By Katie RessmeyerThe Daily Northwestern
Lost possessions are an epidemic among college students. Whether a DVD’s loaned and not returned, or a cell phone lost during weekend shenanigans, campuses are a black hole for everything from trivial trinkets to prized possessions.
Although in the past these items were considered as good as gone, a new student-designed Web site is replacing the cardboard lost-and-found box.
Foundoncampus.com lets Northwestern students search for objects they have lost and post anything they find. If a user finds a lost item, the Web site will arrange its on-campus delivery.
“There is really no place you can go to ask if anyone has found something on this campus,” said Justin Li, the founder of the site.
The McCormick sophomore came up with the idea last spring after losing his dorm room keys for two weeks. Although he eventually discovered that a hall mate had found his keys, the experience showed Li the need for a campus-wide lost-and-found.
Communication senior Madeline Merritt said she agreed a solution to the process of finding lost possessions would be welcome at NU.
“There is no central lost-and-found at the university,” Merritt said. “I found a pair of keys that I didn’t know whom to return to.”
It was this problem that led Li to create an online lost-and-found. After Associated Student Government refused to endorse his idea, Li turned to Chroma Coders, a group dedicated to helping college students throughout the Midwest develop software outside of the classroom.
Although the Web site has been functional since mid-September, Li stopped working on the site to explore a new idea, nucollab.com.
“There is no clear reason why I abandoned foundoncampus.com,” Li said. “Basically I had two toys and one is better.”
Nucollab.com is a NU-specific “Craig’s List,” Li said. Students will be able to advertise for participants in on-campus projects. After a group is formed, the site will have a forum for groups to collaborate and organize their efforts.
Li said he plans to add foundoncampus.com as a project on nucollab.com, adding that advertising the lost-and-found has been a problem.
Students said they agreed that although foundoncampus.com fills a need at NU, advertising would be necessary for its success.
“Right now people have to ask around (if they lose something), which isn’t a very good way,” Weinberg senior Erika Hollner said. “It would work if people actually used it.”
Li said that working with Chroma Coders should also help foundoncampus.com reach a wider audience.
The Web site is being launched at the University of Michigan and Purdue University.
Reach Katie Ressmeyer at [email protected].
