Phone apps prove potential as future of on-campus student safety

The Syracuse University community should embrace the evolving age of student safety brought forth by technology.

A new mobile application, BlueLight, has gained national attention for its ability to instantly connect students in dangerous situations with emergency contacts or campus security by sending GPS coordinates.

SU has no relationship with BlueLight at this time, but the Department of Public Safety is integrating technology with student safety by designing an app of its own.

Although the app has yet to be released, it could change student safety on campus.

While traditional forms of student safety are certainly not obsolete, such as the 152 physical blue lights placed across Main and South campus; the DPS patrols and escorts; and email notifications about local crime, this app opens a new door for student safety that the university should build upon.

The app, currently in the works between DPS and the School of Information Studies, will include a map of crime-related activity in the area, the DPS phone number to contact when in an emergency and a message board that displays recent public safety notices.

DPS should consider adding tracking capability to the app to notify students when a DPS escort has arrived at the pick-up destination.

This would be a popular component to the app and would serve as encouragement for students to not only download it, but also utilize the DPS escort service, therefore further enhancing student-officer relations. DPS should also consider working with BlueLight to advance its own app.

The ability to send out GPS coordinates to emergency contacts and officers is a progressive tool that DPS should emulate. Adding these components would make DPS’ app more well-rounded, while utilizing the already available technology of the BlueLight app.

Although there will always be room for improvements to on-campus safety, these apps could provide alternative and innovative methods to do that, in addition to the current methods already in place.

Phones might just be the next best safety tool for the university.