As a student at the University, I have experienced my fair amount of late nights in Gorgas and Rodgers. Along with these long nights, I have dreaded the extremely dark, late walk to my car. As I walk, all those movies where the college co-ed never makes it to her car come to mind, which puts a little pep in my step.
I will admit that sometimes the walk to my car is not that far, but the paranoia makes it seem like a mile. Lately the University has started new safety programs for students who find themselves on campus in the late hours of the night.
One program is the Guardian Program that gives students and faculty personal safety options; to put it simply, the program allows participants to alert UAPD to set a timer based on their expected arrival and departure times in and around the campus and Tuscaloosa areas. If the timer is not deactivated or the emergency button is activated, then it also sends a direct alert to UAPD. It is similar to checking in with others when you arrive and leave certain areas.
The Guardian Program’s software provides UAPD with profile information, entered into the system through myBama, for students and a GPS location. I must commend the University and UAPD for this new direction in student safety that will hopefully end the use of the emergency blue phones.
When I first arrived on campus and saw the blue phones, I did not realize how ineffective they are. While they do illuminate the quad at night for those walking across campus; in a true emergency could they be really be utilized to alert the authorities? Personally, when I feel my life is in danger, my first instinct is to run and later call for help when I feel safe. This call would probably come from my cell phone, not a blue phone attached to a cord, which requires that I remain stationary. Many universities have gotten rid of their emergency blue phones and looked towards more updated ways of providing students with emergency services.
It is great that the University is beginning to use the social media world we live in. They are creating smartphone apps like the Lifeline Response App, which allows students to hold a button for short distances or set timer for longer distances; if they get to their destination safely, they can enter a PIN number which deactivates the system, and, if not, the app causes an alarm to engage and alerts a call center.
Of course, all this new technology requires students to be active participants in their own safety by setting and turning off these alarms; in the end, student safety falls down to the student. Students should use common sense and be proactive in making sure that they do not become victims.
This is not to say that everybody should know martial arts, but taking a self-defense class or having a can of pepper spray are just some of the precautions that students can take to protect themselves. If Alabama and the student body work together as a team, I know the University will continue to move in a positive direction concerning safety on campus.
Amber Patterson is a sophomore majoring in public relations. Her column runs weekly on Wednesdays.
