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Student planned initiatives to end various types of discrimination.

To establish Georgia Tech’s views and disciplines for discrimination, the Georgia Tech Office of Human Resources set forth an anti-harassment policy. This policy is a detailed listing of the definitions, examples, and punishment for various types of harassment. Of the utmost importance, is that the policy states “Discriminatory harassment of any person or group of persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran status is prohibited”. By setting a firm policy for anti-discrimination, the Georgia Tech community has a zero tolerance for any person that shows disrespect or engages in any type of discriminatory behavior. In order to support this anti-harassment policy, many campus wide initiatives must be in effect to encourage accepting behaviors.

Similarly to that of society, Georgia Tech has put forth tremendous efforts to support persons of different races, genders, and sexual preference. Many a times, it is the actions of a few students that propel ideas to initiatives to campus wide events. To highlight these accomplishments, the Georgia Tech student publication, The Technique, showcases these events.  

 

In a 2008 article in The Technique, an event that promotes equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people was brought to the Tech campus. Due to the workings of a second year student and the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Billiee Pendleton-Park, the event venue was changing to the Georgia Tech campus so that students could become more aware of this initiative. The event focused on engaging students to relate to others emotions and to encourage the acceptance of diversity, equal rights, and tolerance of others.

Another article in The Technique discussed an event that raised awareness for a different type of discrimination, racial. The event was called March 1246 that was a campus wide walk to unite students and raise awareness to the low number of African American students. Despite the rain that accompanied the walkers, a nice turnout proved that Georgia Tech is supportive of such an initiative.

Lastly, it is important to note an opinionated piece written by a white, male Georgia Tech student in The Technique. In this piece, the author, Robert Combier, speaks to the presence of racial and gender based organizations. He talks about all of these organizations targeted at certain groups other than white males. For example, there are such groups as Society of Women Engineers, India Club, National Society of Black Engineers, etc.  However, the author does not necessarily support these groups but rather criticizes them for being racist and sexist. Is it really a matter of sexism and racism? I take these organizations as initiatives to acclimate non-white male students that have been discriminated in the past to the Georgia Tech community. I think this truly speaks to the progress of Georgia Tech and anti-discriminatory actions. Now, 50 years later, there are established groups for persons of different races and genders. And now, a white male is complaining about racism. Perhaps he hasn’t yet adapted to Georgia Tech’s progressive movement to incorporate others of different race, gender, sexual preference and end discrimination.

Thanks to student-planned initiatives such as these, Georgia Tech has made such great strides to becoming a discrimination free campus and student body. Much like the definition of a person has changed throughout time to include all persons with no limits based on gender, race, or disability, the definition of a student has changed as well to include people of all race, gender, or sexual orientation.

 

Resources

1.7 Anti-Harassment Policy. Georgia Institute of Technology :: Administration and Finance. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.admin

fin.gatech.edu/human/action/010700.html>.

Huq, Yameen. "LGBT Event Promotes Equal Rights." The Technique 94.9 (2008). SMARTech. Web. <http://smartech.gatech.edu>.

Stephenson, James. "Students March for Diversity." The Technique 92.15 (2006): 1+. SMARTech. Web. <http://smartech.gatech.edu>.

Combier, Robert. "Racism Runs Amok in Student Orgs." The Technique 93.10 (2007): 9. SMARTech. Web. <http://smartech.gatech.edu>.

Integration of Females into Tech's Student Body

In 1952, Georgia Tech opened its doors admitted their first female students. At this moment, Tech took its first step to becoming a non-gender discriminatory campus. But what were the events that had to take place to establish women as scholastic entities? And how has the presence of women on the Georgia Tech campus changed over the past half century?

The 20^th century was a progressive period for women that established them as an integral part of society. Women, during this century, reached a new level of personhood by fighting for personal rights and responsibilities. Of high importance was the suffragist movement to give women the right to vote. This battle, which took place throughout the 1920’s, identified the female population as having a legal and meaningful voice in society. If they were able to obtain such a large responsibility on a national level, then why is that the first female student was admitted to Tech in 1952?

Students at Georgia Tech in the 1950’s took note of a widespread initiative to include females into campus populations. Through the student run publication, The Technique, the campus became informed about the status of a petition that would allow females to enter Georgia Tech. In a February 1952 article in The Technique, a large, eye catching headline ran across the front page reading, “ CO-ED ENROLLMENT AT TECH?: Atlanta Women Petition For Female Enrollment At Engineering Institution”. The article consists of an update of Tech’s current status regarding a petition filed by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta. Basically, the author of the article makes a firm prediction that women will soon be admitted to Georgia Tech upon official word from Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and after a formal report for the then President Van Leer. The article cites that women have refuted past claims as to why they are not allowed admittance into Tech. Such claims as facility space and adequate accommodations for women are no longer valid due to renovations on the campus.

With this said, there is no reason to exclude women from attending a University of Georgia institution. The integration of women would allow for a higher production of engineers during a time when men were sent to the military and an increase in a steadily declining enrollment at Georgia Tech. Furthermore, more women were being employed by Tech and the student body returned a favorable verdict in a poll about having women on campus. Any argument against female enrollment at Tech would result in great discrimination by the Institution. Even a section of the article quotes that "the continued policy on the part of the Board of Regents of the University of Georgia to bar female students . . . constitutes a gross discrimination to the females of Georgia in that it requires any female desiring to matriculate in the fields of engineering and/or architecture to seek facilities out of the State of Georgia for such study, resulting in additional expense." It was because of these logical reasons and constant fight of women that in 1952 Georgia Tech admitted its first female students.

 

As Tech has grown over the past 50 years, so has the female population in respect to personhood. Females have acquired jobs that have typically been held by men, and stepped out of the role of a simple care giving homemaker to that of a responsible figure in society.  Georgia Tech’s female population has achieved similar feats. The most current statistics show that women now make up 36% of the incoming class of 2010. Though male students often complain about the male to female ratio at Tech, this is quite the jump from 0% female just 50 years ago. Though Georgia Tech still has one of the lowest male to female ratios in the nation, the Institution has done its best to promote young females to apply. By establishing such groups as Society of Women Engineers, Women in Engineering, Women’s Resource, and many other major based women organizations, Tech has done exceptionally well at advancing women in technical, post secondary education and establishing anti-gender discrimination initiatives. And based on the current trend, the promotion of female academics will continue to improve much like that of society’s view of female involvement. The definition of a student at Georgia Tech involves persons of both male and female orientation, as does society’s definition of a person includes individuals of both genders.

Resources

Bennett, Fred. "Atlanta Women Petition for Female Enrollment at Engineering Institution." The Technique 36.38 (1952): 1. SMARTech. Web. <http://smartech.gatech.edu>.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Institute_of_Technology

GTFWC. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <http://www.gtfwc.gatech.edu/>.—Lady Buzz

Georgia Tech SWE High School Outreach Event - Eventbrite. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <http://gtswehsoutreach.eventbrite.com/>.—Society of Women Engineers