One of the ways Eastern tries to ensure a safe environment is through the use of emergency phone stations, but Student Senate plans to address the issue of campus safety in the upcoming semester.

Student Senate member Tori Frazier said she believes safety on campus is a serious issue. Frazier and many of her female friends do not feel safe walking on campus at night. This has become more of an issue since the day started getting darker earlier, Frazier said.

“The University Police Department believes that the number of emergency phones on campus is sufficient,” Frazier said, “but safety can be improved on campus with student volunteers like the University of Illinois.”

Frazier plans to address the issue of campus safety more during the spring semester, but makes no guarantees that the safety procedures set in place at Eastern will change.

These 7-foot symbols of safety are located across Eastern’s campus, from Greek Court to Lantz Arena.

Art Mitchell, an Eastern crime prevention officer, said he believes these emergency phones are a necessity on any college campus. The 19 emergency phones at Eastern are located in strategically chosen areas that receive heavy foot traffic.

“They are a crime deterrent because they are highly visible,” Mitchell said.

However, they are hardly used by Eastern students. The University Police Department (UPD) seldom receives a call from these phones, Mitchell said.

They are most highly used during the summer “kiddie camps,” when the camp youths push the button to see what happens, Mitchell said.

He said he has found that illness is the main reason students use the emergency phones. An Eastern police officer responds to every phone that is activated, even if no one answers the police response.

Prank calls on the emergency phones are less numerous now than they used to be.

The prank calls the UPD receives are generally from intoxicated students, Mitchell said. Prank activation of the emergency phones can result in prosecution.