Students go to college believing they are going to finally have a chance to be on their own, until they reach college and the reality hits them that there are still rules. They then tend to believe that Public Safety employees are the big bad wolves of the campus.

However, I had a chance to ride with a Public Safety employee and I saw that they are just trying to maintain a safe environment.

I bundled up, grabbed my notebook and pen, and ran out of my dorm for my Friday-night run with Public Safety employee Staci Doolittle. Honestly, I was not sure what to expect. Since these employees have a lot of enforcement power, I was interested in observing whether they abuse it. However, through first hand experience, I learned that Public Safety officers don’t.

As I ventured to the Public Safety office, Public Safety Coordinator Keifer Bradshaw welcomed me, and informed me that I was going to do the run with Doolittle. On our way to meet Doolittle, Bradshaw shared with me some information about Public Safety. For example, there are only two employees on duty every night and three when the nights are busy, such as homecoming and Serendipity.

Bradshaw introduced me to Doolittle, a bubbly woman who seemed excited to have me along. I hopped into the golf cart and we ventured to Frank Family Science Center. We walked around Frank while she locked the doors and turned off the lights.

While she showed me what her job entails, we talked, and not once did I believe she became a Public Safety employee to write people up. Instead, I saw her doing her job helping students stay safe and keeping our community secure.

When Doolittle needs to write a student up, she explains to the student the reasons why. She compares this job to being a parent, which gave me a better understanding of why students get written up. Parents set guidelines to keep their children safe. Public Safety officers want to protect students as if the students were their own children.

Doolittle graduated from Guilford in May and has worked here for two months. She has two sons who are 14 and 17. She understands that students are going to experiment with alcohol and drugs and she wants to make sure that everyone stays safe.

College is a time for students to discover themselves. I am glad Doolittle – and, I hope, the other Public Safety employees – understand and keep that in mind.

The last few minutes of my ride with Doolittle, we drove through the parking lot of Binford Hall and came upon a box, inside of it a paper bag with some foil and other trash. Doolittle picked up the trash and put it into the back of the cart. This is what she does: she and the other Public Safety employees keep this community clean. They make sure that the students they serve do not end up like abandoned trash in the middle of a parking lot.