ACUHO-I “Talking Stick Article”
SafeDecisions locks in a deal with The Ad Store.
Students who arrive to live at residence halls these days come with the usual, clothing, new sheets, all the essentials for residence hall living. Plus their brand new laptop, I-pod, cell phone, portable DVD player and more. With students toting all these valuables, some may start to be concerned about how to protect them. Enter SafeDecisions, the new in-room electronic safe that students can rent for the full school year. These in-room safes are completely electronic and open with a private 4-number PIN so students don’t have to worry about losing the key. The safe is placed in a resident’s room giving the student the option to rent or not to rent the safe, so schools assume no responsibility for the safe. In some cases, SafeDecisions has seen schools get a discount on insurance premiums. The safe has a one cubic foot interior, which gives students enough room to store their valuables, whether it is a valued piece of jewelry or their coveted I-pod. Marina Iannalfo, Associate Dean at Northeastern University, said that this is the third year they have had safes in place in residence halls for student’s optional use. Northeastern started with about 400 safes and this year about 1,800 are in place. “Students do seem to appreciate the option of having a safe and the features provided. In our case we have had much success with SafeDecisions, with respect to how they manage the contracts with students independently, as well as how they manage the minimal service calls that arise,” she said. Herbert Roy Zucker, from SafeDecisions, agrees with Iannalfo. “What we’re finding is that most students aren’t using the safes because they’re that concerned about theft. They just love having a safe place for stuff they don’t want to lose. It could be anything from a passport to a term paper or even an important phone number,” he said.