404 and ATL signage and logos

[forensicbuzz]

I don't know how big of an issue it is in general if any. However, I don't agree with you that the issue goes away as soon as rural parents step on campus. I know people who consider 10 miles to be close by.

I think when 10 miles takes 10 minutes, it's close by. When it takes 45 minutes, it's not so close by.

 

[RonJohn]

I think when 10 miles takes 10 minutes, it's close by. When it takes 45 minutes, it's not so close by.

Are you trying to convince me that the area around GT is safe, or are you making arguments that could be made to rural recruit's parents? I am not worried about being at GT, or in Midtown. I know plenty of rural people who do not like being around Atlanta. An argument like that would be taken as "big city person" snark, and they would not listen to another word you said.

Like I said before, it isn't about facts, it is about perception. There are people in rural areas who have to drive 10 miles or more to get to the nearest grocery store. The GT campus itself is going to appear to be overly built up and crowded to some of those people.

There are advantages and disadvantages to urban areas. There are advantages and disadvantages to suburban areas. There are advantages and disadvantages to rural areas. In recruiting, teams are going to stress the advantages of their area and stress the disadvantages of the areas of other schools. There are a lot of advantages at GT. You can walk across the 5th Street Bridge and interview/intern/meet with several fortune 500 companies. To alleviate the concerns of a rural parent it would be better to discuss things such as: It is a safe walk (especially in a group) to Broadway plays. It is a safe walk to safe public transportation to get to concerts/sporting events. Athletic training/workouts/etc would be on campus and in groups.

One additional thing I'll point out. Kids who grew up in rural areas do need some acclimation to living in an urban area. I remember my first week in Smith, they circulated a flyer that warned against walking to concerts at the Omni. I think it read more like -- Do Not Under Any Circumstance walk through the Techwood housing projects to get to the Omni. It suggested driving, a cab, or walking to the North Avenue MARTA station. The entire area around GT is much safer now than it was back then. New GT students shouldn't be afraid of being in Atlanta. However, they should be made aware of and learn location and situation awareness needed in an urban area.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Are you trying to convince me that the area around GT is safe, or are you making arguments that could be made to rural recruit's parents? I am not worried about being at GT, or in Midtown. I know plenty of rural people who do not like being around Atlanta. An argument like that would be taken as "big city person" snark, and they would not listen to another word you said.

Like I said before, it isn't about facts, it is about perception. There are people in rural areas who have to drive 10 miles or more to get to the nearest grocery store. The GT campus itself is going to appear to be overly built up and crowded to some of those people.

There are advantages and disadvantages to urban areas. There are advantages and disadvantages to suburban areas. There are advantages and disadvantages to rural areas. In recruiting, teams are going to stress the advantages of their area and stress the disadvantages of the areas of other schools. There are a lot of advantages at GT. You can walk across the 5th Street Bridge and interview/intern/meet with several fortune 500 companies. To alleviate the concerns of a rural parent it would be better to discuss things such as: It is a safe walk (especially in a group) to Broadway plays. It is a safe walk to safe public transportation to get to concerts/sporting events. Athletic training/workouts/etc would be on campus and in groups.

One additional thing I'll point out. Kids who grew up in rural areas do need some acclimation to living in an urban area. I remember my first week in Smith, they circulated a flyer that warned against walking to concerts at the Omni. I think it read more like -- Do Not Under Any Circumstance walk through the Techwood housing projects to get to the Omni. It suggested driving, a cab, or walking to the North Avenue MARTA station. The entire area around GT is much safer now than it was back then. New GT students shouldn't be afraid of being in Atlanta. However, they should be made aware of and learn location and situation awareness needed in an urban area.

I would 100% say you absolutely misread what I was saying.

My comment was in response to your comment about distance. I was not disagreeing with you. Realistically, a long way is better described by how long it takes to get where you want to go instead of how far in distance it really is. In a city (like Atlanta or Chicago), 10 miles is a long way away because it takes a long time (like 45 minutes) to get there. In the country, it's not so far (as you stated, sometimes the nearest store is 10 miles away). My parents live in rural Alabama, town population 73, so I understand Country/Rural. I also understand people's aversion to Atlanta. But, in general, my experience is that aversion is based on driving in Atlanta traffic, not once people get to where they're going..

My previous point, which I understand you disagree with (but I still think you're wrong), is that "rural" people's perceptions tend to change when they get on the Tech campus. In my experience, that is true. When I was at Tech (a long, long time ago, before Techwood Homes and Carver and all were moved to Clayton County for the Olympics) I was a GT Ambassador and did 8-10 tours a week for prospective students and their families (depending on the time of year). The number one thing I heard from parents (way back then) was "wow! you'd never know you're in Atlanta if you couldn't see the skyline. It feels like its own little world." The perception that it was an urban campus and therefore inherently dangerous changed. First-hand experience with exactly what I said. Now, today the areas around Tech are a whole lot safer than they were when I was at Tech. It's not unsafe to walk back from MBS to Tech's campus in the evening.

In the end, as you said, it's perception. My experiences tell me something different than your experiences tell you. I'm not trying to convince you you're wrong, just providing my viewpoint.

 

[jojatk]

I find it amazing how some here are arguing so hard for why kids should NOT come to GT and should be deathly afraid of being on or around our campus.

 

[Billygoat91]

I find it amazing how some here are arguing so hard for why kids should NOT come to GT and should be deathly afraid of being on or around our campus.

Campus is a dangerous place..... Stress of GT combined with Varsity-induced heart disease will kill you.. It's a wonder so many of us alums are still alive

 

[augustabuzz]

Campus is a dangerous place..... Stress of GT combined with Varsity-induced heart disease will kill you.. It's a wonder so many of us alums are still alive

Those Midnight chili dogs start barking at 4:30.

 

[jojatk]

Those Midnight chili dogs start barking at 4:30.

I always tell people that "V runs" means something very different whether it refers to the before or after experience.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Just to turn this to a different angle….

I find the uga campus to be very densely built, almost claustrophobic compared to Tech. But that’s just me.

We keep talking about some hypothetical country boy who is not going to like the urban feel of Tech yet uga is not exactly bucolic. Athens also has crime.

Point is, athletes will consider going to any number of densely built up or “unsafe” campuses if the program has a winning record and/or their friends want to go there.

 

[CheCha54]

I find it amazing how some here are arguing so hard for why kids should NOT come to GT and should be deathly afraid of being on or around our campus.

The original question was do we keep the ATL/404 marketing. Some feel, I'm one, that Atlanta is not a "net" positive in the current enviornment, percieved or real. For me it's also a reminder of all the empty promises from the previous leaders.

 

[takethepoints]

Just to turn this to a different angle….

I find the uga campus to be very densely built, almost claustrophobic compared to Tech. But that’s just me.

We keep talking about some hypothetical country boy who is not going to like the urban feel of Tech yet uga is not exactly bucolic. Athens also has crime.

Point is, athletes will consider going to any number of densely built up or “unsafe” campuses if the program has a winning record and/or their friends want to go there.

Bingo. It isn't as if you can't get in trouble more easily in urban areas. You can. The problem is that the hypotheses is incorrect.

There's a reason cities are so big and people abandon rural life so quickly when they have a chance. Cities are fun (hence the trouble) and that's where the opportunities are. Tech, quite correctly, emphasizes that regularly in recruiting and lets the fun be self-evident. And it works: most parents want to maximize opportunities for their children, even if there's some risk of disturbance in their lives. If they want to send their sons to, say, Manhattan, Kansas (KSU) instead that's no monster loss.

Oh, and yes, a winning program will do a lot to overcome this and other recruiting obstacles.

 

[jojatk]

The original question was do we keep the ATL/404 marketing. Some feel, I'm one, that Atlanta is not a "net" positive in the current enviornment, percieved or real. For me it's also a reminder of all the empty promises from the previous leaders.

I understood that.

There’s a fundamental problem with what you and others are saying. You are taking away something that many KIDS think is a positive because you have a bad impression of the city and the GT surroundings. Do you understand that every city has the same problems people are complaining about? Yes every city. Some more than others of course. But there are people who still want to be there. Yet you want to take away a massive potential positive.

One of my frustrations with our fans and our program is a seeming inability to get that we have to try and take advantage of everything that could possibly be a positive. We are in ATL whether you or anyone else likes that. Either we say nothing and all the kids hear is the negative recruiting which, oddly enough, is exactly the things you all are bringing up, or we say something positive and maybe they also hear that. Maybe we undercut the negative by addressing what ATL has going for it.

Similarly we seem reluctant to take advantage of small, free things because individually they are small. Well guess what. If you get enough small things together eventually you have a big thing. I disagree with some of the silly things Collins did to play up the ATL but he wasn’t wrong to want to use the positives about the city. He just didn’t ever back up anything on the football field because he’s a crappy leader.

Have you ever wondered why companies have multiple different marketing campaigns? I’m sure I can’t be telling you something you don’t know already but it’s because not everyone responds to the same stimuli. If a kid is completely uninterested in living in a city we probably can’t get him. But if he doesn’t care where he lives then our campaigns about academics and facilities and job potentials with internships and exposure by being in a P5 conference etc… might appeal. And if a kid does want to live in a city then we’ve got a good one that may just have things he likes.

I’m 56 years old. What appeals to me is vastly different than what appeals to my 19 year old kid and her friends. So I try to keep an open mind and NOT put my likes and dislikes onto what I think recruits might like or dislike. My point is if you want to understand how to help sell GT then I suggest looking at everything we have and trying to figure out what IS positive about it. If there is anything you think is negative I can GUARANTEE that someone else is using it against us and we better have answers and not come back with “yeah you are so right this city is really dangerous.”

That’s all I’ve got. You all can go back to bashing Atlanta.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

The SEC dearly loves Atlanta and wants to make it its home. Tech better claim Atlanta before someone else does.

 

[awbuzz]

The ATL and 404 is still on the score board.

Saw it during the graduation ceremony yesterday.

 

[85Escape]

I understood that.

There’s a fundamental problem with what you and others are saying. You are taking away something that many KIDS think is a positive because you have a bad impression of the city and the GT surroundings. Do you understand that every city has the same problems people are complaining about? Yes every city. Some more than others of course. But there are people who still want to be there. Yet you want to take away a massive potential positive.

One of my frustrations with our fans and our program is a seeming inability to get that we have to try and take advantage of everything that could possibly be a positive. We are in ATL whether you or anyone else likes that. Either we say nothing and all the kids hear is the negative recruiting which, oddly enough, is exactly the things you all are bringing up, or we say something positive and maybe they also hear that. Maybe we undercut the negative by addressing what ATL has going for it.

Similarly we seem reluctant to take advantage of small, free things because individually they are small. Well guess what. If you get enough small things together eventually you have a big thing. I disagree with some of the silly things Collins did to play up the ATL but he wasn’t wrong to want to use the positives about the city. He just didn’t ever back up anything on the football field because he’s a crappy leader.

Have you ever wondered why companies have multiple different marketing campaigns? I’m sure I can’t be telling you something you don’t know already but it’s because not everyone responds to the same stimuli. If a kid is completely uninterested in living in a city we probably can’t get him. But if he doesn’t care where he lives then our campaigns about academics and facilities and job potentials with internships and exposure by being in a P5 conference etc… might appeal. And if a kid does want to live in a city then we’ve got a good one that may just have things he likes.

I’m 56 years old. What appeals to me is vastly different than what appeals to my 19 year old kid and her friends. So I try to keep an open mind and NOT put my likes and dislikes onto what I think recruits might like or dislike. My point is if you want to understand how to help sell GT then I suggest looking at everything we have and trying to figure out what IS positive about it. If there is anything you think is negative I can GUARANTEE that someone else is using it against us and we better have answers and not come back with “yeah you are so right this city is really dangerous.”

That’s all I’ve got. You all can go back to bashing Atlanta.

TL;DR:

That's the point.

I loved ATL for most of the four decades I lived in and near it. I moved away because I don't love it so much anymore. That ain't saying it's not lovable, only that I've changed, ATL has changed and that's okay. You can have your parties and action and horrendous traffic and pollution. I'll take my boring salt-marsh views, dead quiet and 45 minute trips to buy groceries.

 

[jojatk]

TL;DR:

That's the point.

I loved ATL for most of the four decades I lived in and near it. I moved away because I don't love it so much anymore. That ain't saying it's not lovable, only that I've changed, ATL has changed and that's okay. You can have your parties and action and horrendous traffic and pollution. I'll take my boring salt-marsh views, dead quiet and 45 minute trips to buy groceries.

Yes absolutely. Everyone likes different things. Market what’s good about the city to those who may like it. Market other things to people who might not.

 

[Squints]

People were shot/stabbed and killed in Atlantic Station and Buckhead in the past couple of weeks. Both are in Atlanta. Both are areas frequented by Tech students. Crime has increased in the city, both in bad areas and good areas. To say otherwise is factually incorrect.

Your takes on this have been the most boomer thing I've seen in a while on a board filled with boomer takes.

As someone else said, stop watching cable news.

 

[CheCha54]

Your takes on this have been the most boomer thing I've seen in a while on a board filled with boomer takes.
WSB 2,
As someone else said, stop watching cable news.

You must not watch the news. Check out 11 Alive, WSB 2, etc. local Atlanta. What does cable news have to do with it?

 

[85Escape]

Your takes on this have been the most boomer thing I've seen in a while on a board filled with boomer takes.

As someone else said, stop watching cable news.

You use boomer like an insult. I assume that's your purpose. So you are okay insulting someone for their age? How about their race? Or maybe a physical disability? Where's your line? Where are the mod's line? Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[GTLorenzo]

Your takes on this have been the most boomer thing I've seen in a while on a board filled with boomer takes.

As someone else said, stop watching cable news.

Sure. Whatever. I guess no one was shot and killed at Atlantic Station and a 77 year old lady wasn’t stabbed in the garage in her gated Buckhead community last week. Interesting that I saw the Tech grad mayor’s press conference on Channel 2 in Atlanta. I guess he’s just a boomer and just made it all up. SMDH….

 

[GTLorenzo]

You use boomer like an insult. I assume that's your purpose. So you are okay insulting someone for their age? How about their race? Or maybe a physical disability? Where's your line? Where are the mod's line? Inquiring minds want to know...

Or go tell the Buckhead grandmother’s family that her stabbing and death are just a cable news story and it didn’t really happen because crime isn’t an issue three miles from the Tech campus. Nice take.