I implemented excerpts from Santa Clara University and Syracuse University’s campus safety websites to illustrate the functionality and reasoning behind their usage on these campuses. I also used information from security companies such as Rath Security or Talkaphone that sell emergency phones, in order to understand their capabilities and why they are appealing to university campuses. Emergency blue light phones must be purchased, installed and maintained. Depending on the size of the university investing in these lights, the cost will vary.
The University of Vermont, which has a 460-acre campus and 10,000 students, spent $400,000 to install the emergency phones and $75,000 a year to maintain them. Even though the amounts are large and costly, for many – especially parents – one cannot put a price on safety. The article discussing the University of Vermont also included a link to the crime statistics for the last 6 years. According to the data, crime has increased making emergency blue phones very desirable and a reasonable resource to have on college campuses.
A separate article demonstrates that the University of Iowa does not feel as strongly about emergency blue light phones. They are viewed as a waste of money, irrelevant and outdated. They believe that cell phones have rendered emergency blue phones useless because everyone has one on them and can call 911 from there. Emergency blue light phones were installed on campuses before cell phones were widely available. This article also cites the cost of installation and maintenance of emergency phones from the article on the University of Vermont. The University of Iowa is 1,880-acres and has over 20,000 students, which means they would require a much larger number of emergency phones to adequately cover the campus. If the University of Iowa is spending close to $1,000,000 installing emergency phones and over $150,000 a year to maintain them and the student body is not using them, it makes sense that they would want to remove the phones.
While emergency phone usage is not significant, an article in the News & Record Journal explains that event though they are not used often, it does not mean they are not important. This article addresses the misconception that cell phones can replace emergency phones. Cell phones can be forgotten at home, stolen while out with friends, lost, broken, or run out of battery. Emergency blue light phones will always be functioning and will always be answered. One’s location is instantly shared with the department coming to aid you and they provide a sense of safety. Additionally many emergency phones have the capability to alert those around them of danger or portray instructions to the public.
Finally, I interviewed a Campus Safety Officer, David Burns, to get a better understanding of the use of emergency blue light phones on Santa Clara's campus as well as ask if the school planned to remove the emergency phones like the University of Iowa. I also viewed and incorporated reviews from students of Santa Clara University’s safety to gage if students find the emergency phones helpful and comforting or useless and irrelevant.