Students Mugged Near Library

Friday, March 9, 2012 • Volume 97, Issue 27 • nique.net Mass Effect finale soars Cmdr. Shepard and the crew of the Normandy return to save the galaxy.413 TechniqueThe South’s Liveliest College Newspaper Students Dolphins draw crowds to aquarium By Lauren Brett mugged near Contributing Writer Approximately 1,500 students flocked to the Georgia Aquarium this past Thursday night on March 1 for Georgia libraryBy Mike Donohue Tech Night at the Aquarium, hosted by the Student Center News Editor Programs Council (SCPC) and the Residence Hall Associa- tion (RHA). A male undergraduate student and a female The aquarium houses over 500 different species and con- graduate student were robbed at gunpoint early tains 8.5 million gallons of water. For the discounted price of Thursday morning walking to their car parked $12, students were able to experience fully the world’s larg- near the intersection of Bobby Dodd Way and est, per volume of water aquarium, which was open extended Fowler Street, according to a Tech police report. hours for participants. Campus was notified of the robbery via a Clery “We’ve tried to focus on the fact that [the Georgia Aquari- Alert email. um] is a top tier aquarium and that it has these new exhibits,” The victims were walking back from the li- said Sangita Sharma, SCPC President and a third-year AE brary at 2:45 A.M. when a white conversion van major. “The goal is to get students out of the Georgia Tech pulled up next to them. Two men, described as bubble and into the Atlanta community.” black and 20 to 25 years old, jumped out of the The fourth year of this annual event included something van and pointed a handgun at the two students. new — a dolphin show. New to the aquarium as well, the The students handed over their belongings, dolphin show was open to students while seating was still including two MacBooks, two iPhones and a available. debit card, without a struggle. The two suspects “To incorporate the dolphin show was a pretty huge un- dertaking,” Sharma said. “It’s a huge financial burden and we See Mugging, page 2 have to get numbers to meet that, as well as logistics such as funneling that many people in there.” As a result of the greater financial need from the dolphin show, student ticket prices were increased by four dollars from prior years. However, this total remains low compared to the Report shows $40 fee for general admission. “To rent out the aquarium and to get the dolphin show cost approximately $30,000,” said Taabish Rashied, the chair accounting of SCPC’s Atlanta Life Committee, who has also headed up the GT Night at Six Flags and World of Coke. errors at CRC “Attendance was a bit lower than it has been in the past, By Sam Somani but I think that’s also because we increased ticket prices to Staff Writer incorporate the dolphin show experience,” Sharma said. However, student opinions seem to be positive about the The SGA Joint Committee on Fiscal Re- event. The dolphin show was a big hit amongst students. sponsibility (JCFR) released a report auditing “I would go next year just to see the dolphin show again”, the Tier III sports clubs accounts maintained said Amit Rahman, a third-year BA major. by the CRC, stating that “the CRC is not fol- “I think that almost everyone that saw the dolphin show lowing consistent and quality accounting pro- would say that it was the best part,” said Kyler Mullins, a cedures” with a $7600 discrepancy between the second-year EE major. “The only the bad part of the whole records of SGA and the CRC. thing might have been, for me, that it seemed like it didn’t last The report went on to say that the CRC is very long, touring all of the different areas of the aquarium.” in violation of SGA’s Joint Finance Committee’s The dolphin show, however, wasn’t the only reason for stu- policies, namely reimbursing more than was ap- dent participation in the event. proved at the time, spreading expenses across multiple line items of a bill and approving travel See Aquarium, page 5 allocations for less than 150 miles. Photos courtesy of Eric Hamilton “I feel that there’s nothing more that we Tech students who went to the GT Night at the Aquarium could have done, more or less,” said Matthew Vickers, undergraduate member of JCFR. “I saw exhibits large (T), small (M) and hands-on (B). think the report speaks for itself and the results speak for themselves. This report is a snapshot of what was going on. It doesn’t tell the full story, but it is a snapshot, as of Feb. 15.” Previously, the sports clubs accounts were under one major account which the CRC had MOVE builds homelessness awareness access to, but changes to SGA policy have cre- By Aakash Arun “Hunger and Homeless- ated a different account for each sport and em- Contributing Writer ness Awareness Week is a great phasized adherence to line-itemization. time for us to make an impact “SGA was a lot more lenient back then, and From Sunday, March 4, to on the campus community.… it was a lot better for us, because we have a lot of Wednesday, March 7, mem- It’s a good time to get people variability in our budget,” said Taylor Medford, bers of Mobilizing Opportuni- engaged with what’s going on President of the Ice Hockey team. “That’s one ties for Volunteering Experi- in the city of Atlanta and in of the things I have not liked about the new line ence (MOVE) lived in tents, our world because these are item policy, because from our side we have such cardboard boxes and sleeping very complex issues, and there high variable costs.” bags set up in front of the is a place for everybody to be The CRC was required to create spreadsheets Campanile as part of the Hun- involved,” said Tomás Léon, which would track the different clubs’ finances ger and Homelessness Aware- chair of the committee and a separately, as the result of an executive order ness Week. fourth-year ENVE major. made by the SGA Presidents last semester. The The group set up this make- MOVE, which coordinates order was made to address concerns with the shift accommodation, called community service projects in transparency of the CRC’s accounting. “Shantytown,” with the goal the Atlanta area, saw this week “It was really difficult to go back through of educating the Tech com- as an important complement ledgers in system to verify that money is being munity about different factors to its typical direct service ini- spent in line with how it’s being allocated,” said that play into homelessness, tiatives. James Black, Graduate Student Body President. confronting common stereo- “Direct service is our main “The purpose of the executive order was to es- types and misconceptions focus, but awareness is a big tablish a simple reporting spreadsheet for all of regarding the homeless and piece as well. If Tech students the accounts that lie outside of Student Organi- showing students how they are not aware, they won’t be Photo by Will Folsom / Student Publications can engage and help address A student packs up a sleeping bag after sleeping in See CRC, page 5 this social issue. See Homeless, page 5 “Shantytown,” meant to build homelessness awareness. 2 • March 9, 2012 • Technique NEWS From the files of the GTPD... Mugging from page 1 Technique then got back in their van and The South’s Liveliest College Newspaper Campus Crime drove away towards Techwood Drive. Neither student was hurt By Jordan Lockwood in the incident. Founded in 1911, the Technique is the student newspaper of the Staff Writer Georgia Institute of Technology, and is an official publication of the “We work continuously to im- prove campus safety and security Georgia Tech Board of Student Publications. The Technique publishes Who’s who? on Fridays weekly during the fall and spring and biweekly during the ported without incident to the of our students through enhanced On the afternoon of Saturday, Fulton County Jail. technology, ongoing education summer. Feb. 18, an employee reported a and the active involvement of our Advertising: Information and rate cards can be found online at suspicious man at the Barnes & False Alarms police force. In addition, Georgia nique.net/ads. The deadline for reserving ad space is Friday at 5 p.m. Noble Bookstore on 5th Street, At about half past midnight on Tech continues to partner with one week before publication. To place a reservation, for billing infor- who was believed to have previ- Feb. 19, an officer responded to a the Atlanta Police Department to mation, or for any other questions please e-mail us at [email protected]. ously stolen from the area. When fire alarm at the Shirley Clements deter crime in the areas surround- You may reach us by telephone at (404) 894-2830, Monday through the responding police officer ap- Newborn Softball Field. He was ing campus,” said Matt Nagel, Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. proached him, the man stated his unable to enter through the front Institute spokesman in a prepared CoverAge requests: Requests for coverage and tips should be name and provided a date of birth or side gate due to a chain that had statement. submitted to the Editor-in-Chief and/or the relevant section editor. and social security number.

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