The Boston Globe and the Tech both have front-page stories
this morning about the arrest of three MIT students who were caught in
the MIT Faculty Club after hours. According to the Globe (which,
in typical Globe fashion uses the word "pranks" rather than "hacks" or
"hacking") the students set off an alarm which alerted the Campus
Police. They were found in the Faculty Club, one with an L-slide
(which can be used to open some kinds of doors.)
Usually, this would result in a fine, or, for a first
offense, community service. This time, the students are being charged
"trespassing, breaking, and entering with the intent to commit a
felony" and "possession of burglarious tools for having the slide"
according to the Tech. What felony? That’s unclear. The Tech also states that
"It is not listed in any court documents what felony the police are referring to."
This all makes it very clear that the MIT Police are not happy with students
exploring campus. The ambiguity is in the messages sent by other departments:
-
The Alumni Association has regularly used images of famous hacks as
fundraising and publicity material. -
MIT Admissions maintains a webpage about the hacking tradition,
which uses an image of a recent hack (the MIT Fire Truck commemorating
9/11) as its banner. Hacks regularly appear on the Admissions Blogs like here and here -
Former President Charles M Vest has written publically about his
appreciation for the hack on his office on his first day as
President.
So what’s MIT’s real stance on hacks and hackers? We’ll see as the criminal case shakes out.
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