Boston University Blue Light Emergency Phones were restored to service after being inoperable since Sept. 13., according to a BU Alert sent on Sept. 19.
ZACH SCHWARTZ/DFP PHOTOGRAPHER
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email to the Daily Free Press that 15 of the 150 Blue Light boxes were out of order during this time period. The inoperable boxes were wrapped in plastic with the blue light turned off, according to Riley.
The BU Police Department increased patrols in the affected areas during the outage, Riley wrote.
“There were no security concerns that resulted from having 10 percent of the Blue Light boxes offline due to a technical problem,” Riley wrote.
The emergency boxes, placed throughout the Charles River, Fenway and Medical campuses, have red buttons inside that automatically connect users to BUPD.
“The Blue Light Emergency boxes are visible by line of sight from any location on campus and in addition to immediately contacting BUPD, they also serve as a preventive measure in that criminals see those boxes, too,” Riley wrote.
Many universities nationwide increased efforts to ensure campus safety following the passage of the Clery Act of 1990, according to Axon. One of the major initiatives universities took was installing Blue Light phone boxes on campus.
The act, enacted by the U.S. Department of Education, requires all higher education institutions with federal financial aid programs to report campus crime, support victims of violence and outline on-campus safety measures.
Junior Blair Fitzgerald said she never used the emergency boxes but still considers their presence a contributor to campus safety.
“People might use them to call someone if they are feeling unsafe or if they see anything suspicious and need immediate help,” Fitzgerald said.
Ali Restivo, a sophomore and tour guide at BU Admissions Office, said her tour guide training emphasized guides to point out the Blue Light system. During tours, prospective students and parents will ask about safety, but the topic is also incorporated into the tours, she said.
“Knowing that the blue light system is around is kind of comforting in a way,” Restivo said. “I don’t know in certain circumstances if I would use it because I have my phone and things like that, but I think it does provide a good sense of security.”
