{"385481":{"#nid":"385481","#data":{"type":"news","title":"#POTUSatGT: Long Lines Ahead of Presidential Address at Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPOTUS fever hit Georgia Tech Friday. \u0026nbsp;Thousands of students lined up in the Student Center Commons, hoping to secure a ticket to hear President Barack Obama when he visits campus Tuesday.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe line of ticket-hungry hopefuls multiplied as news of Obama\u2019s scheduled speech in McCamish Pavilion spread.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFirst in line was fifth year computer science major Stefan Koshy, who heard about the ticket distribution while he was sitting in the student center. Koshy\u0027s excitment was evident.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s kind of overwhelming. This is one of those things that defines a generation,\u0022 Koshy said, \u0022As a graduating senior, this feels amazing.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe line quickly exited the Student Center, wrapped around Tech Green and continued past the Mason Building up Atlantic Street. As the line grew, so did the air of excitement about the commander-in-chief\u0027s visit.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s so exciting, regardless of your political views,\u0022 explained Terynne Burgan, second year student from Kennesaw. \u0022It\u0027s so cool to see an acting president. You can\u0027t really miss out on it.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbout midway through the line, Ana\u00efs Felix Carrion waited with a group of friends. She heard about the event from Georgia Tech\u0027s Twitter and Facebook pages.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Everyone was already talking about it within 30 minutes of the news,\u0022 Felix Carrion said. \u0022It\u0027s really cool to have this opportunity.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents ate lunch, played football and did some studying while they waited for tickets.\u0026nbsp; Editors of the Technique handed out copies of the student newspaper.\u0026nbsp; A few students grabbed instruments, entertaining the crowds with an impromptu jam session. The Rambling Wreck drove by, with its signature horn blaring. Even President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson greeted students, taking a few selfies with students to help pass the time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAround 4:00 p.m., William Higgins was the person at the end of the line.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,\u0022 said Higgins. \u0022If I don\u0027t go, where\u0027s my patriotic spirit. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHiggins\u0027 friend and fraternity brother just happened to be the first ticket-holder. But for Higgins, the wait would be well worth it. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0022Being college students, we\u0027re about to be going into the workforce. We need to be keeping up with what\u0027s going on in the world,\u0022 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;The free tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis the Georgia Tech students, staff and faculty with a valid Georgia Tech BuzzCard.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore information about the visit can be found here: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/POTUSatGT\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/obama\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Thousands of students lined up in the Student Center Commons, hoping to secure a ticket to hear President Barack Obama when he visits campus Tuesday."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPOTUS fever hit Georgia Tech Friday. \u0026nbsp;Thousands of students lined up in the Student Center Commons, hoping to secure a ticket to hear President Barack Obama when he visits campus Tuesday. The line of ticket-hungry hopefuls multiplied as news of the President\u2019s scheduled speech in McCamish Pavilion spread.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Thousands of students lined up in the Student Center Commons, hoping to secure a ticket to hear President Barack Obama when he visits campus Tuesday."}],"uid":"28058","created_gmt":"2015-03-06 20:18:52","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:00","author":"Steven Norris","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"385501":{"id":"385501","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech students line up for tickets to President Obama\u0027s Address","body":null,"created":"1449246262","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:24:22","changed":"1475894400","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:00","alt":"Georgia Tech students line up for tickets to President Obama\u0027s Address","file":{"fid":"75400","name":"img_4721.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_4721.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_4721.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":94985,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_4721.jpg?itok=tbFk0ZAO"}},"385521":{"id":"385521","type":"image","title":"Long Lines form for tickets to Presidential Address","body":null,"created":"1449246262","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:24:22","changed":"1475894398","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:58","alt":"Long Lines form for tickets to Presidential Address","file":{"fid":"75402","name":"20150306_143719.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/20150306_143719.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/20150306_143719.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":180618,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/20150306_143719.jpg?itok=JW3uIR-q"}},"385511":{"id":"385511","type":"image","title":"Dr. Peterson greets students","body":null,"created":"1449246262","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:24:22","changed":"1475894398","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:58","alt":"Dr. Peterson greets students","file":{"fid":"75401","name":"sequence_01.still001_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sequence_01.still001_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sequence_01.still001_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":882434,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sequence_01.still001_0.jpg?itok=N14CyGDP"}}},"media_ids":["385501","385521","385511"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"489","name":"atlanta"},{"id":"6467","name":"Barack Obama"},{"id":"246","name":"Georgia Institute of Technology"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"94","name":"GT"},{"id":"463","name":"obama"},{"id":"1271","name":"President"},{"id":"120671","name":"presidential address"},{"id":"167367","name":"speech"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESteven Norris Social Media Coordinator, Georgia Tech \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:snorris@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Esnorris@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E@sociallysteven\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ELaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E@LauraRDiamond\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["snorris@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}