Prompted by an abundance of prank calls, the Duke University Police Department removed many emergency call phones from dormitory entrances earlier this semester.
But in light of the most recent sexual assault on campus, many students worry the move may contribute to an unsafe atmosphere at the University.
Major Robert Dean of the DUPD said the vast majority of the phones were either not being used at all or used for the wrong reason, such as prank calling. DUPD eliminated the phones to increase efficiency, he said. He could not recall one time when the phones had been used for a real emergency.
Intoxicated students contribute to the problem, said Assistant Dean of Residence Life Deb LoBiondo. "We have found that not-intoxicated students will not usually tamper with emergency equipment," LoBiondo said.
After a reported sexual assault in a Wannamaker Dormitory bathroom last month, LoBiondo said she hopes students will gain an increased awareness of the seriousness of misusing emergency mechanisms.
Although she understood why the University took down the phones, freshman Denise Napoli said she anticipates that students will abuse emergency resources less following the recent assault.
Freshman Joe Freimuth disagreed with the removal of the phones, but added that other security measures, such as an increased number of police officers patrolling campus, would be more efficient than phones. "I have not seen a security guard on campus since I got here," Freimuth said.
Chiu-Yu Chen, a senior, agreed and argued none of the phones should have been removed. "You can never have too much security on campus," she said.
In the October incident, a female student reported that as she entered a bathroom in Wannamaker, a male was waiting for her, tried to rape her and used her own penknife against her, cutting her thigh and arms.
Since the incident, student affairs administrators have installed separate locks on the bathroom doors to provide more safety for female residents. In the near future, overall changes in campus security will likely be made, including expanding the cameras at the entrances of Randolph Dormitory on East Campus--where an attack occurred in a bathroom last year--to other dorms. Administrators may also consider other security changes like panic buttons in bathrooms.
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