Facing cuts and changes, the Student Security Program has cut its number of officers from more than 20 to seven.

“Because of budget cuts, the Department of Residence had to metamorphasize the program,” said Jonathon Weaver, Student Security guard and sophomore in history.

The decreased number of guards will also patrol fewer hours than last year.

Guards covered all three associations from 10:30 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. last year. This year, the program plans for two Student Security guards to patrol Richardson Court Association, Union Drive Association and Towers Residence Association from 10:30 p.m. until 2:30 a.m.

Sally Deters, residence life coordinator and Student Security adviser, said the new hours are a result of many factors.

“Because of the budget cuts and because of what we had seen throughout the year, the hours we needed most was 10:30 [p.m.] to 2:30 [a.m.],” she said.

Bryan Siepker, former Student Security guard, said a problem with the new hours is the lack of assistance available to students after 2:30 a.m.

“If anything comes up after that, there isn’t necessarily someone to respond to students right away,” said Siepker, junior in computer science.

Students still can contact the Department of Public Safety at any hour, but Siepker said DPS takes longer to respond. “It takes 15 minutes as opposed to two or three,” he said.

Although Deters eventually hopes to have 15 to 20 security guards working this year, she said Student Security is just used for additional response in the case of emergencies.

“Whether Student Security is working or isn’t working, I think we have an adequate amount of other staff to deal with emergency responses,” she said.

Weaver said student safety isn’t compromised by the decreased number of guards as long as the shifts are covered, but the guards now work as many shifts as they can per week. He said the seven guards find it impossible to cover all the dorms all the time.

“There are multiple shifts that haven’t been covered,” he said. “A lot of people are going with way too little sleep.”

Weaver said at least one guard had been on duty in each association every night before Tuesday night’s scheduling meeting, but the schedule for the coming week did leave at least some associations without any guards.

Deters, however, said a guard is working in every residence area every night.

Student Security is hiring to fill the uncovered shifts. “They are doing whatever it takes to maintain a Student Security program for this year,” Weaver said.

Weaver said many of the problems the Student Security Program is having might be a lack of communication between students and the Department of Residence.

“In general, they could benefit by getting more student input before making sweeping changes,” he said.

Siepker said he resigned this year because of the changes made to the program.

“It was no longer doing its purpose in serving the security of the average student,” he said. “It was no longer what I was interested in working for.”