Ohio University is looking to develop a new app to help prevent sexual assaults happening on campus.
At the beginning of Fall Semester, students were asked to complete a survey about three apps designed to help prevent sexual assaults. Out of those apps, students voted the most on LiveSafe. However, now the Safe App Committee is considering two apps — AppArmor and LiveSafe.
LiveSafe allows the user to have communication with local police via text, picture, video and audio. The app also has a feature called SafeWalk that allows users to track the location of friends, according to a previous Post report.
AppArmor is a customized mobile safety app branded to specific institutions that features emergency resources, advanced location services, interactive maps and an unlimited number of push notifications, according to the Apple App Store.
Vice President of Student Senate Hannah Burke said OUPD is helping decide between the two apps, and ultimately, will help decide on what app the university will end up using.
OUPD will run the app through its dashboard so it can monitor the situations, Burke said.
Once the committee decides on the best app to use, the next step is to decide on a budget.
“I envision several departments coming together to pay for this,” Burke said.
The committee will make a public relations plan that will have multiple ways to inform students about the app when it eventually comes out. When the app is released, it will be available for students, faculty and staff at the Athens campus.
“Many of our peer institutions have similar apps, and we hope our students will feel safer with the app,” Burke said.
Daisy Baker, a freshman studying global studies war and peace, said the app is a great idea.
“Any steps towards making it (OU) a better campus is a great idea,” Baker said.
Alex Shook, a sophomore studying business management systems, said he strongly supports the apps because of all the sexual assault reports.
Sally Gainey, a sophomore studying media arts, believes the app is a good idea.
“Better the university does something rather than do nothing,” Gainey said.
