George Washington cards to include emergency contacts
11 June, 2015
category: Card Issuance
All new campus cards printed at George Washington will look a little different. In particular, the backs of the IDs.
Per a report from the GW Hatchet, the phone numbers of five emergency services will now be printed on the back of new GWorld cards, in the hopes that in a time of crisis, the student’s campus card will likely be handy.
Now, students, faculty and staff who receive new GWorld cards will carry with them the phone numbers for the University Police Department, emergency services and valuable on-campus resources including 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.
The backs of the previous GWorld cards featured a barcode, the GW logo and the address to the GWorld card office. The university hopes that in printing the emergency phone numbers will help students find resources as quickly as possible if they find themselves in a dangerous situation.
George Washington’s Student Association executive vice president met with officials in the GWorld card office to implement the change to the cards over the summer, which had to first be approved by university administrators.
George Washington’s vice president of Students Against Sexual Assault organization says that the group has pushed for similar information to be printed on course syllabi, but says that printing emergency phone numbers on a frequently used item like a GWorld is a good step in making resources visible to students.
The printing of the student emergency numbers on the GWorld cards coincides with a larger on safety and security campaign on campus. The initiative has also improved the university’s 4-RIDE program and has put more safety resources on George Washington’s smartphone app, which after its release last year, lets students report crime or tips to UPD and call for help without dialing a phone number.
