The Department of Residence has had a Student Security program since 1981.

Since that time, the program has undergone many changes but has managed to adapt due to the hard work and dedication of the Department of Residence and the Student Security guards.

During Spring Semester 1999, the Department of Residence announced a plan to cut back many of their programs including their Student Security program.

After a lengthy discussion with multiple student groups, a compromise was reached between the original cutback proposal and what the Student Security guards wanted.

This compromise seemed to placate many of the concerns the students had.

It did not do a good enough job, though, because a side effect of this whole situation was that only seven guards returned for annual training in the fall out of a full staff of about 20.

Now, at the beginning of Fall Semester 1999, some other changes have been made.

These include security officers working all three residence associations instead of just one, even though almost all of the returning guards have training and experience in only one association.

This means that the guards could not provide adequate security in any other association.

Concerns about these changes were brought up by the Student Security guards being trained.

In response, the returning guards were told that if they didn’t like it, they could always quit.

No person likes receiving ultimatums, and I did not appreciate it much.

I chose to take the Department of Residence up on the choice of quitting.

I quit for the reasons outlined in this letter and a few other personal reasons.

Other Student Security guards have also at least entertained the idea of quitting as well.

The ultimatum and my choice seem to exemplify the current lack of hard work and dedication on both sides.

I do not feel the program is worth any dedication or hard work, and I have not seen much of either from the administration.

The Residence Hall Student Security program once had the respect and appreciation of the average student in the halls.

Since no security guard will be present during the early morning hours, this seriously undermines much of what Student Security once stood for.

We were the people who would patrol the buildings and be available and on scene quickly, and if necessary, all hours of the night.

The fact that many experienced Student Security guards, who enjoyed the job much in the past, were considering quitting shows the discontent with the current situation.

From the Student Security guard perspective, the changes have made Student Security a sham, not worth remaining associated with.

The Student Security program can and should undergo some change, but that can happen without the dismantling of the system as we know it.

Nearly all of the responsibilities of the Student Security guards have been given to the Resident Assistants.

They should be able to handle the responsibilities, but from personal experience, they go to bed fairly early and do not necessarily wake up easily.

This means that the response time will be closer to 7-10 minutes rather than the 3-5 minute response time for Student Security.

The same thing goes when DPS answers a call about a situation in the residence halls.

Response time will be slower since they may be quite a distance from the incident.

In a world where seconds can make all the difference, this time is very important.

The entire Student Security situation has generated a few ideas in the minds of a few of the originally returning guards.

Please remember, these ideas are just that: ideas.

They are not facts, just the beliefs of a few people and nothing more.

These ideas include that it has been Randy Alexander’s plan to eliminate the Student Security program ever since he became the Director of Residence.

This is in part because he has said in the past that no college or university that he has worked for in the past has needed one.

He has also said that he does not consider security to be an issue in the residence halls right now.

Another idea is that the Department of Residence does not truly have concern for the safety of students currently living in the residence halls.

If they did, they would find the money to keep a viable security program running.

If the reasoning behind the cutbacks is not money, why was this change initiated by the cutting of the budget?

Bryan Siepker

Junior

Computer science