A RESOLUTION TO ENCOURAGE THE REMOVAL OF THE TELEPHONE
TECHNOLOGY IN BLUE LIGHT SAFETY POLE.
Authored by SGA Safety Committee
Co-Sponsored by Shannon Huffer, Law School Senator; Chad Lampl, School of Medicine Senator; Cash Collins, Arts & Sciences Senator; and Ruthie Wooten, Nursing Student Council President
WHEREAS, the student body at the University of Louisville has increased nine (9) times from the 2003-2004 academic year to the 2013-2014 academic year; the safety measures that were deemed adequate during the 2003-2004 academic year are no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the current student body; and
WHEREAS, the University of Louisville has greatly increased the number of students living on-campus through its First Year Live-On policy, and this policy further increases the body of vulnerable students in need of greater safety considerations; and
WHEREAS, the University of Louisville Affiliated Property Program continues to increase the number of housing options and housing units available to students; because the concentration of blue light poles are located within the traditional bounds of the university campus they do not benefit the growing population of students who reside in Affiliated Property Programs off campus; and
WHEREAS, students have expressed concerns over the recent reports of crime surrounding the Belknap- and HSC campuses as well as concerns about their general safety while on-campus; failure to take action on the increasing safety concerns of both students and parents could lead to decreased marketability of the University of Louisville as an urban campus; and
WHEREAS, the current telephone technology of safety blue lights expends over sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) of the ULPD budget each fiscal year; and those funds could be better appropriated to meet the changing needs of the student body; andor
WHEREAS, the advent of increased personal cell phone use has decreased the necessity of a telephone line in blue lights; and
WHEREAS, though the blue lights are checked monthly, there is no guarantee that the phone lines will be operational thus leading to false reliance on technology that puts students at unnecessary risk; and
WHEREAS, the Chief of ULPD, Wayne Hall, and the Associate Vice President of Business Affairs, Mitchell Payne, have both given vocal support in removal of the telephone technology in interest of better serving student safety;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of University of Louisville recommends that the telephone technology should be removed from the blue light safety poles on campus; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the safety infrastructure of the blue light poles and their Duress Alarm systems should remain in operation; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the funds previously utilized to fund the maintenance of the blue light poles should be reallocated toward more effective safety initiatives to benefit our student, faculty, staff, and community; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Student Senate requests that the funding be utilized for the implementation of the ‘L Trail’, expansion of the Safety Escort program, or the salary of additional ULPD officers; and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of the University of Louisville requests the completion of this project within the next two fiscal years.