While slightly less creepy than the idea of
GPS-equipped school uniforms, the latest mandate by Montclair State University in New Jersey is bound to ruffle the feathers of some students. The new rule stipulates that studentsmust own and carry school-distributed cell phones with
GPS.
The idea behind the mandate is that the phones are designed with student safety in mind. If, for example, someone is following a student, or threatening them, then a beacon on the cell phone can be set to go off for a predetermined period of time. If, at the end of that period, the student has not disabled the alarm, then campus security can use
Google Maps to locate the student (thanks to the required-cell-phone's on-board GPS) and inform the local authorities. The service is even available when off-campus, whether the student is merely somewhere in town, or home for the holidays.
The phones are all automatically registered with the campus alert system as well,
notifying students via text message of any situations that may arise, be they canceled classes due to weather, power outages, or, God forbid, a shooting like the one at Virginia Tech.
Not all of the features on the phones designed by Rave Wireless and Sprint are aimed at tracking students, however. The phones also can be loaded up with podcasts of lectures, notes, and even digital flash card study aides. Of course, the phones also acts as, well, phones, allowing student to place calls and send text messages,
So far, all calls into the police department to respond to student GPS beacons have been false alarms, but a staff of security still monitors the signals 24/7 just in case the system ever proves necessary.
From
AP on AOL Video
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