In an effort to spread news derived from a national network of college newspapers, Lehigh students have developed a new mobile application named Campus Crazie.
The app is a collaborative effort between marketing professors, as well as marketing, journalism, graphic design and computer science students.
“We’re hoping to create something remarkable,” said Kelly Mueller, ’15, the application’s lead editor.
Hoping to target university students, Campus Crazie will be the first app of its kind. It will serve as a place people can go to for stories about college students by college students.
Mueller recruited the team of students during the fall 2013 semester. Under the direction of Craig Gordon, a marketing professor, the group brainstormed an idea that would appeal to the college student audience and eventually came up with the basis for Campus Crazie. Jack Lule, chair of the department of journalism and communication, has also been very involved in the application’s growth.
After those who were involved with coming up with the idea of Campus Crazie graduated, a group of 10 students and two professors remained at Lehigh to develop it.
“There’s nothing like this out there currently,” Mueller said. “It targets a more narrow demographic, but it’s also drawing attention to college-run media platforms.”
With a style similar to websites such as Barstool Sports and Elite Daily, Mueller described the app as something that would be fitting to share with your friends in between classes. Nothing dry, nothing lengthy, nothing without purpose – but rather an accessible way to get the top news stories from college campuses right on your smartphone.
Though the app is currently in its infancy, once launched, it will be updated daily, and the top 10 stories from across the country will be presented to its viewers.
“What I’m most excited about is getting together with the team and getting the actual interface design, and the entire project, off the ground,” said Tom Farrell, ’15, a member of the group developing Campus Crazie.
Students from the graphic design and computer science departments are working on the look, layout and development of the technology required to create such an application. Once that happens, a 10-day beta test will begin during the first week of November. The group will set up the app live during the time frame, during which its members hope to catch the eye of investors.
Working alongside Gordon, the marketing students will also play a huge role in getting the app into the hands of those who can help take it it through the stages of investment.
“Students already indulge in news from other campuses on websites that exist now,” said Amanda Wilk, ’15, another member of the Campus Crazie team. “This app is a way to further localize it and make it much more accessible.”
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