Dec 3, 2002 
Security for events called into question 
Student groups complain police presence is too costly, 
often unnecessary 
By Emily Funderburk 
Staff writer 

Events sponsored by student groups must first get
security approval from the Office of Campus Reservations
and the Department of Public Safety, but some student
groups say security, which can cost hundreds of dollars,
is unnecessary.

Police determine whether security is needed for student
events, said University Police Capt. Larry Voltz of the
Department of Public Safety, but students said the policy
is vague and open to interpretation.

A group of police officers assess the proposed event for
security and look at certain factors, including day of
the week, time of day and number of people expected, to
determine how the amount of security needed. Events
scheduled for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays usually
require security because they are prone to causing
problems, Voltz said. Events that run past midnight,
those with large amounts of people expected and those
that sell tickets also may need security, he said.

Voltz said student groups must contact the person in
charge at their preferred venue and are also responsible
for contacting the police for security measures.

He cited SpamJam, an a cappella concert on Dec.13, as an
event requiring security because it has been popular in
the past and tends to become overcrowded.

Most late-night social events with a large attendance
require a metal detector at no extra cost, Voltz said.

Student groups must pay $41 an hour for each police
officer and $13.52 an hour for each police aide. If a
group fails to give at least two weeks notice, the fee
for a police aide increases by $3. If a group informs
police of the event at least six weeks in advance, it
receives 30 percent discount on police services.

But some students said the fees are unfair because they
come out of the group's funding from the Student
Government Association, and new organizations, which may
not yet have funding from the SGA, may be left to
shoulder the costs themselves.

Paying for security is a must because securing social
events is not among a police officer's regular duties,
Voltz said. He encourages groups to submit their event
information early to decrease the cost.

"Is it fair to rearrange a few officers' lives because
some group didn't get their act together?" he said.

Sophomore government and politics major Simon Fitzgerald,
president of Peace Forum, said he has been asked to talk
to police before scheduling his Dec. 10 debate on the war
against Iraq, but he said his group has not experienced
trouble in the past.

Kobi Snitz, a mathematics graduate student and a member
of Peace Forum, said the police have an unfair perception
against the group and require security at events where
there will likely be no trouble.

"When it's left to the arbitrary judgment of the police
officer, it's open to not-nice assumptions," he said.

Students also said cultural events are subject to more
security.

Jawad Muaddi, a senior computer science major and former
president of the Organization of Arab Students, said last
year the group was charged $824 in security for two
police officers, four police aides and a metal detector
at its Arabian Night.

Police must stay on top of current events to decide which
events need security.

"We look at current events and see who's fighting who,"  
Voltz said.

Police take into account a group's past events and may
reduce security if there have been no significant
problems, Voltz said.

But security is not limited to political discussions and
cultural events. When asked whether police would consider
security for a debate or forum involving the Duke and
Maryland basketball rivalry, Voltz said they would,
especially if the Duke coach were there.

"That'd be a pretty hot battle right there," he said.

Muaddi, who is also a member of the Students for Justice
in Palestine, said the problem is with the way the
security determination system is run, citing the police
officers' personal interpretations of what may be
controversial.

"They're supposed to determine the level of tension,"  
he said, "but it's determined by people who aren't very
familiar with it."

Muaddi said the SJP, a fairly new group, has had
difficulty bringing in outside speakers because of the
security costs which it can't cover.

"It's frustrating sometimes. The biggest hurdle is paying
for security. It's like a lock preventing the group from
doing what we want to do," he said.