It is gratifying to be recognized as a leader in not only technology resources available but as a leader in the academic integration of that technology.

Having technology resources and assets available is necessary and important on today's campuses, but it is equally important to have creative, talented and dedicated faculty who can innovatively apply the technology for the academic benefit of their students. We are truly fortunate to have faculty who take the initiative and effectively exploit the technology.

Certainly Drexel is pleased and proud to be in such company as MIT, Carnegie Mellon and the others. Drexel has a long tradition of distinguishing itself as an academic technology leader, and it is wonderful to be recognized as such consistently over the years.

We live during a time in which some shoppers shiver all Thanksgiving night only to trample one another to death in a sunrise race through the electronics store to buy gaming consoles that allow them to create avatars of themselves.

Here though, there are no oppressors. No one's forcing you to do this. You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become utterly socially autistic. You no longer pick up on basic human communication clues. You're at a table with three humans, all of whom are looking at you and trying to talk to you, and you're staring at a screen! Searching for strangers in... Dubai!

It was one thing to use computers as a tool, quite another to let them do your thinking for you.