Uh, it's at the University of Massachusetts, which is not an elite college.
[WS:] I do not think it is the character of the college, but the size of the college town that makes the conference rather exclusive.
I mean, seriously, the first thing that comes to mind when organizing any large gathering of people is - where will these people stay? All right, Woodstock was in that area (or close) too and people slept in tents, but this was in the summer and for a much younger crowd.
And while we are at that - what is the reason behind the stupid American custom of locating their institutions, like colleges or state capitals, in little podunks far away from major population centers?
Wojtek