The Otter RAVE Articles / online Date: December 7, 2006

Sean Tibbitts, Staff Reporter Next semester, CSU Monterey Bay will begin hosting Rave. This Rave has nothing to do with taking ex and dancing; it is a mobile phone based communications system, Rave Wireless enables students to do nearly everything from their cell phones they’d normally do on a computer. The first university on the West coast to support Rave, CSUMB has already begun building the online community similar to MySpace, only with many more applications. The program can be used on a cell through text messages or through internet access, whichever the user chooses. It is free to use, however students must have either text messaging or internet access on their phones. According to a spokesperson from the Rave launch team, there are three key pieces to the platform: the academic, the social, and the safety aspects. Formerly, access to this kind of communication from a phone was limited to those with expensive items such as the Blackberry or Sidekick. With Rave, students can access FirstClass and Blackboard, can collaborate with classmates, and can access student and faculty directories. “We’re seeing Rave as en extension of the university to your phone,” said Henry Simpson of the IT department, responsible for implementing the program. “For many people the phone is the center of everything, it’s with them constantly.” Teachers can send time sensitive messages to a student body, and can even host polling similar to that used on American Idol. For example, during review professors can anonymously survey the students in class via cell to determine which material to cover more greatly. Socially, Rave allows students to create an entourage of friends, participate in student managed groups, as well as maintain a profile including personal photos and videos. Mass texts can be sent to group members, declaring athletic victories or directions to an event. Safety is another aspect of Rave. In the event of a disaster, emergency broadcasts can be sent to the entire registered student body. The social uses are also very safe because the program is sanctioned by the university, and all users are school affiliated. Users also have the ability to choose that is able to view certain parts of their profile. “It’s a really innovative idea, and I’m not too surprised it’s starting here at such a technical school,” said Morgan Arnold, TAT junior. One benefit to the system that will come automatically is the ability for professors to access entire classes immediately. In the event of a sickness or other emergency, teachers can notify students of cancelled classes or changes of location before the student makes the sometimes tedious commute to campus. “Students get irritated when they wake early in the morning for a class, only to find a blue note on the door saying that class is cancelled. Rave will hopefully keep that from happening anymore,” said the Rave spokesperson. As campus participation increases, Rave administrators hope to transcend the program into the primary media tool used by students. Access to athletic schedules, dining common menus, and course schedules will be made available to students in time. Rave also has other major features that could eventually be added, according to the RaveWireless website. RaveTransit is a function that would allow students to view the exact location of campus shuttles or busses, and RaveGuardian creates a “virtual public safety officer” for students at times when they feel unsafe on campus.