This episode of Yellow Jackets Confidential explores the tradition of stealing the Whistle, a campus relic, at Georgia Tech, and its connection to the Dark Academia aesthetic. The Whistle is a longstanding tradition at Georgia Tech, and the theft of it has become a dangerous and mystified practice on campus. The first time the Whistle was stolen was in 1902 by a group of students known as the “Magnificent Seven”. Spencer, an expert on secret societies, explains that secret societies at Georgia Tech are nothing new and have emerged over the years to serve the campus anonymously or to commit crimes that could not be pulled off alone. The Magnificent Seven was a society made up of seven fraternity brothers who became famous for their theft of the Whistle. The Whistle theft inspired a copycat case in 1963, and this group of students would also be involved in the trend of stealing the “T’s” off Tech tower. Kirti, an expert on Dark Academia and the Secret History, discusses the lengths students were willing to go to participate and revive the dangerous and risky practice of stealing the Whistle. This fascination with tradition and history is prevalent in the Dark Academia aesthetic, where students look to historicism to contextualize their experiences and give purpose and meaning to their lives.

Works Cited: A, 6, 11, 12, 15

Have you laid a Penny on Sideways’ grave? How do you feel about bathing in piglets blood? Have you ever sung along to a Brian Eno song? On this episode of Exploring Dark Academia In The Modern World… “Superstitions: The Silly, The Sideways and The Strange” We explore our very own observations on the presence of superstitions amongst our fellow college students. In order to break down those observations, we dissected a plethora of examples rooted in our very own college campus, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and in the realm of dark academia literature (You know the book we are gonna use, our absolute favorite one… The Secret History by Donna Tartt). After drawing various connections between these examples, we began workshopping insights on why superstitions run so rampantly in colleges everywhere, always. Ready yourself to listen to our personal understanding of what a superstition even is, how it finds itself ingrained in our everyday behavior, and how that pertains particularly to listeners like you (college students); That is the tip of the iceberg as to what this silly, sideways, and very strange episode will reveal. Tune in for those tidbits of knowledge and of course to hear yours truly blabber on, procrastinating my much needed physics studying.

Works Cited: A, 13

In episode 7, “George P. Burdell: Man or Myth,” Superstitious: Whispers in the Halls delves into the myth of Georgia Tech’s George P. Burdell, the mythical man who has received numerous accolades over the years. Led by host Raine Simon and joined by co-host Nadira Lea, the episode delves deep into whether or not George P. Burdell, regardless of his lack of his existence, is truly alive in the spiritual sense within the hearts and minds of Georgia Tech students or even society at large. The episode explores what George P. Burdell represents, whether or not such a role model is a positive for society, and even investigates some of the potential dangers of mythical figureheads and role models.

Works Cited: A, 8, 14