In a couple of weeks, some students will be paid between $6 and $7 per hour to patrol campus in the middle of the night.
In efforts to increase campus security, the student government Safety and Security Task Force is looking to hire students to serve as paid security guards from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m Sunday through Thursday. Applications for the paid position were due Thursday at midnight, and the program is set to be implemented within the next two to three weeks.
Task force chairman David Levitch said that although UNC's campus already is one of the safest in the country in terms of the number of crimes in relationship to the population, the task force is looking to make the University more secure.
More than 100 students submitted applications for the position by Thursday afternoon. "We expected to have a lot of response," Levitch said. "But there has been an overwhelming number of people who desire to make this campus safer."
After reviewing the applications, Levitch said, the task force will interview and perform background checks on the candidates before hiring them. Once hired, the security guards will be trained on how to ensure safety on campus, Levitch said. The task force is working with the Department of Public Safety to create an appropriate training program.
The security guards will wear easily identifiable uniforms to patrol the campus and to walk home people who have been studying at a library. Levitch said the program is aimed at eliminating the void that was created when the SAFE Escort program was canceled last semester.
Security guards will be equipped with cell phones or walkie-talkies to ensure that they will have the means to contact police when necessary. Levitch said the security guards will not carry weapons of any kind.
Lindsey Buckingham, a freshman biology major, said she wouldn't mind a little extra security. "I can't say it isn't a little bit unnerving to walk by yourself if it is really late at night, so it would be nice to see guards walking people back to South Campus."
But other students question why the task force wants to hire students for security jobs. "I just wonder, 'If they are willing to pay students to be security guards, why not just pay professionals?'" said Brian Paler, a sophomore international studies major.
