On March 29, the Tarleton State University Student Government Association passed a bill for Blue Light Emergency Phones to return to campus. The bill passed unopposed through the Senate and the House. The bill is now on the desk of Dr. Laura Boren, Vice President for Student Affairs.

The blue light system is a network of phones for use during emergency situations. The light can be a wall mounted phone or it could be a six-foot-tall standalone light. Each system has a light for easy visibility and a phone that is connected to the Tarleton Police Department incase of emergencies.

After being involved in a physical altercation, Marissa Vaughan proposed the bill and will be following it until the blue lights are installed on campus.

“It was 2 a.m. at the stop sign between Heritage, Integrity and University Village, and a Tarleton volleyball player, instigated by a Tarleton football player, started a fight with me. She was the one who swung first and instigated the fight, so I obviously swung back and protected myself in self defense,” stated Vaughan “There were also no cameras pointing the right direction and this happened on campus.”

To activate a blue light, all that is required is the push of a button and it will immediately connect to the police department and dispatch them to the location of the light.

Tarleton previously had blue lights, but a bill proposed by SGA in 2014 removed the lights due their low usage and the cost of maintenance of the lights themselves.

But according to Vaughan, the lights are more affordable and have a practical use in stopping assaults on campus.

“We’re looking to get around 15-20 lights. They’ll be all over campus. For example, they would be right outside high traffic areas, like the library, or in areas where students might feel unsafe walking to their dorm, such as the Chamberlin parking lot,” explained Vaughan.

The bill is now on the desk of Boren, and if it is approved by her, a budget will be created for the purchase of the lights, the installation and the maintenance of them. Vaughan is hoping that if everything goes well, they will be on campus and ready for use during the fall 2017 semester.