Help is just a phone call away, but what if the phone is disconnected? Too often, Simpson students may find this to be true.

For example, the emergency phone in the Colonial-Washington parking lot wasn’t hooked up during the first weeks of school, leaving students – those without cell phones – unable to get help from that location. In addition, the placement of Simpson’s emergency phones is lopsided: none are available west of McNeill Hall, leaving Kappa Kappa Gamma, Worth House, Buxton Hall, Picken Hall and fraternity residents without an emergency land line. Colonial and Washington apartments and Barker Hall are the only residences with emergency phones at a reasonable distance.

Campus security said the phones are rarely used and expensive to maintain. However, in the event of a true emergency, the benefits of using a campus phone to call security far outweigh the costs of phone maintenance.

In a situation where security is needed, a student might not be carrying a cell phone or be close enough to get into a residence hall. On the other hand, if a student uses a campus phone, security can tell where the student is and what time he or she is calling and is better able to handle and route the call appropriately.

The price of safety is invaluable compared to that of repairing a campus phone. Costs for services to phones and campus amenities are built into our tuition – now let’s use them. While Simpson may not be prone to danger or raucous campus events, in a time of need, students shouldn’t feel more “disconnected” from the very organization that can help them.