Pro
Written by George Apikyan
Public Address systems are the most efficient way of communicating with your school because of the amount of space you can cover in dangerous situations.
School campus’ need to use the blue telephones in case of emergencies but they can be unreliable because of how each post is positioned. If I’m walking home from class and an emergency siren goes off with no one telling me what’s going on, I may think it’s a false alarm.
Having a system to alert the students on what’s actually happening can save many lives just on awareness. For a larger campus, it becomes even more needed because that lack of information can be detrimental to those who aren’t alerted in the vicinity of the PA system.
PA systems are a way of unifying all classrooms together to ensure that the students and faculties safety and awareness is always on top.
One of the systems is the paging system.
According to a blog on marconet.com, “Among the most common are to send emergency messages, make daily announcements (such as birthdays and annoying events, or to simply call students to the office.”
These would be implemented into classrooms and could give instant feedback to everyone depending on the situation.
There are also classroom systems that can be put in music rooms to allow students to play their instruments without ruining the quality of the sounds from the speakers.
“The number of speakers in each classroom will depend on the size of the room and the purpose for which they will be used. An effectively designed sound system ensures that all students can hear the teacher during presentations, students during speeches, audio during movies and so on,” according to the blog.
This could give everyone a lot safer environment without sacrificing anything on the staffs side and the students.
This can also be used for educational purposes and enhance school events as well.
The blog states, “Multiple large speakers are required to ensure all corners of the gymnasium can hear the message, amps boost the entertainment value of the music being played and good microphones prevent the message from getting lost in the static.”
Making events more passable and less static ridden can increase school popularity and bring in more students. Giving birth to new classes and bringing in more revenue for campus.
Campus life would become more lively as well, with student concerts and performances and announcements being more viable.
Being able to have high quality audio partnered with public address announcement speakers can really increase the morale and the safety of the schools. Students can therefore come to class everyday feeling a bit more secure with an alert system in ear’s reach.
Con
Written by Susan Lopez
The students’ safety it’s a prime concern for every campus and counting with precise methods of communicating an emergency should be at the top of the list for any college campus.
Currently, Pierce College has managed emergency situations through blue phones located in different parts of the campus.
Also, Pierce counts with police enforcement and new security cameras that could ensure the student’s safety.
It’s worth to point out that providing a more efficient emergency response with a Public Announcement (PA) system may not be feasible for the campus as will not be cost-effective.
In addition, it is not 100 percent practical for students at the moment of experiencing an emergency.
The cost of the equipment is important and to analyze how much will take the campus to install several speakers around the campus.
Universities like California State University, Northridge have opted recently with a PA system for their campus, yet it’s reasonable for a sizeable school.
The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) doesn’t offer this type of equipment because they are not as large as other universities.
Pierce is not considered a large campus, but the prize to install dozens of speakers may still be a point to consider.
The PA system not only requires installation of speakers around campus, but mixers, cables and microphones that can only be installed by specific companies that will be in charge of the necessary maintenance.
There is a disadvantage in these types of tools, which may have a poor sound quality and not reach an extensive range on campus.
Also, these can be easily destroyed if they are overpowered.
Considering the brand, quality and cost for this equipment, it’s not guaranteed that it will make a difference around the campus.
According to campussafetymagazine.com, there is a shortcoming in having these systems at campus because “only authorized entities will be able to originate alerts” to avoid false alarms that could create annoyance.
Meanwhile, in cases of a real emergency, the message may not flow in a timely manner because they have to go through authorized entities.
This type of system should have a strategic arrangement to work. However, it might not promise a successful outcome.
There could be two types of arrangement and the first is a centralized arrangement, which means focusing the speakers in one point and decentralized arrangement means spreading the speakers to different locations.
According to coolbonpro.com, when two speakers equal distances greater than 17 meters, the system must be added to “delay.” Otherwise, it will produce a sense of reverberation, the sound could not hear.
Consequently, the message or alert may not be clear in crucial situations.
So, depending on what type kind PA system should be installed, centralize or decentralized or both, the cost versus the quality will correlate.
Having the blue phones around campus are just as efficient, and there is always a sheriff in reach.
