Student safety is an important issue on campus, especially for students who are out at night or alone.
There are call boxes on campus and inside the dorms, to ensure that students are safe and can call for help if need be.
“There are 54 call boxes – 32 on campus, 20 in the residence halls, and two in the Jones center,” Chief McDuffie Cummings said.
These call boxes are all around campus, and they are supposed to be activated.
However, a few call boxes are not working, including boxes near the Sampson Building and Village Apartments, behind Oxendine, as well as the call box between the water feature and Starbucks, but this problem has not gone unnoticed.
“The batteries actually exploded in them,” Chief Cummings said. Thus, because of corrosion, the circuit boards were damaged, resulting in broken call boxes.
Chief Cummings said that an order had been put in place for replacement parts.
However, students should not worry, because like everything else…there’s an app for that.
Because of the constant advancement of today’s technology, call boxes are slowly fading into the background, soon to be eclipsed by the next big thing, which for now is the LiveSafe app.
“LiveSafe is the new call box,” said Cummings. “Practically everybody has a smart phone, everything’s at a push of a button.”
Using the app is simple. If students are in need of help, and not near a call box, they can pull out their cell phone and use the LiveSafe app.
“It has protocols, procedures for active shooter, for individuals choking, for evacuations…” all at the fingertips of students, Cummings said.
Through the app, students can send videos and communicate with a dispatcher from wherever they are, instantly.
Also, although the call boxes are becoming a thing of the past, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. However, Chief Cummings does not foresee the university purchasing many more in the future.
Currently, locations of the call boxes include, but are not limited to, Pine, Oak, Belk and North residence halls, as well as along sidewalks around campus.
As a safety precaution, check for call boxes or phones around the areas you visit. Students should be vigilant in unfamiliar ares and never hesitate to contact Campus Police if you feel unsafe.
Students should take extra precautions if walking in the dark and should consider never waking alone.
LiveSafe is a university application that students can find on the app store and download for free. For more information on the app, visit http://studentaffairs.uncp.edu/health-safety/livesafe-mobile-app/.
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