New RRC mobile app another tool for campus safety
JAMES DOROSHUK, CONTRIBUTOR
There’s a serious upgrade in the ongoing mission to make RRC campuses safer.
The college recently unveiled its new free mobile safety app for all mobile phone platforms. The app is called Mobile Safety – Red River College.
David Clarke, emergency preparedness coordinator for RRC, said the app is a game changer for the way students are kept informed.
“This is a tool that will make students safer on campus,” said Clarke. “It will allow us to get information to students and staff in a timely manner.”
RRC Mobile Security can be downloaded in the App Store on iOS, Google Play, and Blackberry App World.
RRC worked with Toronto-based app developer AppArmour to create the app. The company develops mobile safety apps specifically tailored for a client’s. Right now there are 26 universities in Canada that use AppArmour mobile safety apps, including Queens University, Dalhousie University and the University of Waterloo.
Clarke said a safety-based app is something RRC has been researching for some time.
The slick-looking app boasts one-touch dialling for security services at either the Notre Dame Campus or the Exchange District Campus, and can connect with 9-1-1. The app also gives users the chance to arrange for Safewalk from their car to the campus, a new option to RRC’s security arsenal.
Security alerts such as campus closures, lockdowns and other breaking news can now be sent through push notifications directly to a person’s device. That feature is something Clarke said will work in conjunction with pre-existing desktop notifications and public address systems.
Soo Chen, a first-year business administration student at NDC said the app is something she would definitely download.
“I think the notifications are an interesting feature,” said Chen. “If the school is closed, I can find that out right away instead of when I actually get to school.”
Neither the University of Winnipeg nor the University of Manitoba are currently using a similar app. Nicole Leslie, a 24-year-old English major at the University of Winnipeg, said she would be eager to download a security app.
“I would 100 per cent use that,” said Leslie. “It can be scary walking to and from your car at night.”
As of Jan. 19, Clarke said there were 521 users of the app, but he hopes that number will grow.
“As a goal, I’d like to see a couple of thousand downloads by the end of the month,” said Clarke. “Ultimately, I want to see all faculty and students using the app.”
