[media-credit id=2242 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The blue lights that surround campus may not be the best way to get a hold of Public Safety in the case of an emergency.

Public Safety suggests that all students download the free mobile app, Rave Guardian. The app allows every students to essentially have a blue light in their pocket. Rave Guardian provides a platform in which students can call friends, public safety or local police with the tap of a button. The app also allows students to send tips to Public Safety if they see anything suspicious.

Additionally, there is an timer feature which allows students to give themselves a time frame to get from one location to another. If the student is not at the destination by the end of the timer, public safety is automatically called and an officer is sent to the spot.

“It’s a free app, so why wouldn’t you want to have it on your phone?” Training Officer Bradley Bopp said.

Students may be hesitant to download the app because they feel as though Public Safety is watching over them.

“The apprehension comes in as we’ve heard many many times is that Big Brother is watching,” Sergeant James Moniello said with a laugh, “That is not what it’s used for.”

The app, as well as the blue lights, are to be used for emergencies.

“The blue lights are for emergencies,” Moniello said, “but they also double as just a call box.”

There is a red button on the light that is used for emergencies and another to use the call box. Each of the 61 lights is tested before every school year to make sure they function properly. Even still, the lights can go out, but that does not mean the emergency button and call box are not functional. Moniello and Bopp encourage students to report to dead bulbs to Public Safety in the blue lights so they can put in a work order with facilities.

The 61 lights are spread out around Quinnipiac’s three campuses. There are 17 on Mt. Carmel, 28 on York Hill and 16 on North Haven, according to Bopp. The lights are generally placed in parking lots, in the York Hill parking garage and on the way to the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).

Students have used both Rave Guardian and the blue light network because they get locked out of their dorm, or need a door unlocked elsewhere, according to Moniello. If a student needs to get into a building, calling the generic Public Safety phone number will do the trick.

Bopp shared success stories about the Rave Guardian app, stressing that it does in fact work.

“It works, there just (aren’t) a lot of people using it,” Bopp said.

Likewise, not many students use the blue light system seriously. While misdials and pranks are pulled on the lights, Moniello could only recount one time when the lights were used in an emergency in his 21 years in Public Safety.

The lights are not only for emergencies, however, they are also a source of information. On top of Rave Guardian and the blue light system, Public Safety also offers a service to accompany students across campus. Again, Moniello and Bopp stressed that the escort service is for emergencies only.

“(This service) is not a shuttle service,” Moniello said.

While the blue lights are visible around parking lots, there are noticeably none on the Quad. Placing lights on the quad would affect Quinnipiac’s aesthetics, according to Moniello. This is where Rave Guardian comes in.

The app will not only preserve Quinnipiac’s landscape, but also save money. Without having to buy new light systems, and run phone lines underground, Rave Guardian allows students to have a custom blue light on them at all times.