MARCH 21, 2022

TO: PRESIDENT STOKES

AND UNM CAMPUS
SAFETY COUNCIL (CSC)

VY NGUYEN

UPDATING UNM BLUE LIGHTS TO

INCREASE CAMPUS SAFETY
 INTRODUCTION
For students to fully
engage in learning we
must first feel safe on
campus, we are here to
learn, we are not prepared
to fight off attackers, we
are quite defenseless on
campus. In 2019 UNM had
583 incidents on-campus
(Picture 1, Comparision to other Schools in the United States, the left means fewer
or school-related
than average right means more than average)
properties, that is 25.65
per 1,000 students. Our crime rate is above the national average (picture 1). Though there are safety
precautions available to use, such as the blue lights around campus, these technologies are quite
outdated considering our technological advancements.

OUTDATED TECHNOLOGY
Blue lights have been around since the late 1980s on many Universities' Campuses, why
are we still using 80s technology in 2022? They are expensive to install and maintain,
costing up to $20,000 to install, and $1,000 to maintain each year for each blue
light. Many Universities have already begun to remove them including our neighbors,
New Mexico State University. This proposal is not to proposed to remove them,
though they are outdated in the 21st century because of the existence of mobile
phones, they do add a sense of safety psychologically, as well as aid students and
visitors who may not have phones. The benefit of these blue lights is that when
activated loud sirens will sound and cameras will start recording. The sirens can be
used to scare off culprits and the recording can be used later to find the culprits and
be used for evidence. With the number of financial costs already used to maintain
these lights, we can update them to make them more efficient and effective.
305-985-3865  | 1116 WARNER STREET BIG PINE KEY, FL 
 PLAN OF ACTION
Many Universities are removing blue lights because of
mobile phones, students can call emergencies services
anywhere and anytime with their phones. With added apps
created by Universities, one can use the app to call
emergencies service discreetly with a tap of a button, as
well as allow emergency services to track them. UNM also
has its own app called Lobo Guardian, though few students
know about it because of a lack of marketing. The
disadvantage of mobile phones is that students are quite
defenseless after calling for help, while blue lights allow
extra protection from the loud siren and bright lights to
scare off the culprits and help gain attention from
bystanders as well as warn them from possible dangers.
We can make the blue lights on campus and the Lobo
Guardian more efficient by updating these two methods.
UNM must first advertise their app more to students, then
update it so that when the app is activated, the blue lights
nearby the activation will also activate. This will add extra
protection and increase the chance of stopping crimes
before they happen, it will also make students feel safer as
they know they are less helpless while waiting for
emergency services to come.

BUDGET
We have many people that work for UNM (University of New Mexico) that specialize in
app designing and coding. These people are already employed by UNM and asking
them to code an app that works alongside the blue light will not increase the budget
because they would have gotten paid the same amount even if they did not do it. As
for marketing, we can post it on UNM’s social media, email students, print flyers
around campus, include it in our college procedure, as well as mentioned it in
student orientation. Executing my proposal would not cost much because UNM
already has a lot of resources available to use that would not increase UNM spending
to create a safer environment for everyone.
SUMMARY
UNM's rate of crime is higher than average, and the outdated technologies available to
students to combat crimes are not enough to make one feel safe about being on campus. The
benefits of updating UNM’s blue light with the UNM Lobo app will heavily outweigh its cost.
There will be few costs because the resources to go through with the plan are already here,
but the benefits will be the safety of the students and visitors as well as a potential increase in
enrollment and income at UNM. When the crime rates decrease because of my proposal,
UNM’s image will increase. It will be known as a safer school and students will feel safer
enrolling here and being on campus, increase enrollment means more income from tuition as
well as more income from spending on campus and stores around central.