'Blue lights' not so special?

They dot the campus. But do they help?\nMore than 25 emergency telephones -- commonly called "blue lights" -- were installed in the early '90s around campus in an effort to increase personal safety.\nSince then, they've never been used to stop an attack.\nFrom 1996 until 2001, IU has had 39 forcible rapes committed against women on campus, according to the Clery Report, a listing of crimes on all campuses nationwide. Eighteen cases of aggravated assault also were reported. \nBut Dean of Students Richard McKaig said in none of these instances has a blue light been activated.\nIU Police Department Detective Sgt. Leslie Slone said the placement of the emergency lights doesn't provide a safe environment. Slone's expertise in law enforcement is on architecture that promotes safety.\nShe said the blue lights are placed in highly trafficked areas where streetlights already keep pedestrian pathways lit. Slone said her experience shows attacks against women usually occur in darker areas away from pedestrian traffic.\nIn fact, in some instances she said she feels they may actually cause people to be less safe. \n"My personal concern is that blue light phones allow a student to drop their guard rather than enhance their awareness," she said.\nBut Cindy Stone, who served on the IU Commission on Personal Safety that had the lights installed, said the potential to prevent assaults is reason enough to keep the blue lights shining.\nHowever, Debora Jones, a continuing studies student, said she thinks trying to find an emergency phone in the middle of a pursuit is illogical.\n"If somebody were after me, would they give me time to call on one? I assume they wouldn't," she said. "I can't imagine how I would use it if I were being pursued. If someone were having a heart attack, you could use one. But not in terms of my personal safety."\nSophomore Christina Mosely said she questions the effectiveness of blue lights. \n"The Blue Light phones really have no significance on campus, because every time anyone is in trouble, their is no way a cop will come and help someone," Mosely said. "Some friends of mine have pressed them in an emergency and didn't receive any help."\nThe blue lights have a history on campus dating back to 1990 when there were strong requests from the date rape programming groups who thought IU needed a more broad-based program for personal safety.\nThe campus emergency phones came out of that movement, said Stone, IU Physical Plant training coordinator and former trustee from 1993-96. Stone was on the commission from 1988 until 2000.\n"Our commission's purpose was to address education, facilities and communications issues all related to personal safety," Stone said. "We initially worked on topics such as preventing sexual assaults, improving outdoor lighting and exploring night-time safety escort and ride services."\nThe Commission explored the idea and eventually the Physical Plant installed two emergency phones on the south side of Ballantine Hall and between Forest Quad and University East Apartments, Stone said.\nThe units cost about $2,000 for each installation, but they don't require much upkeep, Stone said.\nOver time those emergency phones evolved from a box with a phone line that rang directly to the IUPD to the multi-function ones that are on campus now. \nPoles bought from an outside vendor are serviced by SBC and serve as a typical telephone. \nThe red emergency button sets off a flashing blue light and contacts the IUPD, which can trace the call and immediately send an officer to investigate the area for emergencies. \nStone said the service has deviated from what it was originally.\n"I could use it as a free phone to call a family member if I'm locked out of my car or have a flat tire," Stone said. "In a worst-case situation -- say I fell on the ice and broke my leg or some intoxicated person is harassing me -- I can press the emergency button to reach IU police for help."\nLt. Steven R. Fiscus, a veteran of the IUPD who now serves as the Lieutenant of Investigations, said the blue light phones would be best suited for situations of blitz attacks or blitz rapes -- situations Fiscus said he can't remember happening on the Bloomington campus since he joined the IUPD almost 30 years ago.\nBut McKaig said he feels the positioning of the blue lights in highly visible areas is a strength.\n"There is a deterrent effect that is hard to measure," McKaig said. "We still have the deterrent and the message about the University influencing safety, and they have the potential to be used."\nStone also said the blue lights serve as a reminder to everyone on campus to think about safety -- to stay in well lit areas and be aware of their surroundings. \nBut she doesn't agree about the deterrent factor.\n"Do our criminals think like that? I don't think they're that smart," she said.\nMcKaig, Slone, Fiscus and Stone all agree on one thing, though.\nIf the blue lights save one life or prevent one case of rape or assault against a woman -- no matter what the cost -- they were worth it.\n-- Contact staff writer Brandon Morley at bmorley@indiana.edu.