NDToday.com offers students valuable services
By SAM DERHEIMER
News Writer
What began humbly as www.nd.edu/~fhelgese has become one of the most vital resources Notre Dame students have to keep up to date on campus events. Originally created by graduating seniors Frank Helgesen and Andy Warzon, who were later joined by Nick Fellers, NDToday.com may be the most prominent contribution the Class of '01 has left to the Notre Dame community.
NDToday claims over 4,500 registered students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's, and logs hundreds of hits a day. The site currently offers students features such as student polls, teacher evaluations, a reverse student directory, local weather, a book exchange, reviews, links to other Notre Dame sites and many other applications. In addition to this, NDToday sponsors a Bookstore Basketball team, promotes campus events and even provided in-depth coverage on this year's student body presidential election.
Of course, the site was not always quite so sophisticated. "Andy and I were stuck in these boring summer computer jobs, and we kind of just came up with the idea for a place that [students] could check what was going on around campus. There was nothing like it at the time. And it just kind of grew from that," said Helgesen. "It was a web page I wished existed."
With the primary features of a reverse student directory and student polls, NDToday was launched in the fall of 1999.
Word spread quickly of the page and the features it offered students, and Helgesen said that before he knew it, the page had become a legitimate campus rage. Since then, the page has grown significantly, so much so that the three seniors found that they could no longer run the page on their own. Currently, the page employs a general manager, two sales representatives, a food critic and a photographer — all Notre Dame students.
"We're extremely proud of what the page has become," said Helgesen. "Especially the teacher evaluations. That is just something Notre Dame students deserve."
Helgesen said he is also very proud of the message boards on the page. "They give a voice to parts of Notre Dame that don't always have a voice," he said. "I'm really excited about the open dialogue that has been created by the page."
As the three seniors graduate, the exact future of NDToday remains unknown. But Helgesen said he wants the page to remain in the hands of the students. "Our current plan is to have Scott Palko, the general manager, continue to run the site. We would maintain ownership, but the actual control of the page would remain with current students," Helgesen said.
Other significant contributions by the graduating class:
u The Rector's Fund provides money to help disadvantaged students remain involved.
u The Greatness Grant provides money to assist individuals in Catholic social missions.
u Founder's Day is to become the new Irish Homecoming.
The Class of '01 also saw a number of firsts and lasts:
u Senior Mike Brown became the first ever African-American Leprechaun.
u Senior Molly Kinder became the first female Irish Guard.
u The class witnessed the election of the first female student body president, Brooke Norton.
u The class was the last to experience camping-out for football tickets.
All News Stories for Friday, May 18, 2001
