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New campus safety app offered to GVSU students

www.campussafetymagazine.com

Grand Valley State University is joining a growing number of college campuses offering students a campus safety app.

Take a stroll across most university campuses and you’ll more than likely come across a blue light call box. That’s where a student in distress could press a button alerting campus security while the blue light flashed.

“But there are some issues with them. They can’t be with you at all times.”

Todd Miller is Vice President of Safety with Rave Mobile Safety. It’s created an app called Rave Guardian that students can download on their mobile device complete with panic button.

“A way for students to instantly connect with public safety while sharing critical information about who they are, where they are, what they look like and what needs they may have.”

While 911 is a great resource, those calls go to the local municipality located off campus. The app, with GPS technology, will alert campus public safety improving response time. Students and faculty can opt in and can control how much personal information to provide. It can be as little as a photo, physical description and medical background.

Included is a feature called Smart 911. Should a student or faculty member encounter an emergency off campus dialing 911, dispatchers will receive personal information through the Guardian app.

Patrick Center, WGVU News.

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.