Following the massive spike in bathroom vandalism last school year, Niles West’s Computer Science Honor Society (CSHS) has taken it upon themselves to change that this year with a helpful QR code. The creators of the project started it last school year but were unable to complete it until this year due to the bathrooms being remodeled this summer.

These QR codes are taped next to every bathroom in the school, instructing students to scan it with their phones if they need to report an issue going on in the bathroom. Once the student scans the code, they are brought to a form where they can enter any information on the current problem, and secretary Heidi Richards is notified through email. Richards is then able to alert security to help fix the bathroom issue.

“I had the idea for the project at the time of the ‘Devious Licks‘ trend where people were stealing various items from the bathroom,” said junior Omar Ansari, one of the founders of the design. “[Administrators] can push updates on different bathrooms and their materials. This is then connected to the Google Sheet with the Google Sheets API, and both the website interface and the google sheets are updated accordingly.”

“Each year, students in Advanced App Development identify a need they see in their school or community that they want to try to address by using an app, and several students wanted to come up with solutions for problems in the bathrooms,” said CSHS sponsor, Matthew Fahrenbacher. “That’s where the Computer Science Honor Society members came in.  Members helped post the QR codes outside of bathrooms so that students could easily and conveniently report maintenance issues in the bathroom.”

The QR code is one of many projects Computer Science Honor Society works on. “CSHS has three main pillars which are excellence, service, and equity. Throughout the year we implement different projects to promote these pillars. The QR project is an example of this, and another example is last year members could sign up to help in math/computer science classes,” said senior Prisha Singh, president of CSHS. Members, who have to apply to earn a spot, focus on using their knowledge of computer science for the greater good of the student body and overall community.

With the help of the Computer Science Honor Society, the bathrooms and school overall can become a safer place. Be sure to use the QR code if there is ever an issue that required the interference of staff in order, and stay safe!