Rider University - Shadow Yearbook (Lawrenceville, NJ)

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l' xi' -'9 '1 Q .Jil l -- --- f - H l Q' CAMPUS 06 ,Qi POLICE f fn Not long after this, Meth died and Mullen was named the official director of Security shortly thereafter. ln October of 1968, the final standing of the 32 Pro- posals was made public. The two dealing with Security were approved. The one stating that no student would be employed by Security was approved, but with reser- vations. Students had to sign statements outlining their precise duties, and they could not be employed where they would have access to confidential information. A complete revamping of Security was made and the offi- cial report was to be received by the Board of Trustees at their December meeting. When the new social rules came into effect in 1969, a Student Court was formed. This court had original juris- diction over theft, malicious destruction of property, ar- son, endangering the life or malicious abuse of another person and the distribution or possession of illegal drugs. The students were to police and discipline themselves. Which brings the present situation into focus. Mullen had a big job as the new director. He had to maintain peace on the campus and protect the lives and property of the college community and still keep in good with the students. Mullen surveyed the campus situation and developed his theory on the main objectives of a college security system. They were: To protect the rights of all individ- uals who use the facilities of the Collegeg the protection of College and student property, the accommodating of College activities, and to preserve the peace on campus. He sees Security as a public relations job where the men treat the students with respect and courtesy. The men are of service to the students. he said.

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'You're Damned If You Do, Damned If YOU DOl'l't, Or So It ls Said About Campus Security by Debra Opdycke College Security. lt's a far cry from a police depart- ment-type operation but both seem to be coming under fire recently. The police are no longer treated with the respect they once enjoyed. 'They're the pigs now. And campus security, at least here at Rider College, has been ac- cused of not doing its job. They're called rent-a-cops. lt's that old saying, You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. And that's what happened here at Rider. Three years ago, in December of 1967, rumors began circulating that Security was employing students as spies on campus. lt was said that Security entered the students' rooms without permission-to search them. Many said it was a Gestapo-like state. Student leaders complained that morale among the students was low. Students said it was like living in a police state. A good number felt that Security was against them. ln February of 1968, students presented the now-fa- mous 32 Proposals, their mandate for student rights to the administration. Two of the demands dealt with Security. One was that no students be employed by Security in any capacity and the other called for a complete reorganization of the Security Department. As a result, Sidney Meth, then coordinator of Security and once chairman of the Sociology Department, went on sick leave with an aggravated heart condition. Coordinator of Security since 1964, Meth expressed his feelings on leaving as very, very much between dis- gust and disappointment, according to Rider News clippings from February, 1968. With former College President Franklin F. Moore's granting of the request for leave, many felt that the problem of Security was solved. Dr. Moore accepted the request and asked that Stephen A. Maurer, vice-presi- dent of business and finance, begin interviewing men to fill the position of director. A special committee was :, ' f f 2,Qyfl9.'1F. 1: X- 1-. formed by the Board of Trustees to study the security situation and to have a report ready by their May 15, 1968, meeting. Students, however, were not satisfied. Many claimed whitewash. Although members of the administration urged that Meth be accorded due process and be in- nocent until proved guilty, the students demonstrated in February and burned Meth in effigy. Things settled a little and the security problem was in- vestigated. A student sub-committee was formed and on April 1, 1968, James A. Mullen, a 28-year veteran of the FBI, was named the acting head of Security in Meth's absence. On May 5, 1968, a hearing was scheduled for Meth and students or anyone wishing to present relevant in- formation pertaining to Meth concerning his adminis- tration of the Security Office were invited to come forth. Meth was to be present, along with his attorney, and students were asked to have their own attorneys. The hearing never came off, though. Meth's heart condition grew worse and the Board of Trustees put off the report until the July 15 meeting. 101

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Which brings up the damned if you do and damned if you don't idea. Security was damned three years ago for being too curious into the students' affairs and too authoritative and protective. And this year, Security took the rap for not doing its job when the wave of thefts occurred early in the year. But, according to Mullen, Security can't be in every place at every moment. And besides that, it's not Secu- rity's policy to police the dormitories and patrol the hall- ways. We can't enter a student's room without a search warrant from the Student Court. The students wouldn't want us in the dormitories anyway, he added. ln many colleges, security isn't even wanted on the campus, but l don't see that as a solution. There has to be some type of security setup. Security doesn't only have the job of protecting the lives and property of the students. Security must also regulate traffic on campus and enforce the parking and vehicular rules of the College. And Mullen's men are busy at that. With the new lots that went into use this year, their work has almost doubled. The lots meant new rules and there were over 4,000 cars to check on. lf people parked where they were supposed to, we wouldn't have any problems and we wouldn't have to give out tickets, he said. But since people don't, Mul- len's men gave out over 500 tickets from the beginning of the fall semester to the beginning of October. The men of Security have over 250 acres to patrol with a minimum of 2,500 people on the campus at any one time. Mullen has 19 men in his department, 10 full- timers and nine part-timers. Most of my older men have some type of police ex- perience but it's hard getting men with any experience to come into campus security because the pay isn't that great. Mullen stated. The younger men that l've been hiring need training, he continued. But all of them do a good job. Mullen said that if he thought he needed more men, he would go to the administration and try and get the needed men, even though he is locked into a budget. And if the students continue to complain, I may have to do just that, he said. Also, if things keep up, we CSecurityJ could go back into the dormitories if the stu- dents really wanted us back in. We'll go through the Student Court and the administration and try to have the rule rescinded. But the students will have to be aware of the fact that if we come back in, we may dis- cover things that maybe we shouldn't. There could be trouble in that area. Mullen sees the job of policing the dormitories as basically a responsibility of the resident assistants and the resident supervisors. They're the ones in the dor- mitories at all times. lt should be up to them to work with the residents and come up with ways to insure the security of their living quarters. Of course, if something big happened such as breaking and entry into a room or the person's life is in danger, it should be reported directly to Security, Mul- len said. However, for most small thefts, the usual channels of reporting to the resident assistant or super- visor who then turns a report over to the respective dean should be followed. Security has no disciplining power on this campus. We can only investigate the infractions of the rules and gather the facts and interview the individuals involved. We then turn the reports over to the deans who do the disciplining. However, if it's anything major, we may want or have to call in the Lawrence Township Police to assist in the investigation or we can recommend prose- cution in the report to the deans, he said. Rider College Security men are not allowed to make arrests and do not carry guns or clubs. This is not in keeping with the image we wish to project, Mullen commented. And I fully realize that my men are unpro- tected if anything should ever happen. The only thing they can do is to observe the situ- ation and try to keep it in hand and if it gets out of hand, they can try to stop it. But in an emergency, out- side help such as the Lawrence Township Police could become necessary. In that case, after consultation be- tween myself, the men and the administration, a deci- sion would be made and outside help called in, Mullen said. To my knowledge, that has never been needed to quell a disturbance. So, protecting student lives and property, in- vestigating violations ofthe rules and taking care of the traffic on the campus are Security's biggest jobs. They also conduct clock punch rounds of all campus build- ings three times a night, transport students to and from area doctors and hospitals, keep records and register vehicles, operate the switchboard during off-hours and weekends and holidays, act as guides and aides, and even provide first aid in emergency situations. Yes, security on a campus is a far cry from a police department although both have some similarities. Both have images to maintain, although defined differently and with different equipment. Both are having trouble. Police have to regain the re- spect they seem to have lost. Security must continually strive to reach a happy medium with the students, yet maintaining their goodwill on one hand and servicing them Cfrom a safeguarding standpointj on the other. Neither job is easy. They're damned if they do and damned if they don't. W 103