Student Life Artifacts

Academics

Class Registration

1980s: When class registration was done in person, lines outside O'Keefe Gymnasium were commonplace. Students arrived according to their time tickets and waited to see if the classes they needed had open spots.

Leisure

Brittain Tea Room

1950s–'80s: Above and behind the main floor of Brittain Dining Hall was the Tea Room, a dining room that provided table service instead of the buffet-style service that took place in the primary dining hall.

Leisure

Techwood Theater

1960s: Located next to the original Junior's location was Techwood Theater, a single screen theater that showed second run movies. "After the movie let out at about 8:30 p.m., we would stack pre-cut Edwards pies for $0.25." – Tommy Klemis, Cls 71.

Activities

ATO Hawaiian Party

1980s: Fraternities during Greek Week would throw island-themed parties. Pictured is Alpha Tau Omega's. Their party drew thousands of visitors from around the Southeast. Preparation would start multiple months in advance. Photo courtesy Tony Smart, IE 87.

Activities

First Mini 500

1969: The first Mini 500 was referred to as a "marathon," lasting 25 laps around Peters Park. In 1970, the race was reduced to 15 laps, and currently lasts 8 laps around Peters Parking Deck.

Activities

Stumpy's Bear

1929: After Georgia Tech won the 1929 Rose Bowl over the University of California, Tech was gifed a bear by the school. The bear, named "Bruin," was taken in by Stumpy Thomason and became a figure on campus.

A crowd of students at the 1990 Georgia Tech career fair

Academics

1990 Career Fair

1990: The 1990 Career Fair in the old Bill Moore Tennis Center. 4,000 students attended along with 150 companies. Students hoped to land an internship or job during the fairs.

Scaffolding in the middle of the Campanile fountain while building the Campanile spire.

Activities

Campanile Construction

1995: The Kessler Campanile was one of the final pieces added to campus in preparation for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, where Tech served as the Olympic Village. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Tech Library Archives and Special Collections.

Georgia Tech class registration time card from 1965

Academics

1965 Time Card

1965: Before online class registration, physical time cards were given to students to inform them when to arrive to register for classes. Students who worked on campus were given the earliest slots. Photo courtesy David Frohn, AE 67

Activities

1985 Stinger Map

1985: The Stinger routes in 1985. Four routes were run, with three different stop variations around the Ferst Drive loop.

Academics

Drownproofing Rubric

1960s: Drownproofing was created and taught by Fred Lanoue and was mandatory at Tech until 1986. Graded stunts included an underwater swim, floating for an hour, and swimming a mile. The course is still taught by the U.S. Navy Seals.

Old photo of people shopping at The Robbery

Leisure

Inside The Robbery

1950s: Before the Student Center, the bottom floor of Tech Tower held the Georgia Tech Bookstore, better known as "The Robbery," which served as a general store on campus for students to buy books, food, coffee, or other common items.

Academics

1953 Harris Gate

In 1953, a Georgia Tech–branded gate was installed at the entrance to Cherry Street off North Ave. The gate was funded by David William Harris, EE 1912 and diverted North Ave. traffic from campus.

Activities

White RAT Caps

White RAT caps were reserved for members of the Ramblin' Reck Club so freshman could identify them. These caps were small fitting just like standard RAT caps and featured an embroidered Ramblin' Wreck on the front.

Athletics

1912 Athletic Association Stock

Starting in 1902, the Georgia Tech Athletic Association started selling stock as a fundraising mechanism. Pictured is a stock sold in 1912 when one share cost $2.50. Courtesy of Georgia Tech Archives and Special Collections.

Athletics

1929 Tournament of Roses Float

Georgia Tech participated in the 1929 Rose Bowl Parade with a Yellow Jacket float decorated entirely with flowers and natural materials.

Academics

1911 T-Book

1911: The T-Book in 1911 was a 100-page booklet used as a handbook with basic info about Tech with the schedule, a daily planner, yells, and the early Tech songs before "Ramblin Wreck From Georgia Tech" was written that year.

Academics

1988 EE 4120 Final Exam Sheet

Final electrical engineering exam crib sheet from 1988. Notes courtesy Melinda Tourangeau, EE 88.

Shirt design for Chemical Engineering in 1985

Academics

1985 Chemical Engineering Joke Shirt

As part of Tech's Centennial in 1985, chemical engineering students made knock-off shirts of Tech's centennial motto, "Designing Tomorrow, Today" to read "Designing Tomorrow, the Night Before." Courtesy Clifford "Chip" Morgan III, MS ChE 86

Academics

1980s AE 4101 Class Notes

Class notes from AE 4101: Analysis of Thin-Walled Structural Elements taught by Dr. Kamat, who said, "If you make an A on my final, I will give you an A in the class no matter what!" Courtesy Scott Lesser, AE 89

Academics

College Inn Book Cover

1950s: The Georgia Tech College Inn, or "The Robbery" as it was more commonly known, sold book covers for textbooks. The "Ram'blin Reck" featured on the back became inspiration for a 1960s student committee tasked with finding a physical representation of Tech's mascot, the Ramblin' Wreck.

Leisure

Junior's Coupons

1980s: Junior's Grill, a former campus restaurant owned by the Klemis family, sold coupon books offering $22 worth of food for $20. These were split into tear-off coupons worth five, 10, 25 and 50 cents each.

Activities

1955 Cotton Bowl Ball

1955: A signed football from Tech's 14-6 win over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. The win made Tech the first team to win the Rose, Cotton, Sugar, and Orange Bowls.

Activities

1925 Doll

In 1925, a handcrafted doll was made in the likeness of Georgia Tech football standout and GT Sports Hall of Famer Doug Wycoff, Cls 1926. Nearly a century later, it was donated to the Alumni House.

Academics

Original Entrance Exam

1888: Before college essays, entrance exams were administered to prospective Tech students hoping to enroll. Questions from the first exams covered math, American history, geography, and grammar.

Activities

1913 Anniversary Booklet

1913: Celebrating Tech's 25th anniversary, a booklet was made featuring the origins of the school, the progress made over the first 25 years, and photos of campus at the time.

Ice Cream Tent in 1910 on Tech Tower Lawn

Leisure

1910 Ice Cream Booth

1910: Tech Tower Lawn with a promenade tent set up on the south side of the lawn.

Tech students taking final exam in the gym

Academics

Final Exams in the Gym

1959: A final exam taking place inside the old gymnasium where some classes would hold mass finals.

Leisure

Dances in the Naval Armory

1930s: A dance held in the Naval Armory during the 1930s. Formal dances held by student organizations became so popular that in 1912 the administration limited how many dances organizations were allowed to put on per semester.

Leisure

Baseball Ticket

1979: Georgia Tech's baseball team over multiple decades would play exhibition games against the Atlanta Braves during the Braves' spring training. Some games, including in 1979, were played in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Tech has never beat the Braves.

Academics

Barrage Yearbook

1923: Barrage was the yearbook for Georgia Tech's Army ROTC Regiment. This edition includes a copy of a signed photograph of President Warren G. Harding and descriptions of each unit within the Regiment at the time.

Academics

Army ROTC Patch

2020s: Georgia Tech's Army ROTC Regiment has a custom patch specially made for all students to wear on their uniforms. While this particular patch is recently made, the original design dates back to before the 1960s.

Student Life Artifacts

Techwood Theater