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University Requires Students To Buy GPS-Enabled Phones
from the overkill? dept
When I was in college, the campus safety system consisted of a series of emergency telephone poles with blue lights on top. The deal was that from any place on campus you were supposed to be able to see at least one emergency blue light phone, and in the event of an emergency, all you needed to do was knock one such phone off the hook and campus police would arrive quickly. It appears that some universities are getting a more modern update on this idea, as Montclair State University apparently requires students to buy a special GPS-enabled mobile phone that can be used to report emergencies to campus officials. The phones come with special software, including a special timer system. A student can set the timer before walking home, and if he or she does not turn off the timer by the time it is up, the police will be alerted to the location of the phone. It's an interesting feature -- but is it really worth requiring all students to buy one? Apparently very few students actually use the system at all. It's certainly for a good cause, but it sounds like it's a bit of overkill that is resulting in very little usage. There's nothing wrong with offering such a deal to students who want it -- which will make it naturally appealing to those who are safety conscious and, thus, more likely to use it. However, forcing everyone to buy in seems unnecessary.
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Camera Phones that always transmit.
That way they can watch that your safely arrive and that no one is forcing you to turn off your timer.
After that they can keep watch over you while you sleep.
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So, the students MUST buy one huh?
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No big deal to walk into your first job and have a gps tracking device pinned to your lapel along with the welcome hand shake !
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So why would this work?
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The full article says they've gotten about one false alarm per month (actually, that's alarms total: they've all been false so far), which they believe serves well for training the police force on how to handle those circumstances for when a true alarm does occur.
But yeah, $210 per semester doesn't come easy to a lot of college kids. Hopefully the financial aid of the university covers it for those who have it already. But then again, as mentioned earlier, this IS what colleges do: I have friends in college right now who were required to purchase meal plans, whether or not they ever even use them. Makes sense that they would want this affordable for the students who would like it but are really strapped for cash.
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Ahhh...The pranks you can play
Set the alarm without their knowledge while they are otherwise occupied with a partner / drunk / in an exam etc.
Set alarm and put phone in mates car just before a road trip..(add a few incriminating goodies..)
The possibilities are endless.
Thank you Big Brother!
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Accept it or be gone ? Where ideas are open to debate and encouraged, the systematic and undemocratic violation of a students basic civil liberties, in the name of security is ok ?
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Umm...
I can already install applications on my Nextel that tells me where the phone is at any given time. I know there are services online that do the same thing with a number of carriers, the only caveat is that it sends a text message to the phone at set intervals to let the user know the phone is being tracked.
Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with the idea of being forced to have a GPS enabled phone "for my security". Hell, 911 is 4 buttons away.
God help the first poor student who forgets that their timer is running when they stop to talk to a friend on the way home.
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Would you feel safer if it was used all the time?
Each new safety device is used to cut the current accidents by (let's say) 50%. So in the beginning we had car and 100% of the accidents happened. Then seatbelt came and now we are down to 50% of the accidents. By the time you get to the crumple zones, air bags, ABS, front and rear radar, etc. the last safety device saved 1 life.
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Its happening elsewhere too
My co-workers have been trying to figure out if FSU is going to force you to buy the phone and plan if you already have a phone and plan. It sure isn't cheap, and most of the people going there already can't afford much after tuition and books....
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Not a great idea
On the other hand, I don't like the idea of forcing already cash strapped students to buy into a mandatory phone and phone plan. I hope they have somebody who's independant of both the phone provider and the university keeping an eye on the money. It'd be a shame to see something like this come to similar ends as some of the college loan corporation business up in NY.
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I'm with Panaqqa
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Maryland alum
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Maybe...
I know just bitch.
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