We spoke with Deputy Chief Jon Luidhardt about the work that he and the rest of the police department are doing to make campus a safer place. We also spoke with two individuals from parking services about what they do and the challenges they face with their job.
When Deputy Luidhardt was asked about why he joined the BGSU police force he gave an unexpected answer saying, “that it (BGSU) was my first choice.” But he said that he was glad he was recruited at BGSU because he believes in what they are doing and wants to help make a change. He also said in the interview that the police department is in the process of getting upgrades which will change security measures and increase safety on campus.
The most prominent of these changes being an increase of cameras around campus. These cameras will more specifically be put up close to emergency phones throughout campus. The Deputy says, “If there is an emergency or something going on in area there are dispatchers that are able to see exactly what’s going on.”
Lastly Deputy Jon spoke about an organization that he is apart of. He described as a volunteer organization that helps service workers, for example a police or nurse, get through traumatic things that may have happened when they are on duty. He seemed very passionate about this topic, claiming it to be his personal greatest achievement.
While speaking with the two parking service workers, Aileen Berry and Michael O’Halloran, they described what they do to help provide safety to the students and faculty by helping in enforcing parking safety.
Aileen described the most challenging part of her job being the people she encounters at the desk or through phone calls. She said, “I love to challenge myself,” describing how she deals with angry people who she said aren’t really mad to her, but are instead mad at the ticket.” Michael claimed that the hardest part of his job would be the fact their office is necessarily liked. They also claimed that although they are strict about rules and like to keep everything fair, they are also understanding and ready to help with any problems people have.
Aileen also described how using the shuttle service provided throughout not only campus but parts of downtown can help with parking problems students might be facing. Saying that they also open these shuttles to the community and don’t require student ID’s because they are very community focused. Lastly, an interesting thing that could be helpful to people is that there is service on campus where if you don’t feel safe walking home you can request for a police officer to escort you home and ensure your safety.
