Digital signs to be installed on campus

ASEWU Superior Court Justice Justin Fry has proposed that digital signs be installed throughout Eastern’s campus.

The digital signs on Central Washington University’s campus first sparked Fry’s interest in the idea.

If installed, the TV screens would be controlled from a central place, Fry said, and would distribute information quickly and effectively to Eastern students. “If there is an emergency, the police and fire departments could take control of the system [to alert students],” he said.

Fry had previously proposed the idea, but due to budgetary rrestraints, the university was unable to follow through.

The initial cost of the system is expensive, Fry said. But after the first purchase and set-up costs, however, every time a new screen is added it would only equal the cost of purchasing a new TV.

Fry has asked the university for a $200,000 budget for the project. The amount was the highest of all the system costs that he researched and would only be fully spent in the “worst-case scenario,” he said.

Although the system won’t be in place for at least a year after the proposal is passed, it would giveboth staff and students a sense of security on campus. The largest problem the university faces with this proposal is the cost, especially in the current budgetary crisis, according to Fry.
 
Aside from emergency alerts, the signs would likely run advertisements and would spread the word about campus clubs, sporting events, fundraisers and other announcements from both the university and those affiliated with it.
 
According to campustechnology.com, digital signs from the Cisco networking equipment company have been placed at Santa Clara University in California. The new technology is excelling as an emergency communication plan and also as a day-to-day system. Twenty signs are currently placed on the campus and the university is planning on expanding further.
 
“During the [2008] presidential election, the signs were used as large-screen TVs, displaying different channels on different devices and allowing students to compare coverage,” according to the Web site. “Unlike TVs, the devices can display other information at the same time beside the TV display.”
 
The signs that Fry has proposed for Eastern’s campus can all be controlled from a single point. A smaller group of signs can be controlled from different key points throughout campus. In times of crisis, the entire system can be overridden by an administrator to alert students of information that they may have otherwise missed.
 
Santa Clara’s CIO Ron Danielson notes that although the cost of the signs may be high, the need for this technology is higher. “At Santa Clara, we don’t talk much about ROI [return on investment] ... We talk about effectiveness,” he said.
 
The proposal is currently being controlled by the ASEWU, but the date that the final decision will be made is unknown.