Fewer Student Security officers are patrolling the dorms this semester, but administrators say the shortage of guards in August was caused by 16 students who did not return after telling the residence department they would.

Last year’s Student Security guards were given the option to return this fall. The Department of Residence sent letters and e-mails to notify the guards about training, and the department expected 24 students, but only seven arrived.

Bethany Schuttinga, Willow Hall director and supervisor of the Student Security program, said 15 Student Security guards are now working for the Department of Residence. The department does not plan to hire additional guards.

Schuttinga said the Department of Residence sent out consent letters this summer to former guards for them to indicate whether they were coming back.

“Sally Deters [coordinator of residence life] and I sent out a letter to the guards at the addresses they gave us,” she said. “I came in right as the letters were being sent out.”

Director of Residence Randy Alexander said the department received notification from only one guard that he would not be returning in the fall.

“I understand if they disagree with the changes and don’t want to work,” Alexander said. “My problem is with the people who committed, said they would work and didn’t show up.”

Several changes have occurred in the Student Security program since last spring. Hours were changed from eight hours per shift to four hours per shift. Guards work until 2 a.m. weekdays or 3:30 a.m. on weekends instead of 6 a.m., as they did last year.

Alexander said the guards’ logs from last year helped determine what this year’s hours would be. He said some of the entries after 2 a.m. included guards studying or playing solitaire during their shifts.

Three guards also chose to resign at the beginning of the year after they had gone through training.

Schuttinga said some of the students who left cited academic reasons for not continuing with their positions.

“The guards have a bigger work load this year, and it’s not conducive to [academics],” she said.

Schuttinga said despite earlier shortages in manpower, the current guards are working the hours they want to work.

“They aren’t forced to work 20 hours a week,” she said. “They want that many hours.”

Five guards are assigned to each residence hall association. The department examined the schedules and available guards before coming to this conclusion, she said.

Michelle Martindale, former Student Security guard, said although she did indicate last spring that she would return to the program, she decided against returning this summer.

Martindale, sophomore in history, said she did not inform anyone of her decision during the summer break.

“I could have called at any time to say I wasn’t coming back; I just didn’t,” she said.

Although she decided not to work for the program, Martindale did attend the training session this fall.

“I started the training at the beginning of the semester,” she said. “For other reasons I decided I wasn’t going to work. I called Sally Deters’ office and left her a message.”

Martindale said her main reasons for quitting the program were her need for more hours and for academic reasons.

“Basically, I decided that I couldn’t work as many nights as I would need to and keep my grades up,” she said. “They cut our shifts in half, and I would have had to work more nights than last year.”

Angie Chipman, former supervisor of Richardson Court Association Student Security, said some officers thought the program was unimportant to administrators.

“Some of us got the feeling that if we didn’t like the changes they made, it was their way or the highway,” said Chipman, senior in psychology and history.

Andy Zaugg, senior in accounting and finance, is a returning Student Security guard. Zaugg said he understood why the department might have thought there more students were returning to the program than there actually were.

“It’s hard to track people down in the summer because they’ll be at a different address,” he said.

Many Student Security guards who were working last spring or this summer weren’t intending to return, Zaugg said. He also said he could sympathize with those who disagreed with the changes and left, but they still should have stuck around.

“A lot of people felt frustration with the program, but they never gave it a chance,” he said.

Zaugg said the changes to the program were frustrating for both former and current guards.

“It seems like the department doesn’t think we’re as important as they used to be,” he said.

However, Zaugg is glad he decided to stay with the program.

“I want to give it a chance to see what happens,” he said. “I want to have a voice in how the program will be run in the future.”

Schuttinga said the current guards have valid concerns about the program.

“They’re willing to work with the program because they see positive things coming out of it,” she said. “The thing I appreciate most is that they’re being problem solvers, not just problem identifiers. They want the best for the students, and it shows in how they work.”

Schuttinga said the current guards have helped make students more receptive toward Student Security.

“Now, the students are happy to see them. They know they’re looking out for students,” she said.