Campus police are discussing whether to remove or repair the blue emergency phone booths scattered around campus.
The phones are located throughout campus to provide students with a way to access OCUPD immediately. They also provide a speaker for announcements to be made throughout campus in case of an emergency.
Police Chief Jennifer Rodgers said the discussion began after a meeting with the Crisis Management Committee where someone suggested removing the blue phones.
“I kind of like them,” Rodgers said. “Apparently several of them need to be replaced. Most campuses I’ve been on have the blue phones because they make a good effort to show that we are available in different ways.”
About 20 blue phones are placed strategically around campus. Rodgers said four of them are broken.
“Some of it is as minimal as the blue light overhead doesn’t work,” she said.
The blue phones are only used about once a month, Rodgers said. Part of the reason why the blue phones may be taken down is because of the campus app, Rave Guardian, she said. The app was created this year for testing and can contact the OCUPD more easily, as well as provide a safety timer. The student assigns a guardian, such as a parent or friend, and sets a timer to get to their location. If the alarm is not turned off when time runs out, the campus police are notified.
“If you were leaving the library, for example, at 10 p.m., and expect to be back at your dorm in 15 minutes, you let the guardian know the time. If you do not turn off the alarm by then, your guardian is notified, as well as the OCUPD,” Rodgers said. “I have seen an increase in using this to call the OCU police. Students have been sending us more tips.”
Budget will be a factor in whether or not the blue phones will be replaced. Rodgers said the department gets $40,000 a fiscal year for changes in safety. This year’s money is going into signs and new cameras.
“I think replacing the blue phones is in the budget,” she said. “We do have some more to play with, and it will probably go into the phones or lighting. I see where we need to go. It just may take another three to four years.”
Rodgers said she plans on sending out a survey to the campus to see what students think about the issue.
Sammi Bronow, economics senior, said she dislikes the blue phones and prefers the app.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable using a blue telephone,” she said. “I feel more comfortable using the guardian app.”
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