By Jake DiBlasio
After years of the emergency blue light system, Delaware Valley University has announced it will be switching to a new safety protocol, LiveSafe. The blue light system will remain in effect until April 15, according to an email to students and faculty sent out on March 16. LiveSafe, the new safety communication system, will become operational on April 6, making it so that both safety features will be available for a nine-day period. Full360 reporters went around campus and asked students about the switch.
LiveSafe offers a unique set of features unachievable through the emergency blue line system. Through LiveSafe, students have the option to make emergency contact with either Public Safety or 911, and it includes SafeWalk, a feature that allows a friend to track your location as you traverse campus.
Ethan Liberton, a student at Delaware Valley University, sees the pros and the cons of it. Liberton mentioned how most people residing on campus have access to a cell phone, but like with all technology, there may be issues that arise.
“But at the same time it’s like, what if you like trip and fall or something and then your phone flies out of your pocket and your phone is dead … it could go both ways too,” said Liberton.
Carter Buccello, another student residing on campus also had mixed feelings on the change.
“I’m kind of surprised. I didn’t even know until you just told me two minutes ago and I think that its kind of strange that DelVal is getting rid of them. I’ve seem them at other college campuses before and feel like it’s just a good thing to have for the safety of the school.”
LiveSafe also comes with a feature that allows students to request an escort from Public Safety and a panic alarm, which will notify Public Safety or 911 of your location depending on if you are on or off campus. While Delaware Valley previously has these features, it was not all in one space.
For the app to work at its full capacity, students and faculty must make sure that location services have been activated on their mobile device. In the initial email, Campus Communications attached instructions to help users download the app and join Delaware Valley’s system.
Delaware Valley had 14 blue light emergency phones placed across campus near dorm halls, academic buildings, and other common walkways. The blue lights stood out across the university’s over 1000 acres compared to other light poles with their bright blue LED lights.
LiveSafe was created by Kristina Anderson and Jeff Grass following the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. Anderson was a survivor of the event and wanted to develop a system where people could have a direct line of communication between campus safety and students. Six years after the shooting, LiveSafe launched in 2013 and has been slowly integrated into universities across the United States and is now used by over 250 colleges and universities via Vector Solutions.
If students or faculty have questions about LiveSafe, they are encouraged to reach out to campuscommunications@delval.edu.