V.
PAGE 6
Dorm guard Brink:
'It's kind of being
a camp counselor'
Dave Brink starts his day just as most students are finishing theirs.
From 1 1 p.m. to 7 a.m. five nights a week, the UNL graduate makes
his rounds as a Women's Residence Hall security guard.
According to Dick Stait, Housing Office operations coordinator, all
downtown dormitory complexes now have night security guards, most
of whom are students.
The guard's primary responsibility is to provide security for both
property and people in the residence halls. Strait said.
They're hot there in an enforcement capacity, Strait pointed out,
but primarily to prevent vandalism, theft and maybe handle an
occasional fight, he said.
The security program is only a couple of months old, according to
Strait. Although it's not a substitute, it replaces the dormitory night
watchman patrol started about three years ago.
Unlike the watchmen, UNL security guards do no janitorial work,
but concentrate on seeing that doors and windows are locked, and that
only students come into the dormitory after it closes. Strait said.
Campus Security Chief Gail Gade said the program was revamped
and stepped up following the two rape incidents on the UNL campus
earlier this year.
He said the guards currently are receiving on-the-job training which
acquaints them with their responsibilities in their respective building.
The guards are uniformed, but carry no weapons, according to Gade.
Soon they will be equipped with flashlights, and possibly two-way
radios by fall, he added.
Brink said his luties consist mostly of making rounds regularly and
watching the residence hall's door.
Twice each night, Brink aid he and campus Security Officer Ken
Nelson check the women's floors.
"Some girls don't know we go onto their floor," Brink said. "On
occasion, the situation's been a little embarrassing. Once we frightened
them."
Neither Brink nor Strait see the security guard as a policeman. Strait
said the guards don't enforce visitation regulations or check out other
illicit floor activity, although if they have an opportunity to prevent a
breech of rules, they should. Strait said.
Two girl residents contacted responded positively to the new
security program. Both said they thought the security guard program
helps keep people who shouldn't be in the dormitory out of it.
Brink also said students' responses to him have been favorable.
"I've gotten a May basket and a badge from residents, and
sometimes people bring me food from Valentino's and other things,"
the political science graduate and Vietnam veteran said.
He noted that he does a lot of talking while on duty.
"People stop to talk about school or their boyfriend. In a way, it's
kind of being a camp counselor."
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Photos by Gail Folda
THE DAILY NEB RASKAN
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1972
