Apps on smart phones are becoming an increasingly popular way for students not only to get information, but also to send it. Apps on campus are geared toward safety, dating, job searching and more.

Elon students are immersed in campus life online and off. The applications available for download are just some of the perks that further life on campus in ways that wouldn’t have been possible many years ago. These apps help students connect, further their safety and provide them with opportunities on and off the web.

LiveSafe

LiveSafe, is on many college campuses and allows students to report tips to their campus’ safety officials, access safety resources and virtually watch friends walk home late at night to ensure their safety.

“I always like to mention the SafeWalk feature where users can invite friends to watch them walk from one point to another and message them when they arrive safely to the destination,” said Dennis Franks, Director of Campus Safety.

The app has been available for download at Elon’s campus for about a year, and students have found it to be a beneficial use of their limited gigabytes.

“I downloaded it when it first came out because of my RA position,” said junior Shay Thomas. “My supervisor encouraged all of us to download it because it could be a useful tool for our position.”

Thomas said she has used the app a handful of times to report incidents anonymously as well as watch her friends walk home late at night.

Job & Internship Expo

Departments on campus are investing in apps to strengthen their connection with students.

The March 10 Job & Internship Expo had its own app that was dedicated to helping students find the right job or internship for them.

“I hope students will see how interactive the app is,” said Kristen Walker, Recruiting and Event Coordinator for the Student Professional Development Center (SPDC),. “You can write notes in the app, mark favorites… It’s an interactive app, which is hard to reproduce on a piece of paper. There’s only so much a list can tell you.”

This spring was the third semester the app has been in use for the event, and it keeps improving to better students’ search experience.

“We have made changes to the actual content we are putting in about each organization,” Walker said. “We added different filters to search through the employers.”

Walker said the SPDC was initially interested in developing the app to reach out to students in the best way they knew how — on their phones.

The app has been downloaded 447 times and can be used by students to access information prior to the event, make notes on employers during the event and more.

“We have worked so hard in this office to find opportunities for students, I’m hoping that the app is just one additional piece that raises awareness of these efforts,” Walker said. “You’ve got to take a second to look and figure it out, but the app helps [students] see those opportunities.”

When & Where

Apps aren’t all work and no fun, though.

Senior Devin Mehra launched the new dating app, “When & Where” in fall 2015. The app, different from other dating apps, forces people to pick a location and a time to meet before they can begin chatting. This feature of the application encourages creativity and honest conversations.

“It serves as an ice breaker,” Mehra said.

Though the app makes participants pick a time and place, they do not have to hold true to those decisions, which has gotten some users in trouble.

“I accidentally stood up a couple of people,” said senior Caroline James. “They were actual dates. I had people waiting on me, and I never showed up.”

James was the first girl to download Mehra’s app, and she’s found it rings true to the intended purpose.

“I fully agree that a lot of dating apps are for playing around, but this app doesn’t allow for that,” James said. “People are looking for the same thing — they are actually looking to go on a date.”

“When & Where” has been downloaded more than 450 times on Elon University’s campus, and it is only looking to grow from there.

While Mehra tried to begin marketing the app in the Boston area in late January, he discovered that it would be a lot easier to market the app to other schools in the Elon area.

“Because I’m [at Elon], it’s easy to start out here,” Mehra said. “I figured out that people liked it. I could iron out the cobwebs, and I’ve started marketing the app at other schools nearby.”

Mehra has reached out to students at Duke University, Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and other large North Carolina schools to get the word out about the app.

“I want to find people passionate about this,” he said.

After graduation, Mehra is working with Teach for America and is looking to find people who are willing to dedicate time to furthering “When & Where” on Elon’s campus and others.