This week at Ohio State the Undergraduate Student Government announced the release of a new mobile app initiative to increase safety on and around campus. This announcement came days after yet another campus-wide email detailing a female student being sexually assaulted in her residence hall. Officially this is the 12th sexual assault documented on campus this year, but as women in college, many of us would venture to guess the realistic number is much higher. A recent study done by Association of American Universities says that 23% of women report sexual assault while in college. This is an issue we can’t ignore. As college students our main concerns should be midterms and student loans rather than the constant threat of sexual violence, even in our own residence halls. While these facts are bleak, there are many driven people working diligently towards change. The new app available to all Ohio State students is called LifeLine Response and basically functions like a portable campus blue light that you’ve seen lining our sidewalks. You can call for help anywhere directly from your phone and also report any suspicious events to the police. There is also a GPS feature that informs police exactly where you are when you call for help. (Be aware it does not account for different floors in the same building.) If you are walking home and feel unsafe or wary you may easily activate the “thumb mode”. In this mode you hold your thumb against the screen of your phone as you walk. If your thumb comes off of the screen for 13 seconds an alarm will sound and can only be disabled by a four-digit code. If the code is not entered emergency services will locate the user using the GPS feature and LifeLine will text and email three emergency contacts. This app is free to all OSU students using your Ohio State email address in the app store! While this is not necessarily a solution to the threat of sexual assault and rape culture on college campuses, it is a viable step closer to a safer campus for us all.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at OSU chapter.