Eight quiet months have passed for NIU’s $78,000 security phone system.

“Generally speaking, (the phones) have been used very infrequently,” said Officer Albert “Swede” Ekstrom.

The 17-phone network began service in January as a way for staff and students to call for help or report emergencies, Ekstrom said.

“They’re pretty new. People are still getting accustomed to them,” Ekstrom said. NIU’s Public Safety Office is working with the Student Association to inform NIU students and staff about the system, he said.

Ekstrom said another possible reason for the system’s lack of use is because problems might not be occurring near the phones, he said.

SA Welfare Adviser Curtis Stein said the new SA campus safety manual will have a page describing the location and operation of the phones.

The manuals, which are not yet printed, will be distributed in the residence halls and other heavily travelled areas of NIU, he said.

The phones are located by the residence halls and evenly spread throughout the rest of the campus. There are 16 boxes on campus and one by the College of Nursing, near Ridge and Normal roads. The box in King Memorial Commons has been removed while the area is being renovated, Ekstrom said.

While most phones are well placed, some minor improvements might be beneficial, Stein said. One phone near Stevenson Towers might be more accessible somewhere else on campus, he said.

Relocating the radio-operated phones would not be costly or time consuming, Stein said.

“They’re just banded to a pole and it doesn’t take a lot to move them,” he said.

The emergency call box is activated simply by pulling the handle to open it.

The open door signals the dispatcher in the Public Safety Office, who is alerted to the caller’s location. A police car is then dispatched, said Lt. Ken Kaiser.

After the dispatcher replies, the caller can talk by pushing and holding down the red button.