Nick Zwaan ‘15
Staff Writer
Merrimack College advances their student’s safety with its newest smartphone app Merrimack Guardian. Many students may be able to relate to the uncomfortable feeling of walking from the library back to the apartments after a long night of studying. Despite the relatively small size of campus, walks such as these in the dark can be intimidating when walking alone in the dark.
To counteract any unease and eliminate any chance of an incident on campus, the Merrimack Guardian app is being introduced to the community. The smartphone app will aim to keep students safe and feeling protected traveling around campus regardless of the time of day. Senior Elizabeth Fitzgerald weighed in on the app saying, “It’s a great idea. I really think that this app combined with the emergency buttons around campus will make everyone feel safe.” Associate Vice President for Communications at Merrimack College Jim Chiavelli broke the Guardian app down into three major components:
— Emergency call function. One-touch gets you either local 911 (wherever you are in the US) or Merrimack College police.
— Safety timer. You schedule a trip – say, I’m leaving McQuade and walking to the apartments, should take about 10 minutes. Then you let a designated “Guardian” – a roommate, your parents, anyone with a smart phone – have access to your trip; he or she can watch (via GPS mapping) as you amble along, and will recognize if, for some reason, you went way off course or over time.
— Confidential tip ability. You can send a confidential tip, text and/or photos, to Merrimack police.
If you have a smartphone go to the app store and download the Rave Guardian (Rave Mobile Saftey) app to increase your on campus safety. You need a “merrimack.edu” in order to download the full app however, off campus family or friends can download a limited version in order for them to be designated Guardians for you. The app can be found under the name “Rave Guardian”.
