Seattle U Adopts Panic Button, App To Improve Security

The React Sidekick can be connected to a network that may include campus security officers.The 7,800-student Seattle University is experimenting this summer with a Bluetooth-enabled panic button in an effort to enhance the safety of its students.

The React Sidekick is a personal emergency button that can quickly and remotely activate an emergency alert with the challenge of unlocking and dialing 911 from a phone. The React Sidekick, which is paired with a React Mobile safety app on mobile phones, can reach a fairly wide network, in this case including Seattle University campus security.

About 100 students who are living on campus during the summer session have been given the React Sidekick buttons and they will be offered to more students when the fall semester begins.

Occidental College and the University of Washington are also offering the React Sidekick and safety app to it students.

At Seattle University, the React Sidekick is one more safety element along with blue light emergency phones on campus, escort patrols and an existing safety app.

"The React Mobile solution offers an additional layer of security that complements our current campus safety efforts," said Seattle University Public Safety and Transportation Executive Director Tim Marron. "We plan to phase out our current safety app in favor of React Mobile."

About the Author

Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.

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