Photo courtesy of Rave Guardian app
By Anna Sackel
In the wake of the recent stabbing at the Ohio State University campus, students are becoming more aware of the need for safety while at school. At Quinnipiac, as well as most other universities, we have the blue light system.
The blue lights can be found in parking lots and on the pathway to the College of Arts & Science buildings. The idea of the system is that students are able to find a way to connect to public safety from any place on campus in case of an emergency. What most students don’t realize is that this system is wired throughout all Quinnipiac campuses. The yellow boxes at the entrances of dorm and academic buildings are a part of the call alert system, too. If you press the alert button, public safety should arrive within 60 seconds.
The blue light system is not the only way a student can make sure they stay safe. Public Safety has been urging students to download the Rave Guardian app. The app, according to parking and transportation director Shannon Grasso, is like having the blue light system in your hand at all times.
The app has many different features and can easily be connected to public safety. There are two main ways to use the app, the safety timer and the easy emergency communication. The safety timer works by the user setting a timer saying, for example, you will arrive at a destination at a specific time. If the user does not verify that they reached their destination by the time the clocks run out, an alert will be sent and public safety will begin to search.
The second is an immediate call for help. By pressing an emergency button, an automatic alert is sent to public safety along with a picture of the user and a map of where the user was when the alert is sent out.
Grasso says that public safety has never been sent an alert by a student in danger but the app is a great way to ensure that if anyone ever does need help, they can get it with the click of a button. Public safety encourages students to download the app and says that you can never be too safe.
