Cell Phones Making Campus Emergency Systems Obsolete

March 25--On college campuses throughout the nation, a towering blue light signals safety.

Attached to the blue light towers are telephones or buttons staff and students can use to connect to public safety officials. But now that just about everybody has a cell phone, the emergency stations are disappearing nationwide, according to news reports, including locally.

Bakersfield College recently finished removing its blue phone system, considering it costly and obsolete.

"Folks have cell phones. And (the blue light phones) are not being used," BC spokeswoman Amber Chiang said.

Just once in the nearly 20-year history of BC's system has a blue phone been used in a legitimate case, when a student reported an injury, Chiang said. Hundreds of other times, public safety officials were alerted only to find no one on the other end of the line.

Even during a recent rash of car thefts at BC, victims called authorities with cell phones, not the blue light phones spread throughout campus, including in parking lots, Chiang said.

Eleven were dispersed throughout BC in 2010, according to a campus map.

Some campus security officials argue the blue light emergency systems help in the preventing and reporting of crimes, and can make students feel safe.

Others say the systems give a false perception of security, on top of being costly and obsolete. And when they are used, they say, they're usually abused -- to make prank calls, for example.

The Contra Costa Community College District in 2010 removed the 25 blue light boxes from its three campuses due to high maintenance costs -- about $50,000 annually, reports show.

BC officials couldn't immediately tally up what they've been spending on the system.

Across town, Cal State Bakersfield, like all other California state universities, still has its blue light system. In fact, CSUB has 45 stations, and will install another at a new parking lot being constructed.

Not all are on blue towers, but they work the same -- push a button and you're connected to the CSUB University Police Department, which can see what tower is being used. Another button can be pushed for university information.

"No need for someone to fumble with their cell phone if they need help with something," CSUB spokesman Rob Meszaros said in an email.

The emergency system is rarely used there, too.

"That means that crime is low, and folks feel safe," Meszaros said. "They are there in the event they are needed."

CSUB does not log how often the system is used. There has been no talk of removing them at CSUB, Meszaros said.

The entire system costs about $10,000 to maintain per year for parts, labor and testing, according to CSUB.

BC Student Government Association members campaigned to have the lights installed starting in 1995, according to Renegade Rip student newspaper reports. Former student Tina Carroll collected more than 20 pages of student signatures in favor of installing them.

Today, SGA President Tawntannisha Thompson said students on campus are more likely to use cell phones than the blue light emergency systems.

"Students don't even know they are phones," Thompson said.

Some students didn't necessarily agree.

Student Aubrey Ball said the blue light systems could be useful in emergencies. Cell phone use can slow down response times, he argued, because people must dial for authorities and then explain where they are.

"I understand the cost concern, but you could leave just a few of them in high population areas," Ball said. "You never know when you'll need them."

Other safety measures are still in place at BC, according to its website, including 24-hour walking and bike patrols, burglar alarms throughout campus, an escort service for students and staff, and a camera system.