More blue lights proposed
Published Feb. 13, 2004
Missouri Students Association President Brian Laoruangroch presented a proposal to the Student Fee Capital Improvements Committee on Monday to fund installation of six more emergency telephone stations on campus.
The additional stations would be located on the South Quadrangle south of Hulston Hall" near Waters Auditorium" near the entrance to parking lot behind Schurz and Hatch halls" near Walton Field" near Simmons Field baseball complex and near the Trowbridge Livestock Center.
In June, representatives from the Department of Parking and Transportation, MU Police Department, Design and Construction Services and then - MSA President Brett Ordnung identified 11 potential locations for the emergency telephones, Laoruangroch said.
The group considered many factors when looking for possible areas across campus. They considered lighting, traffic, incidence of crime and landscape, he said.
"They looked to see if there were any bushes around that, say, an attacker, could hide in," Laoruangroch said.
In the fall, the Department of Parking and Transportation paid for and installed emergency telephone stations at five of the 11 proposed locations, Laoruangroch said.
Some of these stations were built near buildings currently under construction, and the price was included in the construction, Laoruangroch said.
Stations, which will be red tubes with blue lights on top, can cost between $8,000 and $15,000 depending on the location, said Jeff Harper, an architect with Design and Construction Services.
"In some areas, we have a good distance between the phone and any electrical service, so it will cost more to run the wiring to the phone," he said.
Emergency phones are important to the overall safety of the campus, Ordnung said.
"We would not have done the work for emergency phones if students didn't think they were important," he said.
The Student Fee Capital Improvements Committee has to look at the proposal and decide whether to allocate any funds, said committee member Matt Sokoloff, who also is a graphic designer for The Maneater.
"The stations cannot be put in until the money is allocated," he said.
Sokoloff said he thinks some of the proposed stations should be paid for by the City of Columbia and/or the athletic department.
"In my opinion, they should pay for the ones by the athletic fields because they use those areas for their events," he said.
Harper said it was important to find the locations where stations would be needed most.
"Areas with less people might be more important because there usually isn't anyone there to help out," he said.
There are 170 blue light stations across campus, Laoruangroch said.
The police receive calls from the stations three to four times a week, and the average response time is less than five minutes, Laoruangroch said.
"Police usually drive by the areas every 30 minutes or so," he said. "But the probability of them driving by during that 10-second timeframe when something happens is so slim. These stations allow people to feel like there is a constant watchdog. Help is available 24 hours a day."