GREENSBORO, N.C. — When taking a stroll across UNC Greensboro's campus, it's hard to miss the tall blue phones, meant for emergencies.
"We had approximately 150 blue phones before the project now that we've rolled out this mobile safety application, again a mobile blue light in everybody's hand on their phone," said UNCG's assistant vice chancellor for emergency and risk management, Zach Smith.
An emergency lifeline through a new app called the Spartan Safe app.
Smith says they rolled out the new technology back in April right before school let out. He says the app is replacing the aging blue phones.
In case of an emergency, a user simply pushes a button in the app and is in contact with police.
"I think that's a good idea, a lot of people are just on their phone naturally, so instead of having to, you know if you don't feel comfortable right here, you can just pick up the app and then somebody can be there for you," said UNCG junior, Max Vanyas.
If students haven't downloaded the app but find themselves in an emergency near one of the blue phones, buttons have been replaced with QR codes for people to scan and call police.
The change comes as more people rely heavily on their phones. However, some are concerned about being in an emergency without a working one.
"What if your phones out of battery? What if you get robbed in your phone gets taken? Feels like your kind of out of luck," UNCG junior, Spencer Kolada explained.
Smith recognizes this possibility but asks students to prepare ahead of time.
"Part of your personal preparedness is to make sure that your phone is charged so if you're getting ready to navigate across campus and it's 10 p.m. at night and you've got that low battery alarm maybe sit tight, charge your phone for a few minutes, and then venture out across campus," Smith recommended.
The challenge is making sure everyone has the app, Smith says they're working with university communications to spread the word.