There are more than 50 of them in total, mostly dressed in yellow and perched on thin brown poles across campus. They don’t appear to be much in the daytime. Many students said they don’t notice them at all.
But these call boxes, or blue lights, can bring the Northwestern University Police to students’ aid in less than three minutes.
They’re a common safety feature on many campuses, but Northwestern students don’t always use them when they need to, said Dan McAleer, assistant chief of University Police.
Many students could only name two or three locations of blue light phones around campus.
McAleer said there have been cases in which offenders would not have gotten away if students would have picked up a blue light phone.
Music junior Patrick Keenan-Devlin, president of Associated Student Government, said blue phones have helped decrease crime on campus. He said he supports installing blue lights in the city of Evanston.
ASG is working with the Evanston 911 Board, a commission of local residents and aldermen, Keenan-Devlin said.
He said his first goal is to install blue lights at the Foster and Noyes El stops.
“They make students feel safer,” he said.
Most students said they generally feel safe on campus, but they acknowledged that safety has become more important in the past few years, citing recent intrusions at the library and residence halls.
David Xu, a McCormick sophomore, said he feels comfortable walking across campus at night, but some of his friends don’t.
“My friends sometimes feel like they aren’t as safe as the beginning of the year,” Xu said.
Some students are doubtful that blue lights could solve the problem. They said increased escort service would be more beneficial.
Most said blue lights are necessary, but students must make an effort to be aware of them.
“I feel like I know exactly where (the blue lights) all are,” said Adria Patthoff, a Communication senior. “A lot of it is up to the individual to always take the precautions. The school can’t do everything.”
Reach Jenny Song at [email protected].
