Tamika Vantifflin

Recent headlines, from incidents at Cornell(and many more universities) to safety alerts on campuses across the country, have made one thing clear: blue light emergency poles and legacy campus security apps aren't cutting it anymore. Most college safety tools still rely on a student being able to speak, make a voice call, or navigate a complicated phone screen while under extreme stress or threat. But during a crisis (or a medical event), victims are often disoriented or nonverbal.

We re building Aegis to rethink how emergency data is sent to dispatchers and loved ones without relying on voice calls.

Almost everyone has a ritual when walking home in the dark or through an unfamiliar area:

• Holding keys between your knuckles

• Calling a friend just to have someone on the phone

• Checking behind you every 15 seconds

• Pretending to talk on speakerphone

The problem? None of these actually get first responders or loved ones to your location with real context if something actually goes wrong.

We're building Aegis to replace these "safety habits" with real, automated protection, sending live tracking, video, and medical data to dispatchers without needing to say a word.

When people discuss personal safety apps, the narrative is almost always targeted toward women walking home at night. But safety isn't gendered, men face unique, often unspoken risks including sudden medical events, solo travel hazards, late-night transit incidents, and working solitary shifts.

Yet, men rarely download safety tools due to social friction, stigma, or the assumption that "nothing will happen to me."

At Aegis, we ve been looking closely at how to design safety tools that feel like invisible armor rather than a panic button.