On Aug. 26, vice chancellor for student affairs Winston Crisp and director of public safety Jeff McCracken notified students of the Rave Guardian Campus Safety app, available free of charge to smartphone users.
Rave Guardian has the potential to increase security and help students feel safer on campus. It will be up to students to use this tool and to the University to continue to prioritize the safety of every student, regardless of the student’s ownership of an expensive electronic device.
According to a 2013 study conducted by Harris Interactive, 75 percent of college students own smartphones. This means approximately 22,000 UNC students have access to a device that can download Rave Guardian. All should do so.
In an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, Department of Public Safety spokesperson Randy Young said the app would make UNC’s campus safer.
“Send us a picture of suspicious activity,” Young said. “Let us know.”
Young said even for students without a smartphone, their lives are still safer because of the extra security provided by those students who do own one.
The University should expand programs that assist students regardless of cell phone ownership. One such scheme, SafeWalk, could be augmented and better marketed to the student body. In most cases, only six employees are working a shift for SafeWalk on any given night.
The program’s expansion, in addition to exploration of new measures, would be a welcome gesture for those wishing to take action to ensure their safety.
