Free hardware for students

While there may be no such thing as a free lunch, there is such a thing as a free computer.

The Oberlin Computer Recycling Program, founded this year by senior Mathias Wegner, lends computers to students who cannot afford their own machines. "A lot of the computer staff supports us. They give us hardware, but they don't have anything to do with running the program," said junior Heather Van Aelst.

The program gets its hardware from both staff and students. The organization is staffed by students who assemble working systems out of the assorted donated hardware they receive. The program is entirely student operated. "Most of [the computers] have been donated by CIT (Center for Information Technology). Many were in labs or were being used by faculty, and would have been thrown out if we didn't take them," said Van Aelst. The technicians sort through all of the equipment they acquire, determining which items function. They then build computers that are lent to students who might otherwise not have access to a machine of their own.

The computers that the OCRP provides are not powerhouses, but are all capable of word processing, and are, for the most part, capable of handling e-mail. "We're primarily trying to provide machines that students can word process on, and we're trying to let them check email," said Van Aelst. Finding used computer parts able to handle advanced software like Telnet and Mulberry can be difficult. Most of the computers that the OCRP possesses are older Macintoshes, as well as some early PCs.

Still, the proposition is hard to turn down. Students participating in the program are offered a choice of both Macintosh and PC computers. "Currently, we have more Macs than PCs, because the College has more Macs than PCs, and replaces them more frequently," said Van Aelst. The OCRP has eight complete machines, as well as five to 10 more on the way, all of which can be borrowed for the entire academic year. The group also has 20 or 25 computers that don't work, whose parts can be used to construct new machines.

The program was the brainchild of Wegner, who assembled a number of his friends to create the program. "The Computing Center goes through a lot of computers. I know a lot of better things to do with them when there are a lot of students without computers in their rooms," said Wegner.

"People on this campus should have computers and it seems to me that I can provide them," said first-year Kevin Turner, one of the OCRP's newest members.

"We're always looking for more people to help us out, as well as donations of hardware, software and money," said Van Aelst.