Wellesley Students Mix Computer Science, Ideas, and Purpose

Three hundred student “hackers” from more than 50 colleges and universities, most of them in the Northeast, attended WHACK (short for “Wellesley hacks”) from November 10 to12. This was the fifth time Wellesley sponsored the weekend competition.

The number of competitors this year surpassed that of the four previous years, said Katy Ma ’18, a co-director of WHACK, so the organizers moved the event from its previous location in Alumnae Ballroom to nearby Tishman Commons.

“It was wonderful that the demand and participation was so great that we expanded the venue,” said Ma. “It was huge. Previously we attracted mostly Wellesley students, but this year we got more participants from all over and were still able to maintain a strong sense of community.”

Students hailed primarily from colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, New York, and other parts of Massachusetts. The “hackers” participated in informal talks with tech professionals, exchanged ideas in workshops, and experimented with their various tech projects in groups with other students.

WHACK is a student-run event organized with the support of Major League Hacking and the Wellesley Computer Science Club. Sponsors included the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Google, and Viacom.