Students in need of police assistance had better keep their cell phones at the ready because no help will be coming via Ohio University's blue light emergency phones. Most buildings on campus have blue light emergency phones, which are designed to link callers directly to the OU Police Department ' but a recent study by Student Senate found that half the blue light emergency phones on campus are dysfunctional in some way.
Incoming freshmen are told to look for the blue lights in case of an emergency, and the Campus Emergency Guide specifically cites them as an alternative to dialing 911. Health and Safety in the Residence Halls, a pamphlet released by Residence Life, also mentions the phones as a way to get help. If these phones do not work, new students will be misled into a false sense of security.
If one manages to find an emergency phone (which might be hard, considering a dozen units were found to lack functioning lights), then one might be dismayed that many of the phones' emergency buttons failed to connect to the OUPD when tested. During tests of several units, the caller was unable to hear the phone operator clearly. In two cases, the operator could not hear the caller.
In an emergency, any one of these problems could have serious consequences. Rare, violent crimes do occur on campus. In 2006, there were four reported cases of forcible sexual assault and 45 cases of burglary, according to a Post report compiled last fall. A case of violent assault was reported in April with the stabbing of an OU student near East Green. Over the weekend, a student was assaulted in an alley on South Congress Street. Although infrequent, these cases show the need for a working emergency contact system.
While these phones can help protect students, they can only do so when properly maintained. Unfortunately, OU has allowed these phones to slip into disrepair, severing students' connection to emergency help.
If the phones do not work, then their usefulness ends at giving the pleasant illusion of security. The repair of these phones should be a top priority on the lists of OU administrators ' these units should be fixed without delay or debate to keep students safe.
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Dysfunctional emergency phone system leaves students stranded
