On a given campus tour, guides can be heard espousing the many qualities that make Georgetown a great place to live and learn. One on-campus feature commonly cited is the blue light emergency system, a network of call boxes dotted throughout campus that allows students to directly contact the Department of Public Safety with the push of a button if they feel they are in danger.

While some might see these as obsolete with the proliferation of cell phones, battery life — especially when students are out late at night — remains an issue. The call boxes are a cost-effective safety net for students who might find themselves in a scenario in which their cell phone is inoperable.

However, there exists not only a severe lack of call boxes but also a randomness to their allocation and distribution throughout campus.

Many students are often unaware of their function, location or both. Oft-traversed routes along both Prospect and 37th Streets are completely absent of these boxes.

While crime rates in Georgetown are relatively low compared to those in other wards of Washington, D.C., the university should consider installing call boxes into more trafficked locations, such as around off-campus housing. The university could also consider investing in an application for smart phones that mirrors the blue lights’ function as an SOS device.

With the renewed emphasis on student social life both off and on campus, the university should remember to prioritize not only the well-being of its neighbors, but its students as well.