➡️ Access our website using this link: DPUnity Website
DPUnity is a web platform designed to enhance inclusion and diversity at DePauw University by providing students with a safe and anonymous space to report incidents of discrimination, harassment, or bias. Our platform also offers a safe map feature to help students navigate campus securely and connects them to professional mental health mentors for support.
DPUnity offers three main features:
- Anonymous Report System: A secure platform for students to anonymously report incidents related to discrimination, harassment, or bias.
- Safe Map: By analyzing student reports, we provide a map highlighting safe and dangerous locations on campus to help students navigate safely.
- Support Services: Students can access professional mental health mentors to help them cope with and resolve their problems. We directly connect students to our qualified mentors.
- To report an incident of harassment, sexual harassment, or discrimination, click on the "Report" button on the homepage. You will be prompted to provide details about the incident, but you can choose to remain anonymous. Your report will be sent to the appropriate university officials for follow-up. Each report is tagged with the location of the incident, which is displayed on the safe map.
- To book an online counseling session, navigate to the "Counseling Call" page. Here you can view a list of experienced mentors and mental health professionals who are available for online counseling sessions. You can book a session by selecting a mentor or professional and choosing a time slot that works for you. You will receive an email confirmation with instructions for joining the session.
- To view the safe map, navigate to the "Safe Map" page. Here you can view safe zones and dangerous areas on campus, along with the location of each reported incident.
- Front-end: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Bootstrap for user-friendly design.
- Back-end: MongoDB Atlas, Express, Node.js, for database management.
- Map Integration: Google Maps API, Google Search API for customizing campus maps and pinning relevant locations.
As a team of four freshmen with no prior experience in web development, we faced numerous challenges while building DPUnity. These challenges were both educational and time-constrained, as we had to learn new technologies and complete the project within 14 days. Some of the key challenges we encountered were:
- Brainstorming: Since the topic of improving inclusion and diversity is quite popular, we had to spend quite amount of time choosing the idea for the website that can create an obvious positive impact for campus climate
- Learning web development from scratch: With no prior knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Bootstrap, we had to self-study and quickly grasp these technologies to build the front-end of our website.
- Understanding back-end technologies: We had to familiarize ourselves with MongoDB Atlas for managing databases and integrating them into our project. We also researched and learned how to use Google Maps API, Google Search API to effectively perform the function of Safe Map.
- Balancing learning with project progress withing just 14 days: As we were simultaneously learning new skills and applying them to our project, we faced the challenge of managing our time efficiently and prioritizing tasks.
Throughout our project development journey, we take immense pride in our accomplishments. Despite this being our first project and having limited knowledge about building websites, we successfully completed both the front-end and back-end within the tight time constraint of 14 days.
During the 14-day hackathon, we, as complete beginners, learned various new technologies such as MongoDB Atlas, Express, Node.js, and website deployment using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Bootstrap. We also gained experience in collaborating on GitHub. Most importantly, we developed an understanding of how to create a computer science project from scratch and work effectively as a team. Our achievements demonstrate our resilience and ability to overcome challenges, even as beginners in this field.
- To use the website, you can simply visit the deployed version at DPUnity Website
- To contribute to the codebase, create a new branch, make your changes, commit them, and create a pull request on the original repository. See GitHub's documentation on pull requests for more information.
- Note that to run the reporting system and counseling call feature, you will need to set up appropriate credentials and connections to necessary services, which are not included in this repository for security reasons. Please contact the project maintainers for guidance on setting up these features for local development.
While we are proud of our accomplishments with DPUnity, there is always room for improvement and growth. In the future, we can enhance DPUnity by:
- Enhancing the Safe Map feature by incorporating real-time data, such as campus security alerts and crime statistics, to provide a more comprehensive and accurate view of safety on campus.
- Developing a mobile app to make DPUnity more accessible on-the-go. This would enable students to easily report incidents and access support resources from their smartphones or tablets.
- Integrating a live chat feature, where students can connect with trained peer counselors and mental health professionals in real-time. This would provide immediate support and guidance for those who may be hesitant to seek help in person.
- Developing event notification system allows on-campus clubs and organizations to share their social events and activities with students on the DPUnity platform. Our website will sends the message through email to inform students the upcoming event on campus.
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/PhuocOng/Hackathon-WICS.git - Install dependencies:
npm install - Run the project locally:
node index.js - Open your browser and navigate to:
http://localhost:3000
This project is licensed under the MIT License.