Paige Effinger
Staff writer
[email protected]

“I always feel the most scared between the library and Lizo [Elizabeth Residential College], especially on the bridge,” Kalyn Boyd, junior from Jackson, Tennessee, said. “There is little to no activity in these places because most people are not at the library that late at night.”

Boyd said she wishes there were more emergency boxes between the Quad and the residential side of campus to help students feel safer when walking on campus alone at night.

Emergency call boxes on campus are used as a safety measure; however, the 40 call boxes are not evenly distributed across the residential and academic sides of Murray State’s campus.

The two types of emergency call boxes on campus are yellow call boxes and blue light call boxes.

Both are direct lines to the Murray State Police dispatch.

The blue light emergency call boxes are the posts with the solar panels on campus with a blue light on top and the word emergency written vertically down the pole.  If students feel they are in danger, they can press the emergency button on the boxes to be directed to police. The blue light on the post will light up, if it isn’t already, and start flashing. Meanwhile, a police officer will be dispatched to the location of the box.

The yellow call boxes are the same in that they are a direct connection to the Murray State Police, but they are not equipped with a light. Murray State Police Chief James Herring said he was not here when they were installed, so he is unaware of the decision-making process.

Call boxes are located primarily on the residential side of campus, with only five on the academic side. They are located in front of Carr Health, Wilson Hall, Wells Hall, Arthur J. Bauernfeind Business Building and Price Doyle Fine Arts.

Boyd said she walks through campus frequently because she lives near the University. She feels safe walking depending on the time of day and how much activity there is on campus.

“After walking home from the business building after my night class around 8 p.m., there is usually still a decent amount of students on campus,” Boyd said. “However, I do not feel as comfortable walking all the way to the residential side of campus to get to Fast Track while it is still dark outside.”

There are no emergency call boxes in the area of the science complex on 16th Street.

Madison Hillberry, freshman from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, worries about her safety at night in the science complex.

“My night class is in the chemistry building, which is all the way across from the residential halls,” Hillberry said. “So, I have to cross the main road and go through several dimly lit parking lots before I even get to the main part of campus; therefore, I have someone drive me because I do not feel comfortable.”

After pulling the emergency call box map from the University’s website, The Murray State News staff scoured campus to find the boxes that were listed, but discovered the 2014 map was outdated and contained incorrect information.

The map did not have all of the locations of the blue light boxes and was missing two buildings that were not constructed as of 2014.  

Herring said he was unaware of the inconsistencies of the map and has since corrected the missing blue lights. The updated map is now viewable on The News’ website.

Herring said education and partnerships are the keys to keeping campus safe.

“We have a number of programs that we provide to the freshman transitions classes, residential college meetings, and departmental meetings that focus on how we stay safe,” Herring said. “We also believe that partnerships with the community are critical to creating a safe campus. We cannot be every place at every time, so we need the community to step up and speak out when they see things out of place.”

Herring also suggests that students download the LiveSafe app on their phones. According to the website, LiveSafe lets you share information to keep the campus safe, allows you to make sure your friends arrive safely with SafeWalk and get help fast by calling or messaging the Murray State Police.

“The LiveSafe app is a great way to let us know when something is suspicious,” Herring said. “LiveSafe is like a blue light phone that you can take with you!”

Hillberry said she was aware of the emergency boxes’ existence, but has never noticed them or utilized them. Hillberry also has the LiveSafe app, but she has never used it.

Despite multiple attempts to educate students about the LiveSafe app, the majority of the students interviewed for this story said they didn’t have or have never used the app.

Another main concern was that when students are traveling around campus late at night their cell phones are often dead or they are intoxicated and unable to properly use the app.

Students have the opportunity to meet with the Murray State Police officers on Thursday, Sept. 27 during Police Fun Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Quad.