HISTORY
Founded on Oct. 13, 1885, the Georgia School of Technology opened its doors in October 1888 to 84 students.
The School’s creation signaled the beginning of the transformation of the agrarian South to an industrial economy.
During its first 50 years, Tech grew from a narrowly focused trade school to a regionally recognized technological university.
In 1948, the School’s name was changed to the Georgia Institute of Technology to reflect a growing focus on advanced technological and scientific research.
Women students were admitted in 1952, and in 1961 Georgia Tech became the first university in the Deep South to admit African-American students without a court order.
In recent years, Georgia Tech has been a national leader in managing the global transition from an industrial economy to an information economy.
Throughout its long history, Georgia Tech has always focused its efforts on preparing students to use their innovative skills and strong work ethic to solve real-world problems and improve the lives of people around the globe.
From the world-famous “Ramblin’ Wreck” fight song to the fun and festivities of The Week of Welcome, the Tech campus is steeped in time-honored traditions that students embrace from generation to generation.
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TRADITIONS and TECH LINGO
Buzz
Buzz — who made his first campus appearance in 1980 — is the world-famous and beloved mascot of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Buzz gets Tech fans cheering at nearly all the Institute’s intercollegiate sporting events.
The Campanile
The Richard C. Kessler Campanile is an iconic Georgia Tech landmark located at the heart of campus, outside of the John Lewis Student Center and Stamps Commons.
Couch Park
Large green space adjacent to the Campus Recreation Center's Penny and Roe Stamps Recreation Fields (West Campus)
CRC
Campus Recreation Center. The CRC offers several membership options for students, faculty, staff, affiliates, alumni, and their families to participate in a range of well-being activities including swimming and fitness classes.
FASET
Familiarization and Adaptation to the Surroundings and Environs of Tech (This is Georgia Tech's first-year student orientation program.)
Flag Building
The official name of this building is the Charles A. Smithgall Jr. Student Services Building.
Focus
A premier program for raising graduate education awareness, designed to attract the brightest underrepresented minority students and encourage them to pursue graduate degrees at Georgia Tech.
The Hill
The historic area of campus where the offices of senior Institute administrators are located.
'Nique
The Technique is the campus newspaper, providing the campus community with information, analysis, and opinions that reflect the needs and interests of the student body at Georgia Tech.
Ramblin’ Wreck Fight Song
The words and music for Tech’s world-famous “Ramblin’ Wreck” fight song were inspired by an old folk ballad, “The Sons of the Gamboliers.” The name Ramblin’ Wreck gained widespread acceptance in the 1920s, when Tech graduates began building makeshift mechanical buggies to improve a poor transportation system in South America.
Ramblin’ Wreck Model-A Ford
The 1930 Model A Ford was donated to Georgia Tech in 1961 by Capt. Ted Johnson, a then-retired pilot who had purchased and restored the car for his son. The official Ramblin’ Wreck appears on the field at all home football games and other events as a symbol of Georgia Tech. A second Model A was purchased and restored by the Alumni Association in the 1980s, and is used at alumni events. A third automobile was purchased and restored by the Georgia Tech Foundation, and& is parked in the lobby of the Georgia Tech Hotel.
RATS
First-year students (Recently Acquired Tech Students/Recruit At Tech)
Roll Call
This major annual fundraising effort began in 1947 to generate unrestricted funds from alumni and friends to help advance Tech priorities.
Tech Green
This is the great lawn of Georgia Tech and the gathering spot for a variety of events such as festivals, exhibits and displays, games, and other campus events.
Technology Square/Tech Square
This innovation district is the area of campus that is east of the Downtown Connector. It includes a wealth of startup companies and prominent innovation centers, as well as buildings such as Barnes & Noble, Coda, the Scheller College of Business, Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, and several restaurants.
Week of Welcome
The Week of Welcome is Tech’s orientation week for new students, when first-year students learn all about Tech campus traditions.
The Whistle
Believed to have come to Tech in 1896, the steam whistle was meant to mimic the industrial whistles of the times. It called the students to their shop classes. Today, it is operated by a computerized atomic clock that releases the steam. The Whistle blows five minutes to the hour to end classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It has a different schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It also blows after Tech touchdowns during home games. (The Whistle is also the name of the faculty/staff newspaper, which is now distributed electronically only.)
Yellow Jackets
This is the name used when referring to any of Georgia Tech's athletics teams, but the term has also grown to encompass references to Tech students and alumni.