This Saturday, April 19, Pitzer College is hosting its own version of the Hackathon. For those who aren’t familiar with the Hackathon, it is an all-night 5-C programming competition event in which teams of students create their own software projects. Groups create everything from video games to music programs to stock market simulators. While the Hackathon is a largely successful event, it does have its weaknesses. Some criticize the Hackathon for being competitive instead of collaborative, as groups compete for rankings and prizes, and forcing students to stay up all night to complete projects, severely disrupting their sleep schedules.
Pitzer students have created the Civic Hackathon with this criticism in mind. The Civic Hackathon is not a competition and welcomes 5-C students and Claremont residents alike – there are no prizes for best program, thus the event is friendly and collaborative. In addition, the Civic Hackathon takes place during the day time, starting at 10 am on Saturday, April 19, so there is no need to sacrifice sleep to participate. If this sounds interesting, you should make sure to attend!
More information available here: http://www.meetup.com/Claremont-Hackers/events/171298942/
By ITA, Seana Rothman