After years of empty boasting about (broken) emergency telephones to touring freshmen, Ohio University will finally create a group devoted to keeping the blue lights in working order.
Under the current system, different parts of the 42 blue lights and 44 call boxes that dot the campus are controlled and maintained by separate departments, leaving a hodgepodge of groups unnecessarily complicating what should be a straightforward problem.
For example, although students rely on OU Police's SAFE-T Patrol Team to check if the light bulbs and telephones are in working order, Facilities Management is in charge of repairing them. How the blue lights are maintained and funded grows even more confusing if one of them needs to be repaired.
When that happens, the Office of Information Technology bills the department that originally installed the lights or boxes. The cost of replacing a free-standing blue light ranges from $3,900 to $5,000 and a callbox can total between $1,300 and $3,000.
It's this kind of passing-the-buck mentality that spirals ongoing problems like dead blue lights out of control. In spite of that, OU officials claim this new system is more efficient. And we're pleased the school is actually doing something to force accountability for the failing blue lights, because this current shared control is unacceptable and dangerous.
In the mean time, we eagerly await OU's upcoming survey of students to see their thoughts on the importance of blue lights. Cell phones are commonplace on this campus, as they are on any other, which means they may not even want these blue lights. Besides, there is something scary about the thought of waiting at a glowing blue pole in the ground while praying OU Police arrives on scene before the attacker does.
This new unit that oversees the blue lights is vital to campus safety, and it must take that role seriously. We're just glad OU is finally treating the blue lights as something more important than another thing to market during a tour for potential freshmen.
4 Opinion
OU officials consolidate emergency blue light duties
