This is nothing new. Since course registration has had a web interface, there have been those who find the system clunky, inefficient, and useless for a wide array of situations, the least of which is registering for classes. I know at least 3 people in my grade level who have done the same thing. I've done the same thing. People before me have told me how they did the same thing. This is all at one university. The NYTimes is making these guys out to be heroes of programming and ingenuity, when this is almost a first step for a college/university programmer.