EMU night managers enjoy diversity at work
By Colette Doudin
Of IwtiM
Many University students
know the Erb Memorial Union
as a comfortable place to relax
and study. But ask Anne Wyatt,
and she’ll tell you. "It’s in
tense. but that's where it's at."
Wyatt is one of four graduate
teaching fellows who work as
EMU night managers. The posi
tion is coordinated through the
office of the EMU director.
After EMU day managers
finish their weekday shifts at 5
pm. the night managers con
tinue the authoritative positions
of their daytime counterparts,
said EMU Director Adell
McMillan
The GTE position of EMU
night manager was originated
in the early 1960s. McMillan
said. Prior to that time, the |ob
was filled by full-time
employees when the EMU was
about one-third the size it is
now.
Though McMillan considers
the position of night manager
an “absolute neccessity," she
also believes the system works
very well and is quite en
thusiastic about working with
the GTFs. “They do an ex
cellent job. and they always
have." she said.
Besides Wyatt, the other
night managers are Cara DiMar
co, Debra Westvang and Tony
Pickering. Their shifts rotate
between weeknights and four
shifts on the weekend
Routine tasks of the night
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managers include closing the
building and main desk at 11
p.m.. setting up meeting rooms
correctly as well as getting
necessary materials for par
ticipants of meetings, and ac
counting activities. DiMarro
said.
Hired for the position in fall
1982. DiMarco is now the senior
night manager. Her job differs
from the other night managers
because it involves more
scheduling and training duties,
she said. She enjoys her job
because it is always different,
she said.
Hecause night managers are
not working under any direct
supervision, the job teaches
them to cope with the unex
pected, DiMarco explained.
"We're the ones who make the
decision to call security." she
said.
Though the EMU is open to
the public, it is primarily for
students, and the goal for night
managers is to keep the
building a comfortable and safe
place. DiMarco said.
DiMarco finds most people
who use the EMU are
cooperative, although they tend
to be less so when finals week
approaches, she said. For exam
ple. more people wish to remain
in the building at closing time,
and the EMU has responded to
this problem by extending its
hours at the end of each term.
DiMarco said
Behavior problems both with
students and transients are "not
super-prevalent. People care
about the building, and van
dalism doesn't seem to take
place here," Dimarco said.
While the main desk makes
announcements that the
building will be closing soon.
DiMarco said people sometimes
are unwilling to leave the
pinball-arcade. Other potential
problems arise when beer
garden crowds get a little too
rowdy, she said.
Although Wyatt said she had
been "blessed with quiet
shifts." she did have to deal one
evening with an apparently in
toxicated man who expressed
confusion over whether he was
the son of Christ or Martin
Luther King. |r.. and bothered
nearby students.
The job offers several
benefits. DiMarco said. She in
tends to earn a doctorate in
counseling and learns valuable
administrative and communica
tion skills, such as conflict
resolution and needs assess
ment as unexpected events hap
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Tony Pickering
pen, she said.
Though occasionally
frustrated, DiMarco said the
autonomy of her position
outweighs the problems.
McMillan is a good role
model of a female ad
ministrator, DiMarco said.
“As one person, as a female,
you're running the entire
building.’’ DiMarco said.
“Typical women are not taught
they have this capability.”
Wyatt also enjoys working
with McMillan as well as the
responsibility of decision
making and diplomacy that go
with the job. she said. Wyatt has
grown more at ease and more
confident in her own judgment
since she was hired as a night
manager in winter 1986, she
said.
Pickering was hired last
month and spent his first two
weeks being trained by the
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other night managers, he said.
He had worked previously as a
student manager for the Univer
sity Housing Department, and
said his decision-making ex
perience with the housing
department has helped him to
feel at ease in his new job.
Working as a night manager
has helped Pickering appreciate
the different services the EMU
provides, he said. “Not a night
goes by that there’s not a major
event here." he said.
Pickering said he also enjoys
the chance to work and con
tinue his education, and the op
portunity to work with
everyone in the EMU director’s
office.
Though Pickering said he has
not had to deal with any serious
emergencies so far. perhaps his
most interesting evening was
the night he locked the keys in
side the vault.
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