Students received an email from Patrice Bruneau, the Assistant Vice President for Computing and Information Technology, notifying them that contractors were to begin replacing broken safety lights on Oct. 4. According to the message, police would be notified of their progress over the course of the project. It is expected to take several weeks to complete. The changes are a result of repeated machine failures, which were highlighted during campus safety walkthroughs in the past academic year.
Bruneau also stated in an interview with The Johnsonian that each phone must first be unearthed, then the anchors that stabilize the base are sawed off, then the new anchor is drilled and epoxied into place with resin, which has to cure. Lastly, the phones must be programmed into Winthrop’s phone system before users can make calls.
The installation procedures for the new phones allow the contractor–A3 Communications– to replace about 2 phones a week.
Each phone can take up to three days to install.
The university has opted to replace all of the preexisting phones with ones from a different manufacturer called Code Blue. Bruneau says that one of the main reasons why phones have continued to break is because they included three different manufacturers, so finding the appropriate parts to maintain them has been a challenge.
Facilities management has also faced electrical malfunctions with the bolts and lightbulbs, as well as wire damage due to rodents.
Chief of Police Charles Yearta says that revisiting the lighting systems has been a primary objective for the last two to three years, and that he has now secured funding to replace 10 safety lights, some of which date back to the 1980’s. These ten are being prioritized because they are completely out of commission. The rest will be repaired in phases over the coming years.
He also reminds students that they should always be aware of their surroundings, and utilize safety escorts to stay safe, especially while the safety lights are out of order.
While the new phones were a part of the Campus Master Plan, it is not from the same funding source. Some of the money is tied to the university, and some of it is leftover money from the COVID relief fund.
Jaquarius Norman, who was the previous Chair of the campus safety committee on the Council of Student Leaders (CSL), was present at the safety walkthroughs that began this process last academic year.
He says that the CSL campus safety committee collaborated with campus police, facilities management, information technology and a number of other offices to conduct a campus safety assessment that identified phones and lighting that need to be replaced.
Norman also says that “the walkthroughs were very comprehensive, all student populations and their safety were at the forefront.”
The new safety lights are bright yellow and have the Winthrop logo on them to make them as visible as possible.
Students can still call Winthrop Police at (803)-323-333. If you have any questions or safety concerns, please report them to yeartac@winthrop.edu.
