Blue light emergency phones used 19 times this year for immediate emergency connection

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While walking across campus at night, students might notice glowing blue lights stationed in numerous areas — and they might wonder what they’re for.

But upon closer observation, they’re in fact emergency phones — the primary on-campus tool available to assist students who run into trouble.

CMU Police Lt. Cameron Wassman said there have been 77 9-1-1 calls made through campus phone lines from Aug. 25 through the beginning of this month. Nineteen calls have been made from the blue light emergency phones. Though the number is lower than what he expected, he thinks it is a good thing.

“That also shows that people are using them for their primary purpose and not making business-type calls,” Wassman said.

When a pedestrian feels unsafe and is in the vicinity of a blue light emergency phone, he or she can push the red call button located on the yellow box. The phone call is routed to CMU Campus Police through a 9-1-1 dispatch line.

Wassman said 26 of the phones are located across campus.

“It does really help us out with our goal of keeping us safe,” he said. “You push the button, it dials our number and you’ll be connected to dispatch and you can start speaking.”

The phones first began appearing on campus 20 years ago, Wassman said. The most recent phones were installed two years ago. Phones are usually installed in either secluded areas such as distant parking lots or areas with high foot traffic.

Mark McDonald, the director of networks for the Office of Information Technology, said though the cost of every unit is different, the average cost for a phone is about $500 to install, including equipment, installation and labor.

Each phone is supported through the university telephone switch, resulting in a cost of $10 a month to run all of the phone lines.

“This is an effective service for the university,” McDonald said. “To operate them really is not a lot of cost at the end of the day.”

McDonald said the phones are an “inexpensive safeguard” maintained by the university’s telecommunications group.

Wassman said he thinks the phones are absolutely worth the cost.

“For the amount of foot traffic this campus has, (it is) very beneficial to get a hold of us for a variety of reasons,” he said.

Stephen Thompson, director of CMU’s Sexual Aggression Peer Advocate program, said he thinks the money spent on blue light emergency phones could be put toward better uses.

“They create this illusion of safety and the university has good intentions putting them in,” he said. “The reality is that safety lights, no matter where they are in the country … don’t do very much.”

Thompson said he has never heard of an instance when a student used an emergency phone to call dispatch, and said he has even heard about students at Michigan State University using their university’s similar lines to order pizza.

Most physical crime, as well as sexual crime, Thompson said, comes from a person known by the target; it does not happen in a secluded parking lot.

“Predators are not stupid,” he said. “They don’t usually attack somebody under a blue light.”

Wassman said the phones are primarily used for emergency circumstances. He said they are not only used by students who feel threatened, but also by those who feel as though they are being followed and those who witness anything suspicious.

“We encourage people to call on suspicious activity because it helps us out a lot,” Wassman said.

Charlevoix senior Kim Rosen said she was not made particularly informed about the phones.

“I really didn’t even know much about them,” she said.

Rosen said she has only ever noticed the one emergency phone located by the Industrial Engineering and Technology building.

Wassman said they are only one of the safeguards put in place to protect the safety of those traveling across campus. CMU’s Safe Rides program is another safety measure offered by CMU Campus Police. Students can call 774-4357 any time after dark to receive a free shuttle ride anywhere across campus.

“That’s really done a lot to help on this campus,” Thompson said.

Safe Rides was originally started by SAPA, but is now run by the CMU Campus Police. It offers thousands of rides a year for students.

Wassman said CMU police officers also visit residence halls to give safety education presentations. Topics range from crime prevention to drugs and alcohol, but as far as formalized programs go, Safe Rides and the blue light emergency phones are the only two on campus.