Walking alone to her car at night, she notices a stranger following her; the stranger chases her as she runs to an emergency telephone, to find that the phone is broken.

The emergency phones on campus are meant to increase safety; but this cannot be assured when the phones go out of order without students knowing.

“There’s no way to really tell when (the phones) go bad,” Bud Sandoval, telecommunications technician, said. “Usually, three or four are broken in one way or another.”

Petty Khalbourji, fashion design, 30, takes night classes and has to walk in the dark. She did not know that there are broken emergency phones on campus.

“I believe the blue phones being out of order are a safety hazard,” Khalbourji said. “When there’s nobody around, it’s kind of freaky.”

Sandoval and Fred Dennis, telecommunication technician, said Campus Police have routine checks to make sure all emergency phones are working.

“Fred and I go out and fix them regularly, definitely once a month,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval said some phones have gum stuck in the microphone holes, while two he fixed last week were completely dead.

Dennis said there aren’t maps on the phone to mark where users are, where the next phone may be found, or where a payphone close by is.

“Maps on the phones would be a good idea,” Dennis said.

While the phones may be used in case of emergency, they may also be used to call a courtesy shuttle anytime after 5 p.m. according to the police department.

“(The shuttle service) is really good. I would definitely use it,” Helen Alfaro, 17, undecided, said.

Some students just want to see the phones fixed.

“I’m worried because I don’t even park on campus and if I tried to use one (of the phones) and it didn’t work, I would be angry,” Vanessa Degand, 20, communications, said.

Sandoval said that if students are in trouble and near a malfunctioning phone, they should find the nearest payphone and call 911.

All 911 calls on campus go directly to the EC police; the police department may also be reached at (310) 660-3100.

The last phone check was done March 1, Sandoval said.

Alfaro gets out of class at night.

“Why have the phones if they aren’t out of order?” Alfaro said. “They should do something about it. It makes me feel unsafe.”

Editor’s note: This article is part of a series that will focus on campuswide problems.