Daily Skiff

Media Credit: Allison Erickson Workers helped pave the way for a taller emergency light in the parking lot across from Pond Street. [Click to enlarge]

An emergency "blue light" phone that is taller than average has been installed in the main Worth Hills parking lot so that students can spot it more easily, a Physical Plant official said.

Harold Leeman, associate director of major projects, said the emergency phone in the main Worth Hills parking lot was made taller than the others because of the large number of SUVs parked in the lot.

"We were afraid that the normal phone might get hidden behind a car," Leeman said.

The increased size of the emergency light and phone - the light is two feet taller than the other lights on campus - is not because of the recent sexual assaults on campus, Leeman said. The phone installation had been planned since early August.

Dan Dehart, Physical Plant purchasing manager, said the typical emergency phones are installed into 114-inch poles topped by 18-inch blue lights.

Construction on the phone was started about three weeks ago and is now completed, said George Bates, manager of electrical maintenance. Bates said the phone is no longer taking up any parking spots in the lot and was only doing so because of construction.

Dehart said the new emergency phone is a replacement for an older solar-powered phone, which was removed several years ago.

The Worth Hills lot will have only one centrally located emergency phone, Leeman said. The central location and increased height of the phone makes multiple phones unnecessary, he said. Generally, emergency phones are placed on the side of parking lots, but in this case, a central emergency phone takes less time to reach than multiple phones on the sides of the lot, Leeman said.

Shayna Bauman, a senior nursing major, said she believes more visible emergency phones may help ensure students' safety.

"The emergency phones remind students that help is close by and make people feel safer," Bauman said. "I think campus should do whatever it can to increase safety, especially in light of the recent crimes on campus."

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