Computing Resources Committee
March 13th, 2005This was my fourth term with the Computing Resources Committee (CRC). Even though we barely met, I was able to continue to learn about the structure of computing on campus.
At the most recent meeting we met with the software licensing manager for Oregon State, Lena Ferris. Coming from such an open source software point of view this was a very interesting discussion. She explained the entire system from purchase to development. One particular part that I found interesting was when she mentioned approaching ASOSU regarding purchasing a campus wide license for Microsoft office. She said that ASOSU was more interested in using open source alternatives and opted out of purchasing. She went on to almost make fun of the decision. It is possible that I just took what she was saying wrong, but it did seem like she was more on the side of the vendors than for OSU. Open source software helps everyone, especially cash strapped organizations like OSU. They will be receiving an email.
Right now I see the committee lacking purpose. Most of the meetings have been bouncing around from topic to topic, and never really making any decisions about anything. At times I feel as if the committee is yet another group keeping on eye on campus spending, in particular, spending on technology. The purpose, I have gathered, is to make sure that faculty are informed about any technology related change.
Next term I plan on continuing to serve on the CRC and the Technology Resources Committee. It is empowering to be a student member on such committee, and I hope to see more students getting involved.
January 24th, 2006 at 9:42 am
Alex, I’m surprised that I was characterized as “almost making fun of” ASOSU’s decision not to join in to the campus agreement. A little perspective is in line here. I receive calls very frequently from students asking if they can purchase MS Office software through our agreement with MS. I have to turn them away. I’m not sure what the student rate for the software is anymore, but at the time we approached ASOSU, it would have been less then $10 per student. I now send the students to the bookstore where they have to pay about $70. I have children in college. I know how expensive it is, so when I see a opportunity for students (many struggling to pay for school on their own) to save some money, I’m very much in favor of it. I’m a big believer in good open source software, but it’s not what most people choose to use. In the case of the students, I just want them to get the best deal on what they really use.