Safety on and off campus is major concern for both students and their parents. With UAPD updates coming in weekly (two in the past three days), students and their parents are worried; and they have a right to be. The main question is: What can we do to stay safe?

Besides those traditional rules of don’t get into a car with a stranger and don’t walk around late at night; Technology can help play a big part in staying safe. Guardian Campus Safety by Rave is one smart phone app that is working to keep students safe.

The Guardian app has several different features that can help in an emergency and alert authorizes if something is wrong. Using the app is simple. Sign up with your crimson.ua.edu email address and you are all set.

You can use the app to contact emergency services such as the Tuscaloosa Police Department or the University of Alabama Police Department and can send tips to UAPD with a multitude of subjects ranging from mental heath to theft.

Related story: Rave Guardian app should be more widely promoted on campus

The apps claim to fame, though, is its namesake, the Guardian feature. The Guardian feature allows you to set up personal guardians: Your parents, best friend or significant other.

“Rave Guardian lets users create a virtual safety network of friends, roommates, family and campus safety,” said Jaemi Pennington, an employee at Rave. “Users can then set a “Safety Timer” session. Once activated, ‘personal guardians’ as a virtual safety network can monitor a user’s status updates and location, and be notified at assigned check-in times. If the timer expires, or the user initiates a panic call, Rave Guardian automatically notifies trusted safety resources on campus.”

Students can set UAPD as their guardian as well. Mckenna McCracken, a sophomore at UA, said she thought the app could be useful in lowering campus crime.

“It seems like a really good idea,” McCracken said. “Your parents and friends will know instantly if you are in trouble and can start getting help right away instead of waiting. I also really like that it shares your locations. This can be so helpful to UAPD and other authorities.”

The app is free and is on iPhone and Android. Test it out and see if you think it could help you.