Cuesta just got safer by a simple push of a button

By Victoria Gracie,
Staff writer

Campus safety has successfully installed blue light emergency towers on campus.

The towers assure that if someone on campus needs help they will be directly connected with on-duty Cuesta police by simply pushing the red button.

There are now seven towers throughout campus that are available for students if they have an emergency.

The towers have a phone installed in them as well as a red button that allows them to connect with campus dispatch.

“I did not know what they were at first, but after hearing about them and how they work it made me realize it could be helpful in case of an emergency,” said Sarah Siems, a second year nursing major at Cuesta.

This blue light safety system is solar powered, allowing for the towers to still work during power outages, always remaining lit-up with LED lights.  .

“Having solar power controlling the lights is important especially since we did just have a power outage recently here at Cuesta,” Siems said.

The lights allow for people to get help quicker if they do not have a phone available.

By installing the lights, it enables people on campus to have another resource if they are ever need any assistance.

Blue light towers were installed at the beginning of the spring semester and were paid for by the Measure L bond funds.

The towers also provide illumination on campus, making them easy to locate.

Although Cuesta just added the blue light system, college campuses have begun removing them, making Cuesta late to the game.

“The ‘blue light’ phones were a great technology 20 years ago, but they have become outdated as mobile technology expands,” said Melissa Zak, the University of Colorado, Boulder police chief, in a 2014 letter addressed to the campus.

Cuesta installed towers in seven different locations on campus, if needed locate a tower and use the resource.