The student Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC) released CampusQuad, a new phone app that streamlines the Bowdoin community’s ability to advertise and view events, on Wednesday.
CampusQuad will not replace the Orbit, which will continue to organize club membership and email lists.
In an attempt to encourage people to download the app, ITAC is raffling off seven Amazon gift cards—five worth $20, one worth $100 and one worth $250. Creating an account with a Bowdoin email address will automatically enter a user in the raffle.
Bowdoin is one of about 10 colleges participating in the beta test of CampusQuad and sending feedback to the company. CampusQuad founder Francis Cairns contacted Chief Information Officer Mitch Davis, who used to work with her at Apple, about testing the app at the College.
ITAC has been giving feedback to CampusQuad for over a year, but this is its first attempt to publicize CampusQuad to the whole campus and encourage student use.
“You’ll hopefully be able to get a better understanding of what’s happening so you can attend more events and activities,” said Andrew Haeger ’16, who is a member of ITAC and organizing the CampusQuad initiative.
In addition to CampusQuad, ITAC is responsible for the iPad scanning system in the dining halls and a new Verizon Wireless cell tower on Coles Tower.
CampusQuad allows group leaders to create events, which students can then view in the app. Only people with a Bowdoin email address can access Bowdoin events.
Any user can create non-event posts in the app for important announcements or deadlines. Users can view the analytics behind their posts to determine how many people have seen a post and how many people have committed to attending an event.
The app will soon contain a “What’s Happening Now” feature. Users will be able to view events happening within the next few hours. This feature will be available within the next two weeks.
Currently, the app is only open for individual student use. In the next week, ITAC will begin loading club, department and school calendars into the app.