The Blue Light System is a collection of emergency alarms located on college campuses across the nation. The purpose of this system is to provide aid to any person in distress that needs immediate assistance. 

As of 2023, California Lutheran University has three Blue Light Systems across the 290-acre campus.

An article written by Lily Jackson called “Emergency Blue-Light Phones Are a Symbol of Safety. Is Symbolism Worth Thousands?” says despite communications technology, many universities have kept the Blue Light System. 

While blue light boxes cost around $20,000 to install and $1,000 per year to maintain, according to software company Rave’s website, there is an argument that light boxes provide a feeling of safety for students on campus. Whereas, other universities argue the light boxes are becoming obsolete and are not necessary anymore.

Research conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2021 states that roughly 85% of Americans own smartphones. Ray Lainez, campus safety supervisor, said due to easy cell phone usage, you can get yourself out or away from danger by simply pressing a few buttons.  

“Using a cell phone is easier, but we currently have the Blue Lights in case of other emergencies,” Lainez said.

Jonathan Galindo, campus safety officer, said in the case of an emergency, you can press the blue light button which connects directly to the campus safety office and campus safety emergency phone lines. Campus Safety is Cal Lutheran’s 24/7 professional assistance team that caters to students’ safety concerns. 

Galindo said the office can come in contact with whoever activates the button directly from an intercom system. 

According to Galindo, the university is trying to ‘phase out’ the Blue Light System because it is used approximately two times per semester. More often than not, students contact campus safety more conveniently with their phones, and Campus Safety relies heavily on communicating with students via cell phones, Galindo said.

While the Blue Light Systems across Cal Lutheran are still in operation, the Residential Assistant team that oversees students in residence halls does not include the Blue Light System in their first official introduction to their residents. 

For Cal Lutheran residents, students in need of assistance are instead advised to contact the RA’s on duty through their duty phones, call Campus Safety or the emergency line. In fact, RA’s themselves are not briefed on how to use the light system nor are they familiar with it. 

Grace Hall RA Olivia Yamaguchi said she had never heard of the Blue Light System, and only knew emergency protocols in regards to fire and earthquake safety.

“I don’t think there’s a communication line that I know of, but we’re just told to evacuate in case of an emergency,” Yamaguchi said.

Unlike Cal Lutheran, RA’s at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, are trained on the relevance and importance of the Blue Light System. The Seton Hall campus places an emphasis on how to use the lights and where they can be found.

Carlos Buelvas, a former RA at Seton Hall University, said regardless of the size of a campus, it is important for campus safety officers to have various safety protocols.

“I think that even with a phone, people like to have a visual reminder of safety. So having Campus Safety constantly strolling around campus and pointing out the blue lights to incoming students and residents means so much more than we may think,” Buelvas said.

Located 14 miles away from Manhattan, Seton Hall University is a small, 58-acre campus located in the suburbs of New Jersey. 

In comparison to Cal Lutheran, Seton Hall is smaller in terms of acres, however, their Blue Light System exceeds Cal Lutheran’s.

In addition to the standard safety protocols enforced by their Public Safety, Seton Hall also has an interactable emergency phone map on their website. 

Chapman University, located in Orange, California has a campus spanning 90 acres. While their safety reports and website do not list the exact number of blue lights they have on campus, their Campus Safety webpage does state that “Students can push the button on any blue light phone located all over the campus for a direct line to help.”

In addition to the Blue Light System, Chapman utilizes the mobile safety app Rave for students to use on their phones.

Large campuses, such as Syracuse University located in New York, utilize the Blue Light System more actively.

According to the Daily Orange, Syracuse’s student newspaper, “SU has 85 total blue light locations, including 54 on main campus and 31 on south campus. The SU system also includes several locations in the downtown areas surrounding SU properties.”

Syracuse is bigger than Cal Lutheran, with five times as many students and a campus spanning 721 acres.

Unlike Syracuse, Seton Hall and Chapman, Cal Lutheran does not utilize a mobile safety app aside from the campus safety information page on the MyCLU app. 

According to Campus Safety’s Need a Ride website, Cal Lutheran offers a 24/7 safety escort and mobility transportation service, and are asked to call Campus Safety if students are in any need of the services. 

Without the Blue Light System, Cal Lutheran does not have a backup communication system where students can request emergency assistance. 

However, according to Lainez, Campus Safety Director David Hilke and several other department chairs meet frequently to discuss safety improvements that could be made on campus.

Currently, there are no public or available records of these meetings being held. However, under the Campus Safety Programs webpage, there is a record of a Safety Committee with a direct link to their meeting minutes. The record states that the last publicly addressed Safety Committee meeting took place on Oct. 3, 2017.  

While there are arguments that the Blue Light System is out-of-date, many universities have maintained their use to have more accessible safety features on their campuses.