Our hackathon started as Tribehacks in the 2014-15 academic year. In 2019, we renamed it Cypher after W&M's cypher mark. For our ninth hackathon, we reverted to Tribehacks to clarify the type of event we were. Many students mistakenly thought we were a cybersecurity competition and had to 'de-Cypher' the name. (As a side note, W&M’s cybersecurity scene is growing, and we hope Cypher returns as the name of the CTF competition in the future!)

Tribehacks was not a perfect name either. While it follows the naming pattern of other hackathons like "Hoohacks", we wanted a name that reflects how our school is unique. There has also been criticism of the usage of "Tribe" in recent years, which we resonate with. Sponsors in the past have shown uneasiness with the use of Tribe, especially those outside of Virginia unfamiliar with the school’s branding. This is why the name was originally changed to Cypher.

And so, &hacks was born! The ampersand echoes W&M's signature mark, follows the 'Hoohacks' and 'VTHacks' convention, and hones in on what makes our hackathon special. The best projects at Cypher and Tribehacks were those where students used computer science to explore their passions, from biology to music to philosophy, and tackle real world problems they were invested in. These interdisciplinary projects exemplify the diverse skill set that W&M's computer science students bring to the table.

We are computer science students AND we are liberal arts students. Many of W&M's computer science majors also pursue other fields. Just among members of our ACM chapter, there are CS majors with secondary majors in English, Film Studies, Biology, and Linguistics, to name a few. Even single-major students gain unique perspectives through the COLL curriculum. W&M students will excel not only as software engineers but also as project managers, researchers, leaders, whatever position they find themselves in.

Ultimately, &hacks is more than just a name change. It reflects our commitment to fostering creativity, collaboration, and interdisciplinary innovation. &hacks is not just about coding; it's about using technology to solve real-world problems, bring new perspectives, and cultivate the next generation of leaders in tech.

-The &hacks team