Hopkins security guards: They're watching over you

By: Ming Wen

Posted: 10/18/07

They are rarely, if ever, on your mind, and only occupy your interest for a nanosecond, if at all. They are, of course, security guards, each playing his or her own role as part of the 200-strong security force here at Hopkins.

You might have looked at the security guards at the library one day and wondered, "How hard can that be, sitting there all day?" But you would be gravely mistaken.

"It's not as easy as you think, there are a lot of rules you have to follow. When people break the rules, you cannot do anything, and you need to ask in a polite manner for them to stop," Security guard Seih said. Perhaps you've had a close encounter of this kind while chatting it up on B-Level.

"Dealing with patrons or customers is not easy, because they have attitudes. Sometimes they feel like this is the only life we have. Just because they are students, they think this is the end of our lives. Sometimes when they come here, if you tell them the rules, they will say 'I'm a prospective student' or 'I'm a med student.' I think it has to do with this being Johns Hopkins. I'm a student too, and I get frustrated," Seih said.

The toughest part of being a security guard seems to be having to deal with indignant, arrogant and annoying students.

"We tell people stuff, and they act like they don't know what you're talking about. They say "I forgot," and always question you about the rules," Richard, another securit guard, said. "People get smart with you, try to make you do something to them, but I can't do nothing to them."

Sometimes the abuse is non-verbal, but nevertheless ever-present in day-to-day affairs. If things get really out of hand, security guards can call in the big guns: Campus police. But most of the time, the library is a tame and relatively quiet place. At the library, there is one guard on duty during the day and two on duty during the night, when they switch off between the front desk and patrolling the library every 30 minutes.

"I like to walk around because I have more freedom, it keeps me busy," Seih said. When there is little to do, the students in the library can often provide them with great entertainment.

"It's just like a movie. Sometimes I just watch the students, the way they act. There are a lot of people here, and they all have different personalities. You can see how they dress and how their personalities reflect that," Seih said.

It's not unusual for Hopkins students to take studying to a whole new level.

"The library closes at a certain hour. People know the procedure, but sometimes they will hide in the bathroom. They get on top of the stall and hide from me. When I see them, they say, 'Oh I didn't know it was time, my bad, I'm sorry.' Sometimes they get real mad. One girl came with a candy bar, so I took it and told her to come back at three a.m. or whenever she was done. She comes back the next day looking for the candy bar. We threw it out," Richard said.

Perhaps it is inevitable that students will sneak food into the library, but don't think you aren't being watched.

"There are lots of cameras. If we see the food here [at the front desk], then we take it away. If we see it in your bag, we didn't see anything," Seih said.

From streaking to passing out, Hopkins students make the lives of library security guards extraordinary. So the next time you're about to explode at a security guard for taking away your cookies, think again. They have feelings too.