The secret is out — somewhere on campus.

Last quarter, the Comparative History of Ideas (CHID) focus group “PostSecret: The Realm of Public Secrets,” collected about 60 anonymous postcards and 40 anonymous sticky notes in several drop boxes located around campus during winter quarter.

The project, called CampusSecret, was modeled after PostSecret, an online community art project that accepts anonymous written secrets on decorative postcards.

An installation showcasing the postcards and sticky notes is complete and somewhere on campus; however, in keeping with the spirit of the project, the exact location is going to be kept secret.

“The magic is a secret,” said Maia Williams, student adviser for the group.

The secrets represent a wide array of topics, ranging from the trivial, like “I ‘heart’ the gym” to the more serious, like sexual relations between students and teachers and fertility issues, Williams said.

The secrets are specific to the UW in hopes that the project will create a sense of community.

“I thought it was eye opening,” said focus group member Jon Solomon. “All those kinds of secrets are on PostSecret, but to see them on campus as well brought it closer to home.”

Solomon submitted his own anonymous postcard to the project, as the group members were encouraged to do.

His classmates and the UW community knowing his secret would make it easier for him to share that information in the future, if he chose to do so, Solomon said.

The number of secrets submitted surpassed the expectations of many in the focus group.

“It was a resounding success,” Williams said.

Sticky notes were supplied at the drop boxes for those without art supplies or the time to make a homemade postcard.

A course Web site is in the works, but, for the time being, scanned images of the secrets are being hosted on Solomon’s personal Web site.

“We were given the runaround by IT (Information Technology),” Williams said.

Williams is entertaining the idea of facilitating the course again or finding someone else willing to lead the focus group. Many students expressed interest in the course although they were unable to take it during winter quarter.

Although the focus group is hosted within the CHID program, it is open to all students.

Improvements for the second time around would include setting up drop boxes earlier, because getting permission for each location was a long process.

“I feel like it can have the same effect [as PostSecret], as long as people look at it,” Solomon said.

[Reach reporter Sonia McBride at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]