Instead of wasting precious time bouncing around from party to party and bar to bar, students at Binghamton University can now use an app to find out how “lit” each venue is.
Avi Jerushalmy, a junior at BU majoring in history, co-founded new app “LIT” with his childhood friend Mark Weiss, a sophomore at Yeshiva University in New York City. Jerushalmy said that they were inspired to create this app last year when he realized he and many of his friends were spending too much time and money to get into parties that they didn’t end up enjoying.
“Mark and I realized as college students that going out and partying is often an inefficient experience, and we thought we found a formula that could truly maximize students’ efficiency with regard to time and money, two things college students often lack an excess of,” Jerushalmy said.
The app features pre-set venues based on suggestions from students while the app was being created. The students are asked on a scale from 1-5 how “lit” it is, which suggests how much they would recommend the venue to others. They are then asked to rate the cover charge, the line and the music and the “party stats” can be viewed by clicking a flame on the app’s map, which represents a venue.
The app, which is free on the app store for iPhone users and in production for Android users, allows students within a venue’s location to check into that venue. Other users are then able to see what venues they would want to go to on a night out based on “party stats” that come from the ratings of students already at those establishments.
Jerushalmy said he also wanted the app to help students find out where their friends will be going without having to text and call them all. The app offers a way for users to create a profile, add friends and see where their friends are when going out by showing the amount of friends that have checked into a venue that night.
“Someone with a wide range of friends, perhaps a girl in a large sorority for example, would love to see which bar the most of her friends are at on a given night out or how many even went out,” Jerushalmy said. “It is also simple and quick enough to use for those who may not be so sober or too busy to spend significant amounts of time on their phone while out and partying.”
Weiss said that they decided to launch the app both at BU and Rutgers University, which he lives near, because of the active nightlife both campuses offer, but plans to expand further. They are hosting a launch party this Saturday in Binghamton at The Place, a bar located at 73 Court Street.
“A lot of college campuses, in particular Rutgers and Binghamton, have a thriving party scene and have a lot of bars and clubs,” Weiss said. “We decided to launch at Binghamton and Rutgers to see what strategies work, get some good feedback and expand quickly to other campuses.”
Students like Sabrina Lowy, a junior majoring in business administration, said the app may be appealing for students who need help navigating Binghamton nightlife.
“The app sounds like it could be helpful and popular for new incoming students,” Lowy said. “I don’t think I would use it, though, because I already know where I like to go out.”
Others like Mike Sardi, an undeclared freshman, said that he has paid to go into venues and left because he wasn’t enjoying it and this app will help him avoid unnecessary expenditures.
“I think I would use that so I can see what’s fun that night,” Sardi said. “I might end up going to the same places, but knowing how the party is, I might go later on.”