JMU alum created an app to help keep students safe
LiveSafe allows students to take safety into their own hands
As Tab writer Hannah Dodd wrote last week, there is a considerable issue with sexual assault at JMU. Dodd wrote, “The reports say that one girl was supposedly ‘forcibly fondled,’ with two other young women who lost consciousness and woke up the next morning sexually assaulted — one of which found herself completely undressed.”
No one wants to get those Madison Alerts reporting an assault or robbery or rape that no one finds out about until it’s too late. JMU can only do so much to mitigate the risk of these things happening with encouragement of safe practices, but people themselves have to remember to drink responsibly and utilize the buddy system. The reality is, plenty of college students love to get hammered and can get split up from their friends. So what solution is there? In many areas around campus, there are blue safety lights, but those can only deter a perpetrator so much. They’re antiquated and not even in some of the darker places, like Lot C4 and R8 (they’re not as *lit* as Forest or Manor, pun intended).
Think about the VT shooting or the UVA Hannah Graham incident. Those are some of our neighboring Virginia universities, and those tragedies should act as a warning that our safety isn’t guaranteed.
Enter: LiveSafe, a mobile app that allows users to receive alerts for their area (in this case JMU) and anonymously share tips on suspicious activity they see. The Tab spoke with JMU alum and co-founder of LiveSafe, Shy Pahlevani, who came up with the idea after being held at gunpoint on Capitol Hill.
How would LiveSafe have affected the situation in which you were held at gunpoint?
LiveSafe is more so on the prevention side, so if someone saw something, someone suspicious walking around, they could have shared it.
How does LiveSafe disrupt the other ways to maintain safety like making a call from a campus blue light, calling the police, or sharing location through iMessage?
The blue lights get used maybe once or twice a year, they’ve become antiquated. They can really only act as a deterrent. We’ve partnered with campuses so we work with their department and we’ve integrated the local police as well. Our focus is on the user and a greater ability to share with the community. There’s a button that acts as simply a way to call or, if the users prefer, message the police. Creating a two-way communication via text seems more logical and we encourage that by allowing for anonymity.
What has been the overall response from the clients that use your software?
They’re getting a lot of tips, getting things solved, it’s an incentive to employees. It’s been really positive. We’re also partnered with ESPN, Levi’s Stadium, the Detroit Pistons, and Cox and it’s rare that a startup can work with marquee brands like these.
In terms of the partnership with JMU, will students ever have to pay?
Simply put, no. The institution gets a lot of the benefit, parents are even asking if a college has LiveSafe integration and it surely is the best market fit considering mass shootings nationwide.
LiveSafe, whose headquarters is located in Arlington, Virginia, continues to grow its presence in universities and enterprises nationwide. The world — even in college — isn’t all fun and games: There are serious issues we have to consider and deal with. As much as the police do for us, they can’t take care of everything unless we help them. What do you say we come together as a community and help prevent dangerous incidents from happening? To download the LiveSafe app, click here.