Adriana: How many blue lights are there on campus?
David: There are well over 60 blue lights on campus that are evenly spread out.
A: How many times a week, month, and year are blue lights used?
D: We don’t really track blue light use, they are used pretty infrequently, about 2 to 3 times a month and a handful of times a year. When they are used, they are t report medical emergencies or crimes that are happening on campus.
A: How far apart are blue lights away from each other?
D: There is no specific distance between the blue lights, they are found along pedestrian pathways. Additionally, over the last two years we have installed ten new emergency blue lights that have speakers, which can both, sound a siren that can be heard campus wide. There is a test being done Friday the 29th to test this new alarm system.
A: Are there parts of campus that have more blue lights than others? Why?
D: Dorms, parking lots, and pedestrian pathways have a lot of lights but we want blue lights to be visible from wherever you’re standing.
A: What are all the functions of a blue light? Must it only be physical emergencies? (or if a person is being verbally harassed?)
D: Anyone who feels in danger at any point in the day or at any time can press the call button. Even though people can call for many different reasons, the main reasons are still to report a crime or for medical emergencies.
A: When someone presses the call button on the blue light, does it go to the police and fire department or does it directly call campus safety?
D: The calls go straight to campus safety and are promptly answered. Sometimes there are false calls but we can generally point a camera at the blue light and see what is going on.
A: What is your opinion of blue lights? Are they effective?
D: They’re a resource for outreach and it allows connections to the outdoor campus. Ideally, every 300 feet (100 yards) you should be able to reach a blue phone. I do believe they are effective in out goal of safety.
A: Do you believe that the student body correctly understands the function of a blue light?
D: I am not sure if the student body understands the use of blue lights. They are used frequently enough that they understand its for safety.
A: When were the blue lights first installed? Do you foresee any more installments of blue lights happening?
D: Some blue lights on campus are at least 20 years old. Recently 3 new blue light phones that have big voice capabilities by Benson, Lucas, and Sobrato.
A: I know that there is a new soccer training facility being built and a new parking structure on Franklin was built, will there be emergency blue lights added there?
D: There is a blue light by Locatelli that serves the soccer facility and the parking structure on Franklin there are 3 on each floor, at the North and South ends as well as the entrance and exits.
A: How often are blue lights replaced?
D: They have a 10 to 15 year shelf life because they have a steel aluminum frame that is weather resistant. They only reason a couple of them have been replaced was to have a sound map. A sound map allows us to ensure that an emergency siren or announcement can be heard from any location on the campus. We performed a test and found that a few spots needed to be covered so we changed the location of the blue phone in front of Benson and added a few more to the campus.
A: How are the blue lights maintained?
D: Each light is tested weekly and if something is not working correctly, a work order is put in and it is fixed within 2 days.
A: When the campus is divided into North, South, East and West, which buildings fall in each quadrant?
D: There are some natural borders that divide the campus. The Alameda used to run through campus and divided it into East and West, now it’s a major pedestrian pathway. Palm Drive signals North campus while Accolti Way and Market Street create a South campus border.
A: Does the university still see them as useful and want to remove them like other universities (like New Mexico State or UC Davis)?
D: I believe they will be around because they provide psychological security to those around campus. The blue lights serve as silent sentinels. We definitely do not want to get rid of them and are adding new blue lights that have additional features, for example, we found that we were missing outdoor speakers and we wanted to fix it. The sound map covers 95% of the campus.
A: I know the emergency blue lights come in different colors, was there a specific reason the lights are red? Would it better serve the student body for them to be a more noticeable color such as neon yellow or green?
D: We wanted to find a balance between a subtle element and match the school colors – have them blend in and not distract from the beauty of the campus, but fit in with the architecture of campus. They are subtle reminders of safety. We do want to work harder to publicize the blue phones and their capabilities.
A: Are there any other functions of the emergency blue phones the student body should know about?
D: 10 of the phones have public address capabilities, meaning that instructions can be given immediately with high-powered speakers.
A: Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you and thank you for working hard to keep the campus safe.
