MaristSafe: Campus Security on the Cutting Edge

A flyer explaining Marist's new app, Marist Safe. Photo by Ben Leeds '26

Marist University has debuted MaristSafe, a mobile phone application designed to “[enhance] the safety, well-being and preparedness of our campus community,” according to an email from Dan Gough, Director of Campus Safety. The application was released with the email on Aug. 4. 

Gough championed the new app as a crucial next step in campus safety and security. 

“I have launched this application at two other institutions and saw the need here and the value that it can have for our campus community, especially students,” Gough said. 

“First and foremost, it is an additional emergency alert mode,” he explained. “So when we need to send a notification to the campus community about an incident, whether that’s a fire on campus or an armed intruder or tornadic activity in the area… anyone who has the app would get a notification through the app in addition to the other alert modes.”

Gough is referring to Marist Alerts, a service that Marist students can opt into to receive text messages, phone calls/voicemails, emails and social media posts about campus incidents, a service that MaristSafe will work in tandem with. 

However, MaristSafe will push out its alerts quicker and more reliably than Marist Alerts, as text messages take 30 seconds to two minutes to send, while phone calls/voicemails and emails take four to six minutes. MaristSafe push notifications, however, will be near-instantaneous. 

“When there’s a time-sensitive emergency on campus, that’s what we want,” said Gough. 

In addition to being the first line of communication in emergencies, MaristSafe contains a litany of features designed to enhance the safety of everyone in the Marist community. 

The Mobile Blue Light feature is a virtual enhancement of the physical blue light emergency boxes located around campus. 

“That’s an antiquated technology,” said Gough, who mentioned that in his more than two decades working in campus safety positions, he has personally witnessed just two instances of blue light phones being used in credible emergency scenarios, both of which occurred at other institutions.

“Your emergency has to be happening right at that location for that to be useful. When someone called from a callbox, we did not have information about the caller. Now, for anyone who’s downloaded the app and has location on, we get the exact location of the individual, and we can look up their name and CWID,” said Gough, who also emphasized that students can place a mobile blue light call and walk away from the incident, a luxury that physical blue light phones do not provide. 

Another feature called the Virtual Escort allows students to set themselves up with someone to walk home with at night, either a Marist student from their contacts that they trust or a campus security dispatcher.

“If the individual who has used the virtual escort feels unsafe at any time, they press emergency alert, and campus safety is immediately notified, sees their location, has the name, has the phone number, calls the student and dispatches officers immediately,” said Gough.

Social Escape, another feature that is a fan-favorite, according to Gough, allows students to send a phone call to themselves after a certain preset amount of time has passed (30 seconds, one minute, two minutes, etc.) giving them an excuse to leave an “uncomfortable or dangerous situation” like getting cornered at Darby’s, an unwelcome guest in a dormitory, etc.

The Work Alone feature aims to make late-night finals cram sessions safer than they’ve ever been. 

“If a student’s studying late at night, they can use Work Alone, and at whatever interval they select — 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc. — they can do check-ins. If they don’t acknowledge the check-in, campus safety gets the notification and can send an officer over to make sure they’re safe,” said Gough.

MaristSafe goes beyond emergency resources, too. With Report-a-Tip, students can call in maintenance issues around campus, such as potholes, lights that have burned out, etc.

Shuttle tracking, which Gough touted as “a feature that I’m sure all the students will use,” will be a live map of the current locations of both campus shuttles, which will begin operation on the first day of classes and run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the school week.

“Say you’re a commuter student, you get to East or West Beck Place, you want to ride to the academic core of campus, you’ve got a test that day - you don’t have to worry,” said Gough.

In a similar vein, MaristSafe will also provide up-to-date parking information.

“We’ll be able to send out parking updates so students know [about full or partial parking lot closures] in advance,” said Gough, who chatted with students at length last academic year about Marist’s parking issues. 

“If not for all of those other reasons, everyone will want the app because this is how we’ll send out push notifications for inclement weather, because not everyone checks their email,” Gough added.

Gough and the rest of the Marist Security team are “really excited” about this new venture. 

“For [Gough] personally, [MaristSafe] being the fastest, most reliable emergency alert mode is incredibly valuable,” he noted.

MaristSafe is available for free download from the Apple App Store and Google Play. According to Gough, over one thousand downloads of the app occurred within the first four days of its launch.