T Book

The Tech unit of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) (often referred to as The Association or The “Y”) was established circa 1891 with a mission of service and was organized by Mr. John R. Mott, longstanding leader in the larger YMCA movement. Although the presence of the YMCA on Tech’s campus was somewhat unstable following its initial founding, it was later reorganized and revitalized through the efforts of Mr. Phinehas V. Stephens as its leader. Meetings of the organization were held in the reception hall of Swann dormitory as early as 1902. In 1904, the basement of the Academic Building was utilized as a headquarters for the organization. The development of the YMCA and the increase in social and religious organizations on Tech’s campus led to the construction of a YMCA building, which was first occupied in 1912. The building was made possible via a gift of $50,000 from John D. Rockefeller; the citizens of Atlanta raised an additional $25,000 for the construction. The building was comprised of three-stories and two basements. It had dormitories, rooms for student activities, showers, a billiard parlor, an auditorium, and other useful facilities for the students. In its early days, the YMCA at Tech was one of several hundred such units in America united via the American Intercollegiate Young Men’s Christian Association, which in turn was one of fourteen national organizations that made up a global student Christian federation.

The leadership of the YMCA on campus consisted of student officers along with participation from faculty and alumni. They had an open membership policy for students and faculty of Georgia Tech. The goals of the non-sectarian association were to promote Christian fellowship and a general sense of community throughout the student body. The YMCA took an open stance in welcoming those from different religious backgrounds. Qualities such as self-discipline and exemplary moral conduct were encouraged by the organization. Tech’s YMCA provided a base for religious and social activities on campus for several decades. As the organization continued to grow throughout the 1920s through the 1960s, it developed and promoted several organizations within itself, such as a Freshmen “Y” Club, special interest clubs, fundraising initiatives, and YMCA-sponsored camps; additionally, it turned its attention to a variety of international initiatives, such as the World Student Fund. Circa 1970 the YMCA’s influence on campus dwindled in most part due to the shift in student activities to the campus’ new Student Center. In 1973 the YMCA moved off Georgia Tech’s campus and relocated at nearby All Saints Episcopal Church.

The T Book began in 1904 as an annual publication by the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of the Georgia School of Technology. Originally the handbook was referred to as “The Student’s Hand Book” or the “Hand Book.” It did not start appearing with a “T” on the cover until 1911 and even at that time it was referred to as “The Tech Student’s Handbook” or “The Georgia Tech Students’ Handbook.” In 1925 it officially was referred to as the T Book, a name which it continued to be called for decades to follow. The handbook was created to be “pocket-sized” from the early 1900s until the mid-1940s so that the reader could carry it around with greater ease. The primary audience of the handbook became incoming freshmen, although it was also designed to orient any newcomer to Georgia Tech and the city of Atlanta; also, it served as a reference throughout the reader’s stay at the school. It came to define itself as a self-supported student publication of the YMCA rather than a publication under control of the Publications Board of Tech. The publication was distributed freely to new students and faculty members at Tech. In 1947 the publication ceased being pocket-sized and started appearing in a larger format.