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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 ɫ���� 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 ɫ���� 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 ɫ����'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 ɫ����.

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 ɫ����.

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 ɫ���� 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 ɫ����.​ 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 ɫ���� Foundation, and& is parked in the lobby of the ɫ���� 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 ɫ���� 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, ɫ���� 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 ɫ����'s athletics teams, but the term has also grown to encompass references to Tech students and alumni.