Adding extra protection to UR’s campus, student aides provide extra eyes and ears to security. From 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. – times of increased incidents of crime – student aides patrol the campus.
“Student aides help prevent theft and vandalism, and are usually the first ones on sight for any kind of emergency,” aide and sophomore Ben Soler said.
The nearly 50 student aides tour various parts of the campus nightly to report any unsafe or suspicious activity. If they do spot such problems they can call security, clear an area to facilitate members of the Medical Emergency Response Team or correct problems – such as propped doors – before they lead to thefts and mischief.
Most often, though, they keep an eye out and ensure that students are protected. “It’s good just having them in the community,” Supervisor of Security Services Joseph Reed said.
Reed stressed that aides take their job seriously. “These guys are professionals,” he said. Aides keep logs of all activity encountered during their shift and have to undergo extensive field training, orientation and learn all policies and procedures. Most are assigned a specific sector of the campus, though some others roam all over.
Aides also benefit from their work. Besides their starting pay rate of $6 an hour, which exceeds most other jobs on campus, both Reed and many of his aides say that what they learn counts most.
“In terms of responsibility, I’ve learned a lot,” student supervisor and senior Ronak Shah said. Shah’s job is to help Reed oversee and supervise the other aides. Reed calls them student leaders. “This also teaches you a lot about the real world. A lot is the same in the real world,” he said.
While it often looks like aides are just sitting around, the job can be challenging, aides report. One source of trouble is the difficulty of having students patrol students. Reed and others discount this problem, though, and say that the aides are professional enough not to let conflicts of interest deter them from doing their job.
“It becomes a pressure sometimes,” Reed said. “I tell the aides to do what feels right.” Soler said it is not the aides’ job to be a bully to their peers. “We honestly are not there to bust anyone’s chops or make life hard for students. We are out there late at night to offer help and safety to any student how might need it,” he said.
Any student can apply for the job. Near the end of the semester Reed starts recruiting students. If a student is interested, they can contact Reed by e-mail.
Students at UR seem to appreciate the added security. Junior Ryan Aylward is one such student. “I think they provide a good security presence on campus,” he said. “Having them prevents an invasion of our college-aged environment by a larger staff of security officers.”
Many involved also stressed that it is more than just a job – it’s a lifestyle. “Even when they’re not on duty, they have a tendency to call things in,” Reed said.
Soler echoed those comments. “Some alumni who were student aides even stop by from time to time to catch up,” he said. “Sometimes it can be a pretty thankless job, especially when people decide to harass you for trying to keep them safe. Then there are the times when you know you have helped someone out when there was no one else around. I may go to bed fairly late on those nights, but I sleep well.”
Bobkoff can be reached at dbobkoff@campustimes.org.
