The app was introduced by the university’s Student Government Association (SGA). It is available for download on both the Apple and Android platforms and puts various services at the fingertips of users, who can now more easily:
• Message EKU Police when a phone call is not practical. (EKU has a large deaf and hard-of-hearing population.)
• Report suspicious behavior, possibly even attaching a photo. Location is automatically pinpointed with GPS accuracy by the app.
• Arrange for a remotely observed “safe walk” or a safety escort, especially at night.
• Use an interactive map simply to navigate campus, an especially helpful feature for new students or visitors. The map denotes safety and health facilities, enhanced shelter-in-place buildings and any other EKU facilities throughout the state.
• Call EKU police to have an officer dispatched to their approximate location.
• Access campus emergency plans and contact information.
The app has been a work in progress this year headed by SGA President Katie Scott. On Monday, EKU President Michael Benson gave her credit for the LiveSafe technology’s implementation.
“Without her persistence and her bull-doggedness, we wouldn’t be here today,” Benson said.
Scott also gave the the app its first test, even if unplanned, while a video to promote the new application was recorded.
“There was some steam (being discharged) outside the library. So to simulate how to report a tip, I sent in a picture, said it might be smoke and then didn’t think anything about it,” Scott said later in an interview with The Register. “Within two minutes, two EKU Police patrol cars rolled up.”
She was unaware that the app was already operational and her report would be sent to the campus police. Regardless, now that LiveSafe is up and running, the event demonstrated the app’s effectiveness.
Bryan Makinen, EKU’s executive director of public safety and risk management, likened the app to having a “blue phone” in your pocket.
The app provides immediate access to campus emergency procedures, allows users to become familiar with their roles in emergencies. It also serves as a guide during an emergency to help people protect themselves.
The app is set to be funded at $27,500 annually for at least five years (the inaugural two years are already in the SGA budget), and it is free to anyone who would like to download it. This means members of the Richmond community, as well as students and staff, can benefit from its safety features. It’s as close as your fingertips at all times, Scott said.
“EKU and Richmond are so closely tied, that it’s important for everyone who interacts with our university to download the app to help create a complete view of people who interact with our university,” Scott said.
Although she did not specifically mention the two graffiti threats found in EKU restrooms last year that prompted campus closings, Scott alluded to the role students can play in their own safety during a crisis.
“We have had a couple of scares here at EKU in the last calendar year, so it’s really important to put safety into the hands of our students and really allow them to feel incorporated into the process of their safety and the safety of others,” she said.
EKU is one of 100 in the nation to have the app, and one of four in Kentucky. The others are the University of Kentucky, Bellarmine University and Morehead State University.
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