The Iowa State University Police Department released a new app for Iowa State’s campus called Rave Guardian. Launched Wednesday, the app serves as a “full contact list of emergency and non-emergency contact personnel, push notifications about campus activity and crime and a tip button for easy submissions,” according to the police.

Additionally, SafeRide can be summoned and tracked through the Rave Guardian app for those who are commonly on campus in the wee hours of the night and early in the morning.

The app can also have a timer set for those who are traveling around campus, or in a place where they feel uncomfortable. During this process, along with setting an estimated time of travel, the user of the app can set a desired destination and person to notify. If the person does not reach their destination by the time the timer goes off, the app will send a message to a friend or family member stating that the destination had not been reached.

Provided the students, staff and others at Iowa State get the proper exposure to the app, this could save potential tragedies from happening. Between the tracking feature, the ease of calling 911, quickly submitting a tip and its many other safety features, this app will be beneficial for those who choose to use it.

While steps have been taken to ensure that students are downloading and using the app thus far, it will take consistent and constant efforts to ensure that Rave Guardian becomes native to the Iowa State experience. Without knowledge of the app, students will likely not download it and will be without the extra protection it has to offer.

The app is now available on Google Play and the Apple Store and it can be used by anyone with an Iowa State Net-ID.

The ISD Editorial Board encourages students to take advantage of this opportunity. The more protection we can give ourselves will make all the difference.

While some of the features might make some uncomfortable in the beginning, such as the tracking device or the timer that sends one of your friends or family members a text stating you never made it home, all these features are necessary to help protect Iowa State students from potentially dangerous situations.

To some, this seems like an invasion of privacy or an extra step that is likely to cause unnecessary panic to some family members. But those features will come in handy to law enforcement given a crisis situation.