“Remember remember the 5th of November…” Students of Washington State University sure will. A student turned hacker, turned V from V for Vendetta, hacked the school’s academic media system which controls all the in-classroom presentations and distance learning technology. The still yet to be identified culprit(s), programmed the projector screens to automatically deploy and play the 5 minute video message every hour on the hour.

The V wannabe, brandishing a Guy Fawkes mask just like in the movie, used their 5 minute video to criticize the IT department and to encourage the student body to lead a revolt against the squirrels that live on campus grounds. “V” believes that the squirrels are freeloaders and do nothing but “eat, drink and breed”.  It is unclear at this time if his message resonated with any of the students in the 12 or so classrooms that were affected. The leader of the squirrels was unavailable for comment when asked about the incident.

Darin Watkins, a spokesperson for the University stated that the school administrators were not amused, and that “Childish pranks don’t have a place anymore”. He would go onto say that “What may have been seen as cute and clever years ago, really doesn’t get that kind of reaction today.” He also believes that the perpetrator(s) would face “serious charges” once they were identified.

In the movie V for Vendetta, “V” channels his inner-Guy Fawkes to lead a revolution against the sitting British government that that ruled the public with serious fascist undertones. V’s antics, which ultimately lead to violence against the government, made school officials fear that the hackers could possibly be up to more than just hacking a dozen projectors. In the post-9/11 era, they were not going to take any chances and went into full alert to bring an end to the hack. They were able to shut it down after a few hours and one official was quoted as saying that it “was a rather sophisticated program” and at some point they just started unplugging hard drives to get the video shut down.

It seems as if most of the students that saw the video were more amused than worried. In fact, it has brought about a spirited discussion about current issues on campus. Some of those topics include tuition increases, the cutting of courses and overall university governance. Whether or not the video message will evoke any actually change to any of that listed topics is yet to be seen.

The full fallout of this escapade has yet to be realized, but rest assured, the 5th of November will always be remembered on the campus of Washington State. Or as their resident V might say, “Remember, remember the 5th of November. The media projector hack, and plot. I know of no reason why the media projector treason should ever be forgot.”

To find a college where you can experience interesting occurrences such as this one, visit AnyCollege.com.

False Assumptions

When I signed up to study in Turkey, I was not expecting to end up like this. Soaked in muddy water with scraped knees, and nursing a sore foot from walking barefoot until finding someone's lost shoe to finish the end of the trek. A hike through Saklikent Gorge is definitely not what first comes to mind when you think of Turkey.

When I told people I was going to Turkey, a common reaction was "Why would you want to go there? They [insert some terrible characteristic]." So I think it's time to clear up some misconceptions that my friends and family have about Turkey.

"You're going to have to wear a burka, and they don't let women in public.
We have had more interactions with Turkish men than women, but I think that is more due to primarily men working in hotels, shops and restaurants where we've spent the most of our time. I've seen head-to-toe burkas - the black gowns where only the eyes show - once in my two weeks in Turkey, and it might have been a group of tourists. Head scarves are common, but not the norm, especially with younger women. Even women who cover completely find a way to do it fashionable, to the point that I would really love to own some of their clothes. I think Turkey has pushed the division of state and religion a bit too far, actually, since students aren't able to wear scarves to state universities.

"You're going to be killed by terrorists because Turkey borders Iraq."
Yeah, the countries share a border, but the distance from Istanbul to Baghdad is about the same as the distance from my house in Prairie Village to the drug wars happening in Mexico. I'm not scared.

Istanbul is a city of 12+ million people. Crime happens. I'm not going to wander down dark alleys alone or leave lira hanging out of my pocket, but terrorists? Not so much. Even with all the hubbub with Israel, I've only seen a handful of graffiti or signs expressing outrage. When we asked at the synagogue, the man giving us a tour said he hasn't experienced any sort of animosity. It seems like everyone is busy going about their day and pretty committed to get along.

"You're going to get spit on, because they all hate Americans."
I've seen opinion polls showing that 70% of Turks disapprove of Americans, but I have yet to experience anything but hospitality from the people I've met. Every time I've traveled, I've gone home and said the people were amazing, but I feel like Turkey is in a league of its own. Our tour guides feel more like rent-a-friends than guides. Each one has gone above and beyond - offering to take us out on the town, giving us watermelon, walking us to our bus terminal, inviting us out for drinks, friending us on Facebook, etc.

Everyone is so hospitable that I actually find it difficult to navigate. At what point am I being rude turning down offers? Or, conversely, when am I taking advantage of their kindness? When we prodded one our friends for why he was doing so much for us, he said he wanted us to know what Turkish people were really like, not the stereotypes of the Middle East, so that people could know how great Turkey is. It's working.

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I know I've blogged about this topic before... but for teen drivers especially it's good to be aware of the dangers of texting while driving. (Hey, we want to see you make it to college in one piece!) There is a new PSA commercial out in the UK that's causing a stir about texting and driving...

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