Most buildings and many outdoor areas at UCSD were wired for 802.11b. FIrst off, UCSD would be San Diego, not, as some television shows would have you believe, Sunnydale. Second, it is a campus I’ve visited a few times, as it was one of my potential college choices. I must say that in some areas they really have it together. Food services is one, as is their well-stocked bookstore. Their first-run movie screenings at $2 a ticket are another cool feature, as well as their bus service. All of these things are on the student union/student activites side of things, so I’m going to have to look into how to best influence those systems when I get back to Brandeis. I think I might want to see how hard it would be to expand the reach of the Student Services Bureau (and see how that organization works in the meantime). Also, Student Events might need some revamping as well. Dunno. Have to see how the existing system works.

Where was I? Oh, yes, wireless. Almost the entire campus was blanketed in an 802.11b (AirPort) wireless networks. Gateways in every building and, I have to assume, myriad signal repeaters, made connecting from the grass, the bookstore, or the cafeteria incredibly easy. And the whole experience was quite cool. Now that I’ve experienced it first-hand I am much more anxious to get such a project going at Brandeis. Cause its really cool. And useful!

What else? UCSD has political parties, which is kinda funny. But it does seem like a good way to get more influence. You can vote Action and perhaps elect their whole slate to Associated Students (AS) office, then they are in definite position to make some real reforms in whatever direction it is that you want. But they also have stickers, posters, shirts, etc., meaning that these AS campaigns are being funded, and I wonder by whom. At Deis we have a strict clean-elections policy, with no money spent whatsoever, and limited resources provided to all candidates by the student union. How are they getting T-Shirts? Do they have corporate or community backers who want certain reforms? Dunno, but something to check into further, especially with regard to their union constitution.