A new variant of Blue Light, an emergency phone station, made its debut in front of Ho Plaza in February as part of a push to reduce sexual assault and crime on campus.
Currently, Blue Light stations provide safety via quick access to police and escort teams, who can be summoned to any campus location.
With added features that increases access for the disabled community, the new Blue Light located in front of Sage Chapel on Ho Plaza replaced one of the 950 emergency phones on campus.
“One important aspect of this phone is increased [Americans with Disabilities Act] accessibility based on its design and proximity to the sidewalk,” said Cornell University Police Department deputy chief David Honan.
The University will continue to add the new Blue Light phones as part of a wider push to bring up to date security measures on campus, according to Honan.
“[The new emergency phone] is part of a pilot program to test a new style of phone and new technology the University may want to use in the future,” Honan said. “Blue Light is part of our broader collection of modern approaches to campus safety and emergency planning.”
The company behind Blue Lights, Code Blue Corporation, has long been providing campus safety equipment for schools across the United States, including University of Connecticut, Loyola University Chicago, University of Virginia, and many others.
According to Michael Zuidema, CBC marketing operations manager, the new Blue Lights are integrated with Session Initiation Protocol, a communication tool that manages interaction between two or more endpoints on IP networks.
“By layering blue light phones with other security platforms – such as mobile apps, video, public address, access control and more – schools can ensure that not only is help easily available in a timely manner, but they can communicate with large audiences during potentially dangerous events,” Zuidema told The Sun.