What you may not know about on-campus emergency phones

The Wofford College Campus Safety staff provides security for the campus community. One of many tools that Campus Safety has implemented to ensure the safety of Wofford students is emergency police phones installed in various locations around campus. You may have noticed towers planted in parking lots and other outdoor areas like behind the library. These tall fixtures are probably the most well-known version of emergency phones on campus and are recognizable by their characteristic blue light.  

“Something that most students don’t know,” according to Campus Safety officer Saar, “is that emergency phones are also installed within all of the dorms and academic buildings. There’s also an emergency phone in every house at the row.” Each phone, no matter the type, has a button that connects the caller directly to the Campus Safety emergency line. Simply push the button on any phone to notify Campus Safety of your need for assistance. Even if you do not hear the dispatcher, the phone is communicating. “We have dispatchers 24-hours a day, but the calls also go through directly to our radios,” says Saar. 

Another thing that students may not know is that in an emergency situation that takes place on-campus, it is better to call Campus Safety than Spartanburg police. “Spartanburg police, EMS… they all still don’t really know our campus. If there’s an emergency on campus and you call 911 and tell them you’re in Green Hall, they don’t know where that is. We do, and we can get to you much more quickly,” says Saar. A Campus Safety officer can get to you anywhere on campus in a matter of minutes, whereas Spartanburg police may not. “There’s always going to be a delay if someone calls 911 versus us. It doesn’t matter how good you are at giving directions.”   

“The emergency phones can be used for any number of different things. We get calls for transports late at night when people don’t feel safe. We get calls for medical emergencies. Sometimes we get calls when someone’s car has broken down. It ranges,” said Saar. “I think they would be used more if there were more of them and if they were more widely known about. Something that would be very beneficial for students would be to have better signage so that people can see where the phones are, what they do, and how to use them.”  

Emergency phones provide a sense of comfort. The units’ visibility adds value to the perception of security and bring with them the presence of authority. Having these emergency phones could easily act as a deterrent to crime, and when you’re walking across campus late at night, the blue light towers are extremely comforting to see. “Most college campuses have blue poles. Almost all colleges have them because even though they are expensive and rarely used, safety is about preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Having multiple ways for people to get help when they need it is the goal,” said Saar.  

Written by Molly Wells