by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Mitch Hastings compares his Web site to Myspace.com.
But it's not for people looking to check out the latest bands or find someone to hook up with.
Irecess.com is a free site that allows high school and college students to rate instructors, voice their opinions through blogs and share notes and homework.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"This isn't about making friends and finding amazing parties," Hastings said. "This has the tools to make the whole student experience better."
Hastings, 21, said when he was a student at UNM, he wanted a way to voice his opinion in an informal matter. He couldn't find a Web site devoted to that, so he dropped out of UNM last fall to create the site.
The site, which started in March, has just under 1,000 users, he said, about 18 of them UNM students. But the site is growing more popular each day, he said.
The site is an experiment to see if students are interested in academics, he said.
"It's seems like people in this age are only interested in the social aspect of school," he said. "I haven't found evidence if people are interested in school life."
Users can scan their exams, term papers and homework onto the site for others to use as resources, Hastings said. Some people like the idea of sharing papers, but others think it's a sketchy idea, he said.
"Someone can go in and print off a paper, but I don't see it that way. I see it as a resource," he said.
Students who use the site can also post notes taken in class, so if a student misses a day of class, they will be able to view the notes.
James Burbank, a UNM English instructor, said he disapproves of the site.
"This is flat-out plagiarism," Burbank said while looking at the site. "I find this site contemptuous and disgusting."
He said rating the professors and sharing notes is a good idea, but having the ability to print papers should not be permitted.
"I don't think notes are a problem if it helps someone - that's OK. It won't do their paper for them," he said.
Hastings said he doesn't think sharing papers is a problem.
"It's your intellectual property. You own it," he said.
Hastings said the site wasn't created for people to steal papers but for people to have a voice. Some students are better at school than others, he said, and they can help those who are struggling in a class by posting their papers.
The blogs will also help students, he said. Students can use the blogs to write informal articles about issues happening at their school. Hastings said eventually he'd like to have individual blogs for each class.
UNM student Kiyun Lynch said the site is a cool idea.
"If used right, it can be a valuable tool, but people will abuse it," he said.
Lynch said if he joined the site he would use it to exchange notes with peers. If students want to use it to take another student's paper, that's their choice, he said.
"We pay money for school. If we want to learn something, I guess it's up to us," he said.
Rating instructors is one of the key features of the site, Hastings said. Students can rate their professors' personality and workload. When a student rates a professor, it is an anonymous submission, he said.
"This is a place where people can be candid," he said, adding that students should remove their names when submitting exams, papers or homework.
Hastings, who works at as a government consulter, said advertisements on the Web site help pay for the service, but he doesn't make extra money. He said the site is for leisure, not making cash.
"It's kind of my nature," he said. "Build something. Solve this. Make that faster."
