Students in the Class of 2019 have another reason why they shouldn’t lose their GWorlds.
The phone numbers of five emergency services will now be listed on the back of new GWorld cards, a key part of Student Association President Andie Dowd’s campaign platform from earlier this year and the first checkmark on her list of overall goals.
Students, faculty and staff who receive GWorld cards starting this week will find the phone numbers for the University Police Department, EMeRG and other campus resources. The back of current GWorld cards feature a barcode, the GW logo and the address to the GWorld office where lost cards can be returned.
Dowd said putting adding the emergency phone numbers will help students find resources as quickly as possible if they are in a dangerous situation.
“You don’t want to have to Google how to find a certain number. You want it to be in your phone or on your GWorld,” Dowd said.
Phone numbers will also be listed for GW’s medical services, Mental Health Services, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Sexual Assault Response Consultative Team, a group of trained staff that provide resources and support for sexual assault survivors.
Dowd and Casey Syron, the Student Association’s executive vice president, met with officials in the GWorld office to implement the change to the cards over the summer, which Dowd said had to first be approved by administrators.
“We were pleased to work the with student leaders to include these important resources on GWorld cards,” University spokesman Kurtis Hiatt said in an email.
Dowd said she hopes the accessibility of the phone numbers will be helpful to everyone on campus who receives a GWorld, not just students.
“We can guess what situations people may run into, but it’s hard to put an number on how helpful this will be,” she said.
Laura Zillman, vice president of Students Against Sexual Assault, said that as her group pushes to put similar information on course syllabi, putting emergency phone numbers on such a frequently used item like a GWorld is a good step in making resources visible to students.
“If they or someone they know is in a time of crisis, they know it’s right there on their GWorld which is most likely with them,” Zillman said.
Dowd focused her presidential campaign platform on safety and security issues, like improving the University’s 4-RIDE program and putting more safety resources on GW’s smartphone app.
The app, which officials released last year, lets students report crime tips to UPD and call for help without dialing a phone number.
Dowd said she plans on discussing future plans with UPD’s new police chief, RaShall Brackney.
