Campus security comes to rescue of students
By Diana Elliot
Of the Emerald
It seemed like a routine call to the public safety office,
but when Don Brooks answered a call for campus security
he got more than he bargained for.
afternoon I got a call to help a woman in an art
studio/' says Brooks, who is associate director of public
safety. I figured it would be just a routine first aid call until
I found out that the woman was a nude model and had pass
ed out."
This is just bne example of an event that happened
several years ago that illustrates the type of unusual calls
public safety officers must cope with occasionally.
Manned by 12 employees, the public safety department,
or campus security as it's informally known, handles duties
ranging from locking up each door on campus to transpor
ting ill students to the Health Center or hospital. The
department also manages the Crisis Center calls when the
counselors are out and assists students with car problems.
But the most well-known task of the department, other
than issuing parking tickets, is responding to calls.
®ur i°b *s f° carry baseball bats and to be as mean as
possible, quips Oakly Clenn, director of public safety.
Answering calls and investigating complaints is the job
of Campus Security, just one segment of the campus public
safety system.
"The most common call we get is reports of minor
theft," says Glenn. But the type of calls varies depending on
the time of year and what's going on around campus, he
says.
At the beginning of fall term, calls from uneasy
freshmen away from home for the first time are the most
prevalent. During finals week, pranks such as pulling fire
alarms are common when anxiety plagues many students.
Campus Security officers not only investigate all phone
complaints, but also check out every call that comes on
from the 52 intercoms. They must investigate each call
whether it is a serious complaint or an obvious joke.
"We never take a chance," says Glenn. "We always
assume that someone could be in danger."
Students generally make good use of the intercoms, he
says. Those located near the dorms and by the track at
Hayward Field are used most often.
Because occasionally serious incidents do occur, Cam
__ Pus Security often teams up with the Eugene police depart
ment. In fact, the Eugene police work out of the same office
on 15th Street and share the same radio.
“We coordinate our efforts," says Glenn. “Security has
to be there for any on-campus disturbance, but if a problem
is expected to be serious and an arrest might be involved,
• then the police have to be there too."
While Campus Security is basically confined to the
boundaries of campus, the Eugene police, working out of
the Public Safety office, patrol a wider area stretching from
Franklin Boulvard to 19th Avenue and between Hilyard and
Agate streets.
The Eugene Fire Department also is closely connected
with the public safety department. The fire marshall is
alerted to handle any situation when a fire alarm goes off.
With fire alarms, the problem of pranks is more serious
than with intercoms. When an alarm is pulled, a security of
'We never take a chance. We always
assume someone could be in danger'
— Oakly Clenn
ficer will investigate only if he is in the near vicinity. If no
one is close enough to check it out immediately, then the
fire department is alerted.
“It's easier and safer to call the fire department before
verifying if the alarm is valid," says Glenn. “Because the fire
department is located just off campus on Agate Street, it
isn't that costly to send the fire trucks back in the case of a
false alarm." .
Alarms don't always signal fires to the public safety
department. They're hooked up all over campus to vaults,
cashiers' cages, lab experiments, and even vending
machines. All must be reset and checked frequently.
Aside from being the watchdog on campus, public safe
ty officers also assist students with car problems and
transport ill students to the Health Center or hospital.
“All of the employees are trained above basic first aid.
All are certified Emergency Medical Technicians," says
Glenn. “This is particularly important considering that we
get more calls for first aid than
theft.”
anything else except minor
Although locking doors and resetting alarms may sound
a little mundane, Don Brooks, associate director of public
safety, says enough unusual situations occur to make the
job interesting.
"Because this is a college town, there's a lot of harmless
pranks that make this job interesting," says Brooks. "In the
dorms, we often have to rescue students who have been
penned in their rooms."
Glenn recalls situations that are hard to forget, like the
time he got a call from some dorm residents who complain
ed about a male student who had been locked in a toilet
stall for hours. When he investigated the scene, he found
the student dead.
"Around here, the unusual becomes usual after
awhile," says Brooks.
Although the job of public safety does have some in
teresting moments, visible rewards are scarce.
Do public safety officers get discouraged considering
many University students see them as merely ticket Rivers?
Not Glenn.
'It's not our job to beat a bass drum and make
ourselves noticed. We re here to help students get an
education in a safe and secure atmosphere."
ASUO fills two posts
The ASUO has hired William Kittredge to be the
new director of the office of Student Advocacy, Mary
Hotchkiss, ASUO president recently announced.
Kittredge will advise and defend students who
have grievances against the University or State Board
of Higher Education.
Hotchkiss also announced the appointment of
Tess Brasser, a University law student as coordinator
of the new minority affairs task force.
The minority affairs task force will analyze ex
isting resources available to minority students and
recommend improvements in services, affirmative
action enforcement, cultural events, recruitment and
other matters, Hotchkiss said.
\
Buy Factory Direct
AMERICAN
MATTRESS
MANUFACTURING
MORE THAN Vz OFF PRICE SALE
Price includes mattress and box springs:
• TWIN size Reg. $259 SALE price $99
•FULLsize Reg.$319 SALE price $119
•QUEEN size Reg. $419 SALE price $149
•KING size Reg $799 SALE price $399
SAVE
UP TO
We have a large selection of
chiropractic firmnesses in stock
for immediate delivery
Sets
Price includes mattress and box springs:
Full A Twin Size Sets $G9
Queen Size Sets $109
King Size Sets $139
Mon.-Fri. 9-7
Saturday 9-5
Sunday 12-4
FREE DELIVERY
1203 Oak Patch Road
JUST OFF WEST 1 llh AVE
6 BLOCKS WEST OF GA3FIELD
Phone
343-6667
■ MM
M M fl
■ MM
M MM
■ M M M M M M
M M M M MM ■
M M
■ Ml
M M
M M M