{"666908":{"#nid":"666908","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Announces Change to Historic Steam Whistle ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBeginning today, Georgia Tech students and all inhabitants in the City of Atlanta will no longer be awoken early in the morning with the piercing, yet iconic, sound of the steam whistle. Due to a new ordinance by the Federation of Operational Linguistics and Sounds (FOOLS), all public sounds aired in non-closed areas must be at a frequency either below 20,000 Hz or above 35,000 Hz. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA team of Georgia Tech engineers comprised of four students and one faculty member have been modifying the whistle to meet the new requirements. With the date quickly approaching to meet the Federation\u2019s deadline, these Yellow Jackets are definitely not whistling while they work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe process of dismantling a 130-year-old, finely tuned, noise making apparatus is not an easy task,\u201d said Gabriel Warbler, a professor in the newly formed School of Audiological Engineering. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to lose the distinctive steam exiting the whistle because that is important imagery to maintain for our students and alumni, but finding a way to muffle or change the frequency has been challenging.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe students that signed up and sacrificed their Spring Break are dedicated to solving the problem.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSometimes it just makes you want to yell, scream, or screech,\u201d said second-year mechanical engineering student Angela Tone, \u201cBut, we wanted to be a part of the team to figure this out. It resonates with us.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe news of the change has started to reach native Atlantans, and the response is not expected to just blow over. John Rackett is one Yellow Jacket alumnus that is steamed about the ordinance. A 16-year resident in midtown, the whistle has remained a part of his daily routine.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think it is ridiculous!\u201d Rackett exclaimed. \u201cI\u2019ve saved ten, no, twenty dollars over the last several years because I don\u2019t need an alarm clock. Every night, I sleep with my window open and every morning I wake up to that beautiful sound blasting through the city. It just won\u2019t be the same.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EStill, as news reverberated around campus and students returned to class this week, there were many in favor of a muted whistle.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOn Monday and Wednesday, I don\u2019t have class until 11,\u201d said Phillip Ecko, a first-year student that lives on East Campus. \u201cI\u2019m in one of the closest dorms. It\u2019s so loud. If I don\u2019t get my sleep, I\u2019m a wreck.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWarbler hopes the adjustments the team is making will appease students like Ecko, while also keeping the familiar elements of Georgia Tech\u2019s oldest tradition. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can\u2019t please everybody, but we have come up with a pretty good plan,\u201d Warbler said with a smile. \u201cWe\u2019re going to set the frequency to over 35,000 Hz.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe human ear stops picking up frequencies above 35,000 Hz, but the sound is still audible for canines. The change would make a visit to campus from any kind of dog quite uncomfortable.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBeginning today, Georgia Tech students and all inhabitants in the City of Atlanta will no longer be awoken early in the morning with the piercing, yet iconic, sound of the steam whistle. Due to a new ordinance, all public sounds aired in non-closed areas must be at a frequency either below 20,000 Hz or above 35,000 Hz. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech Announces Change to Historic Steam Whistle "}],"uid":"34973","created_gmt":"2023-03-30 16:06:06","changed_gmt":"2023-04-01 00:31:50","author":"Evan Atkinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"670413":{"id":"670413","type":"image","title":"Steam Whistle","body":null,"created":"1680309040","gmt_created":"2023-04-01 00:30:40","changed":"1680309040","gmt_changed":"2023-04-01 00:30:40","alt":"Steam Whistle","file":{"fid":"253253","name":"16C10315-P2-004.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/03\/31\/16C10315-P2-004.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/03\/31\/16C10315-P2-004.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2954385,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/03\/31\/16C10315-P2-004.jpg?itok=fMElHUVp"}}},"media_ids":["670413"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"}],"keywords":[],"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":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}