Richmond student governments discussing safety, blue lights

University of Richmond student governments are addressing campus safety issues in the wake of the assaults reported on campus during the first weeks of the semester.

The university provides emergency phones, which connect directly to the police dispatcher, in several places around campus. The phones are recognizable by the blue light sitting atop them.

Westhampton College Government Association president Ali Amaral said that the issue of blue lights was brought up during their last meeting. WCGA is in touch with the University of Richmond Police department and will work with them, she said.

Suren Daryanani, senior and president of the Richmond College Student Government Association, said the members had been discussing blue light boxes because of the recent campus assaults.

Some students have said that they would use a blue box phone if they felt unsafe on campus. Freshman Alexis Witt is one such student, though she said that she felt safe on campus for the most part.

"I would probably find the nearest blue box if I felt unsafe," she said. "Depending on where I am, I might call somebody from my phone so at least someone would know if something happened."

Senior Christina Gray said she still felt pretty safe on campus even with the assaults.

"I think it's more the choices and decisions I make that make me feel safe," she said. "I always walk with friends. I use the safety shuttle or walk on lighted paths."

Gray said if she had felt unsafe, she would take action.

"I would not hesitate to call the police or use a blue light," she said. "If you do feel unsafe, you have to do whatever it takes to feel safe."

In addition to hearing that students would use blue boxes, an RCSGA poll on The Collegian website showed that most voters would like to see more blue boxes on campus.

"We are discussing the possibility of increasing the number of blue lights on campus," Daryanani said. "We are specifically targeting locations where students may be most vulnerable as well as locations where blue lights do not currently exist.

"We feel that this is a necessary step to ensure the safety of the students," he said.

Senior Gabriela Timoney, the WCGA URPD representative, said that she had heard students say that adding more blue boxes would be beneficial. She addressed the issue of location for possible new blue lights.

"Over by the bridge and gazebo seems to be the area of biggest concern," she said.

In addition to blue lights, WCGA members are hearing concerns about campus lighting in general, Timoney said. The bridge and gazebo area are again the places concerning most students, she said.

WCGA members plan to work with URPD to discuss the possibility of adding new blue boxes and additional lighting, Timoney said.

RCSGA is in the same planning phase. Daryanani said representatives planned to meet with the police and others responsible for the installation of blue box emergency phones.

Contact reporter Kaileigh Connolly at kaileigh.connolly@richmond.edu