CSUS Students Want Technology to Keep Campus Safer

Following the severe beating of the Associated Student President in April students at Chico State are exploring new ways to make the campus safer. Chico State Freshman Brett Powell turned to On Demand Safety's CEO Kirk Jacobson and the Halo device. "I was doing a project on campus safety already and his product has no flaws."

The Halo Device is as small as the automatic lock on a car key chain and representatives say it could keep students safer, especially in dangerous areas like the downtown bike path. Jacobson says "with one press of a button we know who they are, where they are, and we send help directly to them. On top of all that we also get audio from the scene so responding officers can be armed with that information of what's actually going on before they get there."

Jacobson added the range of the device will not be limited to the campus and surrounding areas. "We realize that you're not always going to be in that jurisdiction so we've mapped it out so when you push the button we're going to make that call to the exact jurisdiction you're in. That saves us steps so we can respond faster."

The price of the service is a dollar a day. While that may not seem expensive some students like Chico State Freshman Amy Bertschi aren't willing to add those funds onto their already rapidly growing tuition. "Some people might find it useful. Personally I don't think people who don't need it should pay for it in tuition." But Powell says it's worth it. "I really believe the school could use it. It's going to jump in the tuition but I really believe you can't put a price on safety."