Increasing student’s personal safety becomes priority
In the Student Government Association meeting, Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management, presented a personal safety app to ensure individual security on campus.
“It could be useful in the need of an emergency or if a student needs urgent help. It’s easily accessible on your cell phone. It’s just an app icon,” Lamb said.
If a user of this app feels in danger, he or she can open the application on a cell phone and have the panic button prepared. When triggered the phone sends a live audio stream to the MyForce Call Center and local dispatchers while pinpointing the cell phone’s location.
“The advantage is our dispatcher on campus will be there. It opens the phone up in terms of once you hit the button your phone is live. The dispatcher can hear you whether you’re talking on it or whether you’re trying to defend yourself. The dispatcher can hear what’s going on and it GPS pinpoints you so the police can respond,” Lamb said.
When activated, the MyForce Call Center is alerted in Colorado along with local dispatchers. If MyForce is activated at MSU, campus police are notified.
“If you’re not on campus it goes to the MyForce call center in Colorado, and they transfer that over to the local dispatcher,” Lamb said.
Lamb said this app is easy to use and quicker than picking up the phone and dialing 911.
“It’s quicker just to hit this button, and then I don’t have to hold up my phone. Obviously if I can, I will. If I’m in a situation where I can’t get my phone to my ear at least it’s still open, they can hear what’s going on and GPS pinpoint me. That’s the big advantage. It’s just ease of use, accessibility.”
MyForce works in the continental United States. The app costs $99 per year for MSU students and $150 per year for the general public.
“We really like the product and we wanted to offer it to students. It was important to us to have a geographic fence around campus so if the call came from campus it would go to our campus dispatch. We started working with them and with MyForce and we were able to enter in agreement where our students got a discount. It’s a totally optional purchase,” Lamb said.
Lamb said those who would feel safer with this panic button should download the app.
“It’s their option if they feel it is something that would benefit them. If they feel it enhances their safety then I would encourage them to buy it. Some students would probably feel more so than others that it enhances safety and security and for those I would encourage them to buy it,” Lamb said.
MSU Chief of Police Dan Williams has been working on the installation of the Geo Fence on campus as well as the safety features the app entails.
“Police can’t be everywhere all the time, and this just gives an individual another added level of security in today’s world. My dispatchers will be monitoring this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year,” Williams said.
The Geo Fence runs around the exterior border of campus. This fence lets the dispatcher know the exact location where the panic button was set off.
“Not only does it [the Geo Fence] show our main campus, but it shows the simulation center that the Nursing Department uses,” Williams said.
When the alarm is set off, the user’s information will be displayed for dispatchers including a name, phone number and an emergency contact.
“We hope the students have added a picture, so we will have an idea of who that student is and we will recognize them when we get to the scene and the person matches up,” Williams said.
If the user activates MyForce but is in a moving vehicle, he said they locate of the cell phone through GPS services.
“It gives us what we call a ‘cookie trail’ telling us where the car started and where it is now so we can get officers to the location as soon as possible,” Williams said.
MyForce is working on furthering specific GPS pinpoints by adding floor plans of campus buildings to the network.
“The technology is not quite there yet. This is just another level of security we would like to put on our students,” Williams said.
Students’ opinions varied about this app.
Makayla Harder, freshman in special education, said this app would be a quick and simple solution to get help from police.
“If you’re panicked, it’s hard to think of what to do. The app would be easy and accessible to every student with a smartphone. It seems like a quick and simple way to get help,” Harder said.
Freshman in political science and English, Talor Kindig, said because she is on campus at night, the app would ensure her safety.
“I don’t live on campus, but I’m there a lot especially at night. Walking to my car that might be across campus at two in the morning is a little scary. I think the app would be beneficial,” Kindig said.
However, the cost discouraged Kindig from using the app.
“I don’t think I would use it, only because of how much it costs. I think it would make students feel safer knowing that they only have to push a button to get help. Some students can’t afford to buy the app or don’t have a phone that supports the app,” Kindig said.
Alex Martinez, junior in art, agreed with Kindig, saying she thought the app was too expensive. Martinez said she has never felt the need of a service like MyForce.
“I would not use this app firstly because of the cost. I have never needed those services and I feel like I would be okay without it. It could increase campus safety, but again I don’t ever hear about there ever being any sort of emergency around campus,” Martinez said.
Junior in chemistry and history Robert Hennessey said this app would be beneficial for students walking around campus late at night, but he would not personally use this product.
“The particular use of this application would be extremely helpful for students in dorms, especially late at night when walking from the parking lot to their dorm. However, for me this app would not be beneficial,” Hennessey said.
Hennessey said the amount of campus safety would increase with this app, but it could be misused.
“This application would increase the safety of the campus and increase the feeling of protection a student needs to feel. I do also believe this application will be over used and abused,” Hennessey said.