Swift from MLH here. Sorry to hear that you feel the hackathon at Rice has changed for the worse. I can definitely understand where you're coming from. Since I got involved in hackathons back in 2010 things have changed a lot!
Having spent plenty of time at non-MLH hackathons, I'd say the phenomenon you're observing is actually a broader trend in hackathons, not something specifically MLH is doing. The truth is, most of the sponsorship money that funds these events comes from recruiters. Hackathons are also a hell of a lot more effective for recruiting than job fairs for many companies. Naturally, a huge influx of people focused on hiring hackers would impact the culture.
It's up to organizations like MLH to help preserve the good parts of hacker culture while enabling it to naturally evolve over time. I like to think we're doing some good work on that front, but there's always room for improvement and feedback like yours drives that!
Thanks for being a part of the community! Feel free to drop me an email if you ever want to chat about your feedback further or share additional ideas.
Having spent plenty of time at non-MLH hackathons, I'd say the phenomenon you're observing is actually a broader trend in hackathons, not something specifically MLH is doing. The truth is, most of the sponsorship money that funds these events comes from recruiters. Hackathons are also a hell of a lot more effective for recruiting than job fairs for many companies. Naturally, a huge influx of people focused on hiring hackers would impact the culture.
It's up to organizations like MLH to help preserve the good parts of hacker culture while enabling it to naturally evolve over time. I like to think we're doing some good work on that front, but there's always room for improvement and feedback like yours drives that!
Thanks for being a part of the community! Feel free to drop me an email if you ever want to chat about your feedback further or share additional ideas.