NJ College Requires GPS Cell Phones

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - NJ College Requires GPS Cell Phones

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:36:46 PM EDT

Big Brother anyone?

hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MANDATORY_CELL_PHONES?SITE=WIFON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

N.J. College Requires GPS Cell Phones
By CHRIS NEWMARKER
Associated Press Writer

MONTCLAIR, N.J. (AP) -- It was after 1 a.m. on a Sunday when college freshman Amanda Phillips arrived at the train station. She was nervous about walking alone in the dark to her dorm at Montclair State University.

So Phillips activated a GPS tracking device on her school-issued cell phone that would instantly alert campus police to her whereabouts if she didn't turn it off in 20 minutes. After a five-minute walk, she safely reached her dorm room, locked the door behind her and turned off the timer.

"I think this is a great idea. It makes me feel a lot safer. And it's not even that expensive," said Phillips, an 18-year-old from Delaware.

Had she not turned the device off, an alarm would have sounded at the campus police station, and a computer screen would have displayed a dot with her location, along with her photo and other personal details.

Montclair is one of the first schools in the U.S. to use GPS tracking devices, which along with other security technology are increasingly being adopted on campuses in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre last spring.

Students can use the timer, or, in an emergency, activate the GPS technology to instantly alert police.

"Maybe they're hiding and are hurt. Maybe they wouldn't want to talk because they're hiding behind a desk and the gunman's in the room. They'd have a better chance of being located," said campus police Sgt. Paul Giardino.

So far, not many students are using the feature. The university, which has 13,000 undergraduates, said the timers get turned on only about five to 10 times a week.

In the little more than a year that the system has been fully operational, the alarms have gone off only about once per month, and it was a false alarm every time, usually because someone forgot to turn off a timer.

Giardino said the false alarms aren't nuisances - they are training opportunities for the 32-member police force. "I can get my guys to get out and learn how to handle these," he said.

Two years ago, well before Virginia Tech, Montclair State made the cell phones mandatory for all first-year students living in dorms at the largely commuter school in suburban New York City. Now, all new full-time undergraduates - whether they live on campus or off - are required to buy them. About 6,000 students have them now.

Karen Pennington, vice president for campus life, said she and others on campus wanted to use the phones for instruction - letting professors take instant polls in class, for instance - and for safety as well.

While students praise the safety features, some grumble that the phones are mandatory and that they must be bought through the school for $210 per semester, on top of tuition and fees totaling more than $7,600 a year.

The phones come with free, unlimited text messaging, the capability to read campus e-mail, free calls after 7 p.m. and free calls to other Sprint phones, but only 50 minutes per month of anytime talking. Students must pay extra to add minutes. And though students pay by the semester, the phones work year-round.

The university contracted with the New York-based upstart Rave Wireless for the safety technology and Sprint for the cell phone service. Montclair State said it is not making money on the deal. It said the total cost is around $2 million per year - almost exactly what the school collects from students to fund it.

Sprint added cell towers so that virtually every inch of the campus gets service.

Raju Rishi, co-founder of Rave, said Montclair State was the first to use the safety feature, called Rave Guardian. A half-dozen other schools, including nearby Fairleigh Dickinson University and the University of North Carolina, now use similar systems, Rishi said.

Rishi said campus police are not monitoring the movements of students who don't turn on the GPS feature. "There's no Big Brother," Rishi said. "You need a subpoena to locate somebody against their will."

Security on Campus, a King of Prussia, Pa.-based advocacy group, gave Montclair State an award for the innovation. The group's vice president, Catherine Bath, said the technology will probably become more widespread.

"When I'm out walking my dog at night, I would love to have one of these," she said.

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:37:59 PM EDT

[#1]

Wow!

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:38:37 PM EDT

[#2]

"gee I left my phone last time I went back home to visit my parents"

Fucking NJ - no wonder over 50% of NJ residents would leave the state if they could.

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:38:45 PM EDT

[#3]

IfI went there I would tell them to kiss my ass, never use the GPS and fight aa guerilla war on the campus...

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:48:55 PM EDT

[#4]

Can you say "frequent wild goosechases?"

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:51:03 PM EDT

[#5]

Screw that, I wouldnt do that if they made me.

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:54:01 PM EDT

[#6]

The requirement to buy is more about raising revenue for the school than big brother.

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:54:15 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
"gee I left my phone last time I went back home to visit my parents"

Fucking NJ - no wonder over 50% of NJ residents would leave the state if they could.

and i spent a majority of my collegiant time trying not to be found.

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:56:59 PM EDT

[#8]

Easy fix, take battery out or shutoff then put in Ammocan and close lid.

Or if you have an EOD background, practice wiff techniques with aluminium foil.

Posted: 12/3/2007 2:57:51 PM EDT

[#9]

While students praise the safety features, some grumble that the phones are mandatory and that they must be bought through the school for $210 per semester, on top of tuition and fees totaling more than $7,600 a year.

The phones come with free, unlimited text messaging, the capability to read campus e-mail, free calls after 7 p.m. and free calls to other Sprint phones, but only 50 minutes per month of anytime talking. Students must pay extra to add minutes. And though students pay by the semester, the phones work year-round.

What a ripoff.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:00:44 PM EDT

[#10]

How many Arfcommers have GPS on their phones and don't even know it? How many have OnStar or similar services that are similarly capable of pinpointing location - and much more?

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:02:39 PM EDT

[#11]

210 a semester times 8 semesters = $1680.

They should up the price a couple hundred bucks and make all the kids buy Wilson Combat CQBs instead.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:03:33 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
How many Arfcommers have GPS on their phones and don't even know it? How many have OnStar or similar services that are similarly capable of pinpointing location - and much more?

They don't need GPS. They can triangulate your ass with the cell towers alone.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:03:56 PM EDT

[#13]

Hell NO; I'd rather have a gun.

If that alarm goes off and alerts the campus PD bk she is getting sexually assaulted/raped; who do you think will come first?

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:05:45 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
The requirement to buy is more about raising revenue for the school than big brother.

Indeed. Wonder what percentage of the revenue the school gets?

I'd screw around with 'em, too. Put the phone in some tough place and set it off.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:07:58 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
210 a semester times 8 semesters = $1680.

They should up the price a couple hundred bucks and make all the kids buy Wilson Combat CQBs instead.

I disagree. Get them XDs and a monthly allotment to spend on ammo.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:08:53 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

Quoted:
210 a semester times 8 semesters = $1680.

They should up the price a couple hundred bucks and make all the kids buy Wilson Combat CQBs instead.

I disagree. Get them ~~XDs~~ Glock 19s and CTACsand a monthly allotment to spend on ammo.

Fixed it for ya

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:09:16 PM EDT

[#17]

I live right near MSU and the kids are totally not happy about this kind of BS. They force the students to buy separate cellphone plans through the college for obscene fees and monthly charges for no talk time. Never mind the fact that you are a pussy if you don't think MSU is safe at night.

ETA-smartness

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:15:38 PM EDT

[#18]

Montclair, eh? surprise, surprise.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:17:59 PM EDT

[#19]

I'm being really nice when I say, fuck New Jersey.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:18:12 PM EDT

[#20]

I bet somebody in the administration recieved a nice kickback for that deal...

Kharn

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:18:17 PM EDT

[#21]

Double tap

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:28:55 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:
210 a semester times 8 semesters = $1680.

They should up the price a couple hundred bucks and make all the kids buy Wilson Combat CQBs instead.

I disagree. Get them XDs and a monthly allotment to spend on ammo.

I chose an expensive gun because the amount is ludicrous.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:33:32 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
210 a semester times 8 semesters = $1680.

They should up the price a couple hundred bucks and make all the kids buy Wilson Combat CQBs instead.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:37:28 PM EDT

[#24]

Nice little scam there for the school.

Seems it would work better to just dial 911, they get your location too, and you don't have to anticipate being kidnapped and start/stop a stupid timer. And, since this is common knowledge, the rapists and kidnappers will just make sure to take your phone away and toss it.

Posted: 12/3/2007 3:46:02 PM EDT

[#25]

At least the campus police would be able to find where to draw the chalk outline

right away.

GM

Posted: 12/3/2007 5:15:36 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
How many Arfcommers have GPS on their phones and don't even know it? How many have OnStar or similar services that are similarly capable of pinpointing location - and much more?

They don't need GPS. They can triangulate your ass with the cell towers alone.

Actually - that isn't true. They can tell roughly where you are based upon the cell system signal strength/ There is no triangulation means between cell towers.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - NJ College Requires GPS Cell Phones

General » General Discussion

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us