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Keith James reforms security

Changes include new shift rotations for officers

by Mark Graham

James said that when he arrived, "I didn't realize how much needed to be done to this department. Many of those things needed immediate Band Aids. It was a matter of getting the office up to speed."

According to James, many of the policies were vague or undefined. He summarized his first weeks on the job with the following question: "What do you do? Let a ship go down with a big hole or try to plug it until you can fix it?"

In this case, fixing the ship demanded a new philosophy for safety on campus. Assistant to the President Diana Roose summarized this philosophy as valuing "people over property and prevention instead of policing."

James said, "I want students to see us as a service organization."

One of the first steps in implementing this philosophy was to have the officers work rotating shifts. There are three main shifts, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 4 p.m. to midnight and midnight until 8 a.m. James added a fourth shift from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. According to James, this policy would allow staff to learn more about the Oberlin campus by seeing it at different times.

Sergeant Gary Kriesen said, "Rotating shifts are normal for any security or law enforcement organization."

Lee Kapucinski, an officer for 11 years, has started to look into other jobs in the College after resigning on Aug. 26. After working the midnight shift in the 80s, she said she needed to take three months medical leave to recover from the strain of working that shift.

Since Kapucinski disliked the shift changes - specifically being forced to return to the midnight shift - she asked other officers what they thought about the new practice. According to Kapucinski, James then called her into his office and told her that she "was undermining him." She claims the conversation was "[a] heated and threatening environment."

James declined to comment on these discussions directly, but added that "there will always be those who have issues. The onus is on staff to say `I don't like this. This is an alternative.' It's one thing to complain and create a difficult or hostile work environment, it is another thing to make suggestions. If there is a better way, I'll be glad to listen."

Kapucinski said that she did not feel she had an opportunity to affect her work environment. She said she felt James was "singling me out" and that "her trust level went to zero." Kapucinski cited rotating shifts and a hostile work environment as her reasons for resigning.

Staff members would not comment on the issue. A Safety and Security staff person explained, "If we talk, then [James] says we're undermining him." In response, James said, "I have never told any officer that they can't talk to the Review. I can't dictate what an employee does."

New duties have also brought some resentment. A student security worker who preferred to remain anonymous said, "I feel like my job is useless."

Student officers no longer carry keys or open dorm rooms for lockouts. They now provide escorts for students when requested and pull on doors to make sure all the buildings are locked and test the emergency phones.

According to James, the liability of students with keys was too high. "Students were asked not to carry keys to protect them if the keys end up lost or stolen," James said.

Many in the administration assess the criticism directed at James as the natural tension that arises from a new director coming into Oberlin. "You expect a certain amount of turnover from anyone new coming in," Roose said. She pointed out that personality clashes, new management styles and the discomfort of adjusting to anything new makes all transitions difficult.

Joe DiChristina, who was Interim Director of Security for much of last year, noted that his transition was friendly and peaceful. "It was the best experience I had working in Student Life. From the day I walked in there, there was no sense of people upset that Charlene [Cole-Newkirk, Dean of Student Life] asked me to be over there. They were very receptive to me."

James said that things will calm down when his staff gets to know him better. "Sometimes you have to be authoritative because something needs to be done now," James said. "It would be unfair to label someone as a dictator because different styles show up in every supervisor."

In answer to those who have characterized James as authoritarian, he explains his handling of the union contract as an example of his style of office management.

The contract is currently being considered for renewal. James told his staff to look it over and give him feedback, not pressuring any alternative.

In the future, James will have more consultation on decisions because of three changes. The first is a weekly supervisors' meeting with the sergeants. Additionally, James will hire an Assistant Director, though the job description has not yet been defined. The third is the Safety and Security Advisory Committee (see related news brief).

James said that he is adjusting to Oberlin. "I come into the office with ideas, try to incorporate them with other people's ideas and try to deal with all the situations that come up everyday," he said.


Oberlin

Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 6; Friday, October 11, 1996

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