Photo of Ohio State Department of Public Safety’s website on a student’s laptop, taken Thursday. On the Ohio State Department of Public Safety’s website, there are safety resources available, including Lyft Ride Smart, CABS On-Demand and complimentary safety devices on campus. Credit: Bailey Johnston | Lantern Reporter
Though navigating college life at Ohio State can be full of excitement for students, it can be a nightmare for parents. The late nights, irregular text responses and inability to know who is doing what and where can raise parental concerns about students’ safety.
Thankfully, the university offers various safety resources to keep students secure as they experience on- and off-campus life, ranging from real-time location tracking to campus-wide nighttime transportation. Here are some key tools that Buckeyes and their parents can use to better their collective communication and well-being.
Become involved
The “Rave Guardian” app is freely available to students, faculty and staff at the university.
Dan Hedman, a university spokesperson, said parents can use Rave Guardian to actively monitor their students as they travel to different campus destinations. Students who download the app have the ability to add their parents as emergency contacts, allowing them to track their location using a “safety timer.”
“The way that essentially works is that if I’m going from point A to point B, and that should take 10 minutes, then I set that in there as, ‘I’m going from point A to point B and it should take me 10 minutes,’” Hedman said. “And then if 10 minutes goes by and I haven’t checked in, or I haven’t gotten there, then it will alert my contact.”
Rave Guardian is available to both iPhone and Android users through their respective app stores.
Hedman said the app also allows emergency contacts to receive Buckeye Alerts, the university’s formal notifications for immediate on-campus threats.
“Buckeye Alerts are when the campus needs to take immediate action to remain safe,” Hedman said. “So, think of things like a tornado, an active shooter, something where it’s happening now, and everybody needs to take action now.”
If parents do not want to download Rave Guardian, Hedman said students can register up to two phone numbers on their university account through the Department of Public Safety website. These additional contacts will then be able to receive Buckeye Alerts.
“You could put up to two additional cell phone numbers in under your account,” Hedman said. “So, when you receive a Buckeye Alert, whoever you’ve added will also receive it. So, if your parents are in Florida, but they want to know when there’s Buckeye Alerts, you have the ability to go in and register them under your account.”
In addition to Buckeye Alerts, Hedman said the university’s Department of Public Safety sends Public Safety Notices via email. These are sent to students, faculty and staff members linked to a university email account, as well as family members who have subscribed through the website.
Public Safety Notices provide information and updates related to crimes that fall under the Jeanne Clery Act — also known as the Clery Act.
“There’s something called the Jeanne Clery Act,” Hedman said. “That outlines a series of types of crimes, and if [an incident] fits into that type of crime — which is usually like a violent crime, say, like an aggravated assault or something like that — where there’s an ongoing threat to campus and it happened on campus property, then a public safety notice would be issued.”
According to the Clery Center website, the Clery Act requires universities to be transparent with their crime data and policies regarding campus safety, as well as support victims of crime.
Safety away from home
The Rave Guardian app, Buckeye Alert System and Public Safety Notices are great ways for parents to become involved in their children’s safety while on campus. However, students have access to many more safety and transportation services while they’re away from home.
Students who live off campus have access to a free walking escort service through the University District Organization. Nora Gerber, executive director of the University District Organization, said the service begins on North High Street and spans from Oakland Avenues to King Avenue up until Indianola Avenue.
“Along [North] High Street, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., we have a hotline number, and if you’re able to call that number during those times, you can get a walking escort,” Gerber said. “You have to be on High Street — that’s, like, where the starting position needs to be — but then we can walk you to your car or to wherever you need to go. But try not to go past Indianola.”
Students can call the hotline for this escort service at 614-395-1600.
For those who need to travel across campus, Hedman said the university provides a Campus Area Bus Service — or CABS — as an on-demand service to students.
According to Ohio State’s Transportation and Traffic website, the service offers free shuttle transportation around campus — specifically, in areas West of Olentangy River — and six bus stops throughout campus, which both operate between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
After 9 p.m., Hedman said CABS On-Demand provides an option for safe travel during the night, with the service offering stops between any building across campus.
“The idea is, when the buses are stopping their routes in the late evening, then the CABS On-Demand is another service that students and faculty and staff can use for free to travel around campus safely,” Hedman said.
The Transportation and Traffic Management website provides a list of overnight service spots, and students, faculty and staff can download the TripShot app for scheduling, service delays and real-time tracking.
According to Ohio State’s Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement website, the university also offers free personal and home safety devices to students. Every student can receive five window and door alarms, two smart plugs and one personal safety alarm that emits noise when activated.
Students can receive these devices at room 3106 in the Ohio Union, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information on the university’s safety resources, visit the Department of Public Safety website.
