Bucca - NEAR - u

For the end of the semester project, the class had the opportunity to create an app, a website, or a piece of technology. The first group to go presented an app called bucca-NEAR-u. The app was basically a campus safety app that allows a person to contact campus security anonymously, send a location, and say what is going on - whether it is an immediate emergency or whether it is just a problem that needs to be resolved. 

I thought that this project was very well done, well thought out, and realistically able to work as soon as possible. I think that even a campus as small as Christian Brothers University needs to be able to have something where, no matter what, people will feel safe all the time. In my opinion, bucca-NEAR-u serves as just the thing to make someone feel more safe roaming around campus, or even just being in their dorm all alone. 

The thing that struck me most about their application was that it could be anonymous or not AND that it send the location of the mobile device that sent the message. This is great because it allows campus security to know where you are with as little typing or effort on your part as possible, this would come in handy especially in a dangerous situation. Also, the presentation was clearly really well though out. The app was a real time, working app that could potentially launch and be working right now. The coolest part about their project is that it is not just plausible, it is capable and ready to be a working safety measure. 

The presentation was really well organized in my opinion. I felt as if everyone was very prepared, especially for being the first group to present their ideas to the class. Kudos to the bucca-NEAR-u group for doing their research and figuring out a real way to solve the problem right now.

My opinion on the helpfulness of the app - I think everyone needs to download this app onto their phones as soon as possible!! It is, at the very least, just a safety precaution to take for yourself and at the most, it could potentially save your life. Especially on bigger campuses, like they were saying using different interfaces that are specific to campuses. For example, University of Connecticut recently ranked first in number of reported campus sexual assaults. If all colleges had an app similar to this, I think a lot of crimes would not happen or they would have the potential to be stopped in their tracks.

http://fox61.com/2016/06/07/uconn-ranks-first-in-national-report-about-campus-rapes/

All in all, I really think this project was executed very well and is a real solution to a real problem!