RICHMOND, Calif. -- A former Richmond High student told a 911 dispatcher that people had seen a naked teenage girl lying on the ground outside the school’s homecoming dance, but chosen not to call police.

Margarita Vargas, who identified herself as Maggie on the call reporting the alleged gang rape of a 15-year-old freshman, said friends had told her about the girl, but that she was afraid to go look for herself.

“We haven’t seen her, we heard that from two of our friends,” she told the dispatcher in the minute-long call released by police Thursday. “We didn’t want to go back there because we were scared.”

Vargas appeared on camera for the first time Wednesday to describe her reaction to the attack and how she felt when she called authorities.

"I was shocked because I really couldn't believe it," explained Vargas.

She described the area of the sprawling 200,000 square foot campus where the attack took place as “deserted.”

Vargas said that on the night of the attack, a family member heard three males bragging about the hours-long gang rape. Feelings of empathy with the victim led her to call police.

"I wouldn't want anybody to hurt me and get away with it, or people to know about it and not do anything about it," she said.

Despite the prevalence of a “no-snitching” culture, the young mother immediately dialed 911.

"You know I have feelings,” said Vargas. “I wouldn't want that girl to die or anything. I feel like if it weren't for me, she would have been dead."

When police arrived they found the young victim semi-conscious, naked and curled up under a picnic table.

The uproar over the attack has pushed administrators into establishing new safety improvements to secure the Richmond High School campus.

Everything from installing additional lighting to expanding anti-violence programs to bringing in neighborhood volunteers to patrol campuses were given the green light at a West Contra Costa County School Board meeting Wednesday night.

The board is moving with urgency after coming under fire for not taking action in the past.

New, brighter lights were being installed Wednesday night at the high school in and around the area where a 15-year-old girl was raped, beaten and robbed by as many as 10 young men while a crowd of up to 20 bystanders watched the attack happen.

Students and school officials agree the narrow alley that a few picnic tables, dumpsters, and vehicles all share, has been dimly lit for far too long.

Since the attack, the school board administrators of a billion dollar bond program have been accused of moving slowly on a new surveillance system and fence at the school.

"We have $1.2 million to do this project now; we had $1.2 million five months ago and 12 months ago, because the taxpayers gave you that money," said El Sobrante resident Robert Brower.

Wednesday night, the board finally awarded the contract for 120 digital cameras at Richmond High to be monitored by police.

"The security cameras that we have will be linked to the city of Richmond and the city of San Pablo so that they'll be effective," said WCCUSD trustee Charles Ramsey.

Ramsey said the cameras should be up and running within three months with construction on a new fence beginning within 30 days.