The blue light emergency phones on BGSU’s campus have been removed as of the Fall 2024 semester by university police and administration, according to university bids records and campus police.
The security poles, introduced to BGSU in 1996, were located near buildings and parking lots across campus as university-wide safety measures to aid the campus community in emergency situations. Community members who felt unsafe could press the emergency phone button to contact university police, who would arrive on the scene within five minutes.
Michael Campbell, BGSU’s Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police, cited the development of personal technology as the reason for the phones’ removal.
“…technology has evolved to where individuals are using more efficient and convenient methods of contacting emergency services, most notably cell phones,” Campbell said. “At BGSU, trends in our learning community have shown that cell phones and office lines are the preferred method of communication in emergency situations. The nature in which the blue light poles were being used helped to inform decisions.”
Campbell also said BGSU followed a nationwide university trend in removing the lights.
“Other universities have done a similar phase-out of the blue light poles,” Campbell said. “BGSU Public Safety works to make informed decisions that are specific to our learning community. Public safety initiatives are not necessarily a one-size-fits-all approach, and we will continue to seek opportunities to improve public safety.”
Students upset by the decision to remove these safety measures said the removal of the lights impacts the safety of the greater campus community. Ellie Evans, a senior journalism major, said despite having never used the phones herself, she knows their presence made the community feel safer.
“I think if more people knew they were there, they might have been used for the right reasons before, and we could have avoided having to ditch them,” Evans said. “…even though I didn’t ever use them, I’m sure plenty of people feel a little less safe without this emergency resource.”
According to Campbell, announcement of the phasing out process was discussed with campus partners such as Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Senate, but no community-wide announcement was released by the university detailing the phones’ removal. Students said this upset them more than the idea of the phones being removed.
“I think it’s definitely a red flag that they were removed without anyone knowing,” Evans said.
Campbell assured worried campus community members that the Public Safety Office at BGSU is continually evolving and doing what their research shows will keep the community as safe as possible. He emphasized the many other widely available campus safety resources for community members in emergency situations.
“Even before the blue light pole removals, BGSU had long incorporated a muti-faceted approach to promote campus safety, including police and security presence, education, lighting, cameras and other technologies,” Campbell said. “BGSU Public Safety continually seeks ways to improve the quality of its service through collaboration and communication with students, faculty, and staff. We will continue to evaluate and leverage technologies and solutions that enhance our learning community’s safety.”
