On May 9, 2008, I presented The Neighborhood Network Watch as my thesis publicly in front of ITP faculty, guests from the public, my peers and those who were watching the web stream.
Just prior to presenting my thesis I was informed by Red Burns, the chair of my department, that there had been complaints coming in from the public about my project. In fact many of which were demanding that NYU step in to shut it down and that they were severely compromising their reputation by allowing such a thesis to be undertaken. The ITP department collectively responded to these emails, backing me completely.
In reality after it was a bit flattering to have caused a stir all the way up to the dean and provost at Tisch. As well as that it has engaged people and has taken them out of their comfort zones to respond.
The thesis presentation went by very fast even though it was a full twenty minutes. I did not present in character as many people were wondering if I would or not. I opted not to so I could talk in more depth about the theoretical background, my influences and to really layout the full scope of what The Neighborhood Network Watch is. The presentation went well it seems overall. You can view it in its entirety here.