New and returning Del Mar students are being encouraged to utilize safety and security resources like DMC Alert and the VikingGO app.  

Lauren White, the Chief of Police at Del Mar, along with Jack Tweddle, Director of Environmental Health & Safety, emphasized the importance of these two resources as tools for students to use to stay up-to-date on any matters concerning campus safety.

“DMC Alert is an amazing tool,” Tweddle said. “That’s how we communicate with the college as a whole.”

Alerts — which are classified as imminent threats to safety, emergencies, or time-sensitive information — are immediately sent out to students and staff through their preferred method of communication when considered necessary. Contact information preferences can always be updated through the DMC Alert page, which can be accessed through the Viking Toolbox on Del Mar’s website, where students can choose to be contacted by phone, text, and email. Friends and relatives can also sign up by texting “dmcalert” to the number 226787.

Minor updates that students and staff need to be made aware of, such as the update on Tropical Storm Francine earlier this month, can usually be found through email or on the front page of Del Mar’s website; so, there is no need to worry about your phone or email being flooded by alerts when they aren’t considered urgent.

“We will not use DMC Alert for low emergencies or non-emergencies,” Tweddle says.

“It’s something we want you to pay attention to,” White added. If the alert is sent out, it is usually a time sensitive announcement that includes helpful, relevant information.

While most students utilize — or know of — the DMC Alert system, not many were aware that Del Mar’s VikingGO app also offers some additional resources that students can use to stay safe and be prepared. From the app, studentscan find the number to contact security directly, as well as 911 in case of an emergency. Students can also access a form where anonymous tips and reports can be submitted.

“I get the alerts, and I think they’re pretty useful,” said Hector Morales Jr., a sound recording technology major at Del Mar. “I don’t think I know much about the app. Maybe someone mentioned it to me once, but I probably forgot.”

Bianca Ortiz, a liberal arts major, said she “didn’t even know there was an app.”

Both White and Tweddle believe it is important to push the fact that these resources are available to everyone on campus, and that everyone should utilize them to ensure that Del Mar remains a safe environment.

“We are very concerned about individual safety,” Tweddle said. “But the bottom line is, you have to be more concerned about your safety than we are.”