While cellular phone location technology has made major advancements in recent years, it is not the final answer when it comes to campus safety and security. Advanced end points, like the blue light emergency phones offered by Code Blue, help provide an immediate connection to assistance, as well as supply location information to first responders who can more promptly reach you during an incident.
A recent column from the Concordiensis, the student newspaper at Union College in upstate New York, argues that the vulnerabilities of relying heavily upon cell phones to be the sole means of emergency communication is not the best way to ensure a safe environment for everyone on campus.
“While this does not address the fact that a student can find himself or herself without the use of a cellphone — since people sometimes drop cell phones while fleeing, cell phone batteries run out, they are forgetten at home, they break, etc. — it does provide some measure of blue light safety.”
The column also makes the plea for even more blue light phones to be installed on the Union College campus, which could provide a layered approach to security if combined with a mobile safety app.
“A blue light is unmistakable and reliable. During an emergency, a student shouldn’t be responsible for finding a way to contact emergency services—the campus should be supplying a way.”