Afer numerous emails and discussions at high levels (that is, I was excluded), it appears that I will not have to disclose my cs password to be able to hook my laptop to the Ethernet service in January 110.

The news was given to me somewhat along these lines:

We don't feel that what we are doing is wrong, but it's purpose is to make sure we know who you are. Now we know who you are, so we don't need your password

Meanwhile, the lack of connectivity convinced me to install the software on the in-room computer, so now I don't have to lug my laptop over to lecture every day. I probably won't use the Ethernet service, and we're probably all better-off because of this.