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From: wrf@mab.ecse.rpi.edu (Wm Randolph Franklin)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Student Housing at SIGGRAPH
Message-ID: <6535@rpi.edu>
Date: 8 Aug 89 00:29:20 GMT
References: <391@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <151@cfa.HARVARD.EDU>
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Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
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It seems that SIGGRAPH  could have done much more  for cheap housing  in
Boston.

1. About there  being few dorm  rooms: Boston has 250K students   in the
academic  year.  One would   think  that  there  would  have been  a few
thousand dorm rooms near public  transportation, perhaps at Simmons, BU,
etc.  Do all the places have summer schools to fill the dorms?

2. About the prepayment problems:  SIGGRAPH  shouldn't have to front the
money.   Let  the person desiring the  dorm   room  pay  the  university
directly.

3. About checking student status: Let anyone who wants use the dorms.

4. About the hassles of doing this: SIGGRAPH should absorb  it as a cost
of encouraging students into the field.  They shouldn't  get complacent:
just because there are a lot of  people in  the  field now  doesn't mean
there will always  be.  RPI has seen a  big trend away from graphics/CAD
in applications.  Now students want computer architecture.

In addition since  the dorms make so much  money on the deal, they might
be willing to help somewhat.  I stayed at an MIT dorm for a week in June
for the Computers & Math conference.  The dorm  people  seemed to do the
reservations themselves.  The cost was $45/day for single or $66/day for
double, breakfast and lunch included.   Unfortunately they wouldn't take
individual reservations for SIGGRAPH.

5. Cheap  hotels: SIGGRAPH  doesn't even  want to  deal with the cheaper
HOTELS, let alone  dorms.  My  travel agent   got me a   Howard Johnsons
adjacent to Fenway Park (15 minute walk  away) for $79, $50 cheaper than
the best SIGGRAPH could do.

Sending students to an occasional conference is an  excellent way to get
them wired into a field.  The leaders in any field less crowded than law
should help to encourage this.

SIGGRAPH  is already helping  a lot with the student  volunteer program;
I'm just suggesting a little more help.

(Please email replies to me as well as posting.)

						   Wm. Randolph Franklin
Internet: wrf@ecse.rpi.edu (or @cs.rpi.edu)    Bitnet: Wrfrankl@Rpitsmts
Telephone: (518) 276-6077;  Telex: 6716050 RPI TROU; Fax: (518) 276-6261
Paper: ECSE Dept., 6026 JEC, Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst, Troy NY, 12180