The Office of Public Safety has taken a new step toward ensuring student security on campus: a brand-new app aimed at providing peace of mind for anyone who calls Bellarmine home.
“It’s like having it all right there in your hand and not having to go to the website,” Public Safety Coordinator Tonya Sangester said. “We’re hoping that students find it simpler to navigate.”
The new app, RAVE Guardian, replaces the seldom-used LiveSafe as Public Safety’s mobile app of choice. It offers a number of new features and is connected to the school’s pre-existing RAVE emergency alert system. It is available for download in the App Store and Google Play.
The app can be found by searching “RAVE Guardian” in your mobile app store.
“It still does the same functions as LiveSafe, [but] doesn’t take up as much data,” Sangester said.
One of the biggest problems with LiveSafe—which was used by less than 1% of the student population—was that it was a data hog, according to Sangester, who spearheaded the Guardian’s design and selection. In many cases, students would download the old app only to eventually delete it for wasting space on their phones.
“I never used [LiveSafe],” junior Haley Todd said. “So one day, I was cleaning out my apps and just dumped it.”
In addition to using less data, the Guardian app caters to convenience by serving as a one-stop directory for all things Bellarmine. It comes with pre-programmed contact information for parking services, Residence Life, the Student Success Center, the Counseling Center and many more on-campus offices. After downloading the app, students have the option to add their own emergency contacts and vehicle and allergy information, which public safety can easily access in emergency situations.
“I really do like the whole profile part of it,” Sangester said. “If you have any kind of allergies you can put it in there, and if you’re sick or unconscious, we can pull that up… we don’t have to run to ResLife.”
Students can use the app as a direct line for 911, or enable the walk-along feature, which instantly provides Public Safety with their location if they have to walk alone on campus at night.
“I feel pretty safe on this campus,” said first-year student Brianna Ziegler. “It’s a good reason to pick Bellarmine.”
Sangester first heard about the RAVE Guardian in talking with officials from other universities, including the University of Louisville, which has been using the app for its students’ safety for several years. Her goal is to raise awareness for the Guardian’s features and have at least one-third of Bellarmine’s student population using it by the end of the spring semester.
“It’s a work in progress,” Sangester said. “I review it constantly, looking at what other colleges are talking about… just trying to keep up to date on everything.”