USU hacks it up in all-day competition

Personal computers and laptops, coming in all shapes and sizes, sat open before the diverse group, including high school and college students. They’ve all gathered for one purpose: hacking.

Utah State University hosted a Local Hack Day on Oct. 10. The event lasted from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and focused on teaching students how to build code and create apps, sponsored by Major League Hacking, or MLH, the Computer Science Department and the College of Engineering.

The event included a free lunch and dinner, along with other break activities such as a paper airplane contest and a Rock, Paper, Scissors competition. The busy day also included raffle prize drawings.

For those that attended, hacking has become a new process of learning, said Alex Lutz, the hackUSU organizer.

The term “hacking” is often associated with a negative connotation, but Lutz is working to bring the positive side of hacking to light.

“The hack that most people know about is malicious. We don’t teach anybody how to break into things. It’s about getting together and sitting down and building a project as a team,” Lutz said. “A hack is literally building something innovative, fun and cool with hardware or software.”

Haley Manning, a sophomore majoring in computer science, talked about how the idea for hosting a “hackathon” came to be.

“We just decided we need to get together. We need to get students excited for this, and that’s where this kind of all started,” she said.

Free to participants, the university’s Local Hack Day began with breakfast cereal and support stickers. Around 115 people registered to participate, Lutz said, and he estimated about 60 percent had showed up before the event began at 9:30 a.m.

“Our vision is to increase awareness of students of the computer science department,” said Steven Jones, a sophomore in landscape architecture with a minor in computer science. “We’re trying to boost this up, get this thing really popular, get people having a lot of fun with computers.”

A sponsor of the event, MLH is the official student hackathon league, according to the MLH website.

The organization works with schools across the nation to host events such as Local Hack Day and weekend-long Hackathons.

“The reality is, anyone can code,” Lutz said. “We need that diversity to bring out the best ideas. Companies aren’t built by tech people alone. Your major doesn’t matter. You should be involved in this student group because we’ll teach you how to code — we’ll teach you how to bring your ideas to fruition.”

Shantanu Saxenal, a graduate student studying computer science, works specifically with human and computer interactions, such as researching concepts in mobile apps. He heard about the Local Hack Day through a friend.

“I like computer science,” Saxenal said. “I feel like I am the creator. I make things, I make technology, and that’s how I make a difference.”

The event also provided a chance for local high school students to practice computer science skills.

“I really love computers,” said Jessie McCulloch, a high school student from Logan High. “It’s a lot of fun. I’ve been getting really into coding.”

Through watching videos created by the MLH, participants learned how to use websites such as GitHub to create code and build their own websites.

“I wanted to learn new things with coding,” said Brady Riddle, a junior majoring in computer science. “It’s pretty cool to be around people who want to learn new things.”

At the beginning of planning the Local Hack Day, Lutz said he was unsure whether the activity would work out. But with the help of MLH, the event was a success.

“Anyone that has a good idea can make it happen,” Lutz said. “In building software, you have freedom to build whatever you want. If your mind can think it up, you can build it.”

From Nov. 6-7, USU is hosting the Utah’s first intercollegiate hackathon. The event goes for 36 hours across the weekend and includes workshops, free food and prizes. Companies from all over Utah and students from around the nation are helping in the event, Lutz said.

— ashley.ruth.stilson@aggiemail.usu.edu