Preparing for the Worst, Just in Case
Four years ago, Coastal Carolina University looked to fix the broken call boxes on its campus. With the help of Myrtle Beach Communications and Motorola, not only did the university receive upgraded call boxes, it also installed numerous IP cameras to monitor the entire campus.
According to American social reformer Whitney M. Young, “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” While the majority would agree that a campus tragedy is not exactly an opportunity, the idea that campuses should be prepared for the unforeseen is one that all institutions should embrace, especially when it comes to safety. Officials at Coastal Carolina University (CCU) of Conway, S.C., realized this and began preparing for the unexpected.
CCU only had 10 call boxes on its campus four years ago. With more than 300 acres and 53 main buildings, that number of call boxes simply would not do, especially considering only half of them worked. While a major incident hadn’t taken place other than the common student-on-student theft, campus safety officials planned ahead and decided to upgrade.
The police chief at the time contacted Sam Hocutt, sales manager of Myrtle Beach Communications (MBC) of Myrtle Beach, S.C., for assistance. Through MBC, the university was able to work with Motorola to install new call boxes that were placed throughout the campus. Additionally, CCU police asked Hocutt to help install IP video cameras.
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