My brain jumped to "curse" and "legal recourse," not "recursion." And I'm a software developer. Hacker School seems fine. I think you guys are over thinking it.
The students were creating their own problem. A tourist visa doesn't require an itinerary. Hacker School isn't eligible to sponsor student visas. So, I wonder, what was the problem?
Yes, I had the same reaction in terms of "curse" and "recourse". I think this is a very strange name. And I don't find it particularly nice to say even, due to the double "ess" sound in the middle.