sentences:  The modern role of RAT Parents is to welcome freshman band members, teach them Georgia Tech and band traditions, help them adjust to life at Tech and in the band and to act as a friend and advisor to them.In the early days of the tradition, there was just a Rat Mom, who was always a male band member.Since the mid-1980s, there has been both a RAT Mom and a RAT Dad, the latter of which is always a female band member.