Long lines may be over soon
April 25, 2021
A new web app called, “Check the Wait,” is ready for students to use that allows them to look at the lines at hotspots on the North Haven and Mount Carmel campuses. The idea for the app was pitched by the Student Government Association a few years ago but, is now here for students to use during the pandemic.
Carmine Grippo, the newly elected Student Government Association Vice President for Public Relations, says the app will be very useful during COVID-19.
“I think this is a big thing for the school because it helps a lot with COVID and everything because even now we see the lines outside the bookstore are crazy and that’s not the best thing for congestion with COVID and trying to social distance and whatnot,” Grippo said. “That’s the main reason they instituted it, just so students can schedule their time better around campus and everything like that and decide where, when and how they want to go about their day…”
Hotspots now include Cafe Q, Starbucks, the North Haven gym, the Mount Carmel post office, the North Haven dining hall, the Mount Carmel entrance and the piazza. The university installed 17 security cameras for the app and its development took a total of 15 hours.
Doug Geiste, the Senior Web Director of Web Technologies for the Integration Services department, wrote the script for the images to be taken from the cameras and put into the app every 30 seconds. Geiste says one of the goals of the app is for students to be able to avoid large crowds.
“No one wants to wait in lines where it’s a crowded area…” Geiste said. “It’s just kind of to help increase that social distance we need to be observing right now. It’s just about students making that decision of whether ‘is it now a good time to go, or should I wait?’”
Carmine Grippo is excited about the app and believes it will help students with their schedules.
“Students are definitely going to benefit because they can schedule their day and plan their day,” Grippo said. “This is something that’s going to make the lives of students easier.”
Students can log into “Check the Wait” here with their student credentials.
