for the shower pass. To get more information and sign up, visit http://bike.hwb.gatech.edu/active-commuting.

Riding Safety Classes

Bike Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech Police Department, and PTS offer one-hour classes in bike and scooter safety. Attendees receive a free helmet and lights. The next classes take place on:

• October 10 at 11 a.m. in CRC Room 240
• November 14 at 11 a.m. in CRC Room 240

Bike Helmets

PTS encourages students, faculty, and staff to travel to, from, and within campus by some form of alternative transportation, including bicycles, to reduce traffic congestion, limit the need for automobile parking, and preserve the environment.

Helmets can be purchased for $12 at the PTS front desk located at 828 West Peachtree St. NW using credit, check or BuzzFunds. Rules and regulations are available here.

The diagram below illustrates the alternate pathways that will be in place in order to maintain traffic flow and sufficient egress in the event of an emergency from the Ferst Center or Smithgall Student Services Building (Flag Building). 

While this portion of work takes place, please be aware of the following regarding access to the Smithgall Building and Ferst Center:

• The existing eastern planter in front of the Ferst Center has been reconfigured with a level walkway surface to maintain access to the building. Additionally, a new temporary accessible pathway has been constructed to preserve traffic flow to the west side of campus. Travel through this area will entail using the ADA ramp from the Ferst Center, which will connect to the constructed pathway.
• Access to the north side of the Smithgall building will be limited due to the fencing, and exits on the east, south, and west sides of the building should be used to access the building. Once the construction footprint retreats, the fencing will be moved and the atrium’s north exit will be accessible again. The exit from the student media suite will remain open, but traffic will be rerouted by a small pathway connecting to the sidewalk along the west side of the building. 
• The Dean Griffin statue will remain outside of the work area, but the plaza will not be accessible during much of this phase of the work.
• Throughout this phase, the campus community should exercise particular caution in this area. Those traveling on bicycles and scooters will need to dismount before entering the constructed pathway, and golf carts/other motorized vehicles should use routes around the north side of Ferst Center or Ferst Drive.

Every effort is being taken to maintain the safety of the broader campus community and keep the project on schedule. Further details about Phase II will be released later in the fall semester. Meanwhile, everyone is encouraged to attend upcoming town hall updates on the project:

• Wednesday, October 16: 5-6 p.m., Peachtree Room, Student Center
• Friday, October 18: 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Piedmont Room, Student Center
• Monday, October 21: 5-6 p.m., Room 301, Student Center
• Wednesday, October 23: 1-2 p.m., Piedmont Room, Student Center

More details on the Campus Center project can be found at studentcenter.gatech.edu/reinnovation.

Barnes & Noble @ Georgia Tech

From August 31-September 2, the bookstore we will be open from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

BuzzCard Center

The BuzzCard Center will be closed on Monday, September 2.

Georgia Tech Dining Services

Full list of hours from August 29 – September 4 is available here.