By Emily Baay, Advertising Manager
“You never know what will happen at night, and who will be there,” said Ashley Dadka, a senior criminal justice student.
Dadka feels that walking from the Saint Leo University parking garage to her dorm at night can be a “scary task.” Many other students, especially female students, have similar perspectives.
Student safety at Saint Leo is important no matter what part of campus you are on. While the university has several safety measures in place for students to use if a situation emerges, many students have not heard about these systems and how to use them.
Part of this safety system includes the Everbridge 360 app. This app alerts students of emergency situations in their area, such as hurricane warnings. It also allows students to notify campus safety if they need help with the push of a button.
Students may access the Everbridge 360 application by downloading it from either the App Store or the Google Play Store. By entering “saintleo” when prompted to choose an organization code and using the university’s single-use sign-on page, students can utilize safety features such as “SOS” and “Check-In” through the icons on the app’s home screen.
This app replaces Saint Leo’s blue light call box system, which is no longer active on campus.
“I knew of the blue light near the dock,” Dadka said, “but I had no idea it wasn’t working anymore.”
These call boxes also allowed students to directly call campus security but are not as accessible as an app that can reside on a student’s phone and on their person at all times.
While safety is a priority at Saint Leo, its status as a small private school in a small town makes many people see the campus as relatively safe. However, many people from off campus can be seen walking the grounds, drawn in for the scenic views, rich history, or community events.
Vincent “Mike” D’Ambrosio, Chief of University Safety and Emergency Management, notes that, in addition to the app, Campus Safety provides continuous patrols at all hours.
“Our patrols cover residence halls, academic and support buildings, as well as parking lots,” D’Ambrosio said. “In addition, we utilize approximately 590 CCTV cameras and over 200 access control points to enhance campus safety and security.”
Even with these security measures in place, some students feel as though this could be communicated more effectively.
Madison Wilson, a former Resident Assistant (RA) who graduated in Spring 2026, noted that all resident assistants complete two weeks of training before the school year starts. During this training, campus safety gives an instruction manual and a presentation regarding the app and shares its importance to resident assistants.
From there, RAs are held responsible for relaying this information to students and residents in their communities. This depends on the RAs being proactive and presenting the information in a way that sticks. Commuters, especially transfer students, are often overlooked.
“I know I explained a bit what it is,” said Wilson, “but I can’t say for sure if it helped. Maybe I should have gone a bit more in-depth. Maybe I should have pulled up a tutorial on my phone or something.”
Simply sharing information about the Everbridge 360 app doesn’t ensure student engagement. Even though resident assistants advertise the platform, many students never download it. Wilson adds that giving the app more importance and stepping up efforts to promote it more extensively on campus, such as professors discussing it in class, would be the perfect solution.
Kaylee Graham, a junior business management major, is one student who has not taken the time to download the app.
“I haven’t felt the need to use it,” Graham said, “but I think it could be helpful to have if I need it.”
As a commuter student, Graham feels she has the same level of access to the campus’s safety resources compared to a student living on campus.
“I generally feel safe walking to my car,” she states. “The main difference is that there are usually fewer people around compared to walking to a dorm.”
Graham believes the university does a good job accounting for both resident and commuter students in its safety planning, giving a more favorable view than students such as Dadka.
Still, Graham recognizes room for improvement.
“More lighting around parking areas would be a nice addition and could make commuters feel even more comfortable at night,” Graham said
As Saint Leo continues to rely on digital safety tools, students such as Dadka and student leaders like Wilson agree that clearer communication and encouragement to download the app may be just as important as the patrols themselves.
