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Off Campus Safety is Students’ Concern for New SU Safety App Off Campus Safety is Students' Concern for New SU Safety App

By Madeline Mustion

A blue light emergency system in front of Shine Student Center at Syracuse University.
© 2022 Madeline Mustion

Maddie Mustion: DPS’s new app, Orange Safe, is set to replace the current Rave Guardian app before the semester starts. Off campus safety may be a bigger concern for students. Marianna Marquardt, a Physics student at SU, says she hopes the app will have a large reach.

Marianna Marquardt: So I think if they find a way to get people who are off campus still downloading the app then that could be really helpful.

Maddie Mustion: Getting students to download the app is a big obstacle. Will Harrington, a Senior at SU, says technology may not be the answer to safety.

Will Harrington: I think it’s hard for people to use an app like that for that circumstance.

Maddie Mustion: Harrington thinks DPS presence off campus would be more beneficial.

Will Harrington: It’s hard, it’s kinda unavoidable for danger to happen, but like if they just have people out there then maybe they can pick it up more often.

Maddie Mustion: DPS hopes to have Orange Safe in the app store by the end of August. In Syracuse, Maddie Mustion, N-C-C News.

Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety will be releasing a new safety app in the upcoming weeks. Orange Safe is the new app that will replace the Rave Guardian Safety Mobile App as the University safety app. In their July monthly update email, they stated that the app will be similar to Rave Guardian with a few new exciting features.

While DPS is making safety their top priority before the school year starts, the students are questioning the reason for the switch. A physics student at SU, Marianna Marquardt, hopes that there will be increased improvements and additions in the Orange Safe app.

A blue light emergency tower in front of a campus building at Syracuse University
There are numerous Blue lights on campus that allow students to call emergency services. This safety feature can be used in addition to the existing app.
© 2022 Madeline Mustion

“I think it obviously depends what kind of functionality it has… if it gives you the same information that you can get on a website then I don’t really see the point,” Marquardt said.

Off campus safety and engagement is also something that students hope gets addressed with this new app. Connecting with students that live off campus and having them download this new app could pose a problem for this switch.

“I think if they find a way to get people who are off campus still downloading the app then that could be really helpful,” Marquardt said.

Some students think that this switch in technology will not make a difference in the safety of students. SU Senior, Will Harrington, does not think that this app will benefit keeping students off campus safer.

“I think it’s hard for people to use an app like that for that circumstance,” Harrington explained.

Harrington thinks DPS presence off campus would be more beneficial, especially for circumstances in which students may not have access to their app.

“It’s hard, it’s kinda unavoidable for danger to happen, but like if they just have people out there then maybe they can pick it up more often,” Harrington said.

More information on the app features will be made public in the next few weeks. DPS hopes to have Orange Safe in the app store by the end of August for students to download.

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