School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

If you have not visited a college or university campus recently, you might not be aware of the fact that many of them have call boxes installed throughout the premises. These are basically telephone units connected directly to the university police and in case of an emergency, anyone can use a call box to call for help. These days, though, the University of Georgia is one of the university campuses that does not have call boxes anymore.

The reason behind this? Bell South, the telecom provider has required the university to upgrade the analog call boxes to the digital version. This move would have cost the university several hundred thousand dollars PLUS about $30,000 in monthly maintenance costs. Quite obviously, this involved a large sum of money, which the university apparently does not have. The result is that they just opted to do away with the call boxes.

Another rationale for not continuing the call box service is that most people in the campus have cell phones anyway. According to the school authorities, the prevalence of mobile communication devices has effectively done away with the need for call boxes. As a matter of fact, I believe that most other universities in the country which still have call boxes installed are in the same situation. That is, most of the student population has access to personal mobile phones. Yet they still continue providing call boxes. According to the school authorities of these universities, having the “blue lights” is a source of comfort – not only for the students but also for their parents.

Indeed, the average student may never find himself in a situation wherein he has to use the call box but the mere knowledge that a ‘blue light” is there anytime he needs to use it is a comforting thought. After all, no one ever said that the issue of school safety totally discounts peace of mind and psychological aspects.

But what about universities like UGA, which have limited funds and therefore cannot afford to maintain a call box system? Are they not doing what they can to improve safety in their premises? I think not. They are probably merely trying to make do with what they have and to line up their priorities. Regarding the UGA, Keith Simms, the executive director of Safe Campuses Now, has this to say: “I think UGA does a good job. They offer a lot in terms of resources that students at other, smaller schools cannot offer. I think the Athens community also shares in this success through the various community groups and government agencies who also care about the well being of students.”

Yeah, call boxes can be useful and they can provide comforting thoughts to everyone involved. But not having them does not mean that other school safety issues are not being dealt with.

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