Pepper spray? Check. Whistle? Check. No, I am not going to New York City or even Bridgeport. I am heading to Dolan to visit a friend. After 11 p.m. with the Stag buses parked for the night and the lack of emergency call boxes, a dark, quiet campus can be a scary place.
While on a tour as a prospective student, I was told by my guide that I could find an emergency call box wherever I was on campus. With two months now under my belt, I have discovered that this is just not so.
On a campus as large as Fairfield’s, the blue emergency poles are few and far between. There is a great distance placed between the call boxes and it can take the students some time to reach each one, if they can even find where they are.
Doing some exploring of my own around Dolan, I discovered that the first box was located in a parking lot that is behind the building. I noticed while heading to the Quick Center that the majority of the poles are placed in key places: near the library, in front of Canisius and at the focal point of the quad.
However, what about those isolated paths running along the Quick Center facing Kostka and Claver and in front of Bellarmine Lawn?
Anything can happen anywhere, at any time, and a student might not be at a popular location when an attacker preys.
In addition, there should be more call boxes located near the streets, where the police, and ambulances in particular, can have access to those who need help. Most of the blue poles are positioned in the middle of the grounds or are surrounded by buildings that can only be reached by foot.
Public Safety can arrive at these call boxes by bicycle during the day, but it is harder to get to students at night, especially if the person who is in need of help is intoxicated. If more blue poles were set up by accessible roads, then police cars would be able to pick up students and ambulances would be able to give medical assistance more quickly.
Of course, it would be taxing for Public Safety and expensive for the university to put up a slew of blue poles, yet a few more strategically placed ones would not hurt either.
While there is one call box at the front of the quad, more need to be placed around Jogues, Campion and Regis. In the age of cell phones, one would argue that a student would not need an emergency pole, but phones can die or not be available at a time of need.
The availability of emergency call boxes is crucial in this type of situation, especially in areas distanced from the heart of the campus where students can be more vulnerable.
This is not to say that Fairfield is a dangerous place. However, incidents can and do occur, even with the vigilance of Public Safety. Students need to feel safe within the grounds of their campus, particularly at night. Emergency call boxes are there to help students in need and potentially save lives. This is why more of them need to added to the grounds, especially in isolated areas.
Now excuse me, my friend and I are off to a self-defense class.
Leave a Reply