By Arvin V. Rodriguez

(Vol. XXVIX No. 4, Editorial Cartoon)

As the university opens its gates for the freshmen and continuing students, a familiar disappointing and confusing situation meets the students at the campus gates. This is the inconsistency of the policy of the university security guards in determining what is required for students to enter the campus.

Most of us are aware that the security guards have a hard time implementing policies regarding their manner of dealing with the students. More often than not, they are allowed to make hasty decisions in the conduct of their duties; keeping in mind not to step on the rights of students and to practice proper etiquette on what a good security guard should do. But their decision-making does not always seem to be beneficial to the students amid the series of reports about guard-against-student scenarios that are reported in The NORSUnian.

Though it was already agreed by Student Affairs Office Director Giovanni Macahig and Chief Security Officer Nilo Lauron that students are allowed to enter the university using their enrollment load slips while waiting for the university Identification Cards to be finished, there are reports that a certain guard continues to bar some students from entering the campus. These students claim to have presented their enrollment load slips. Worst, it has been reported that the said guard insults students when the latter tries to explain their side. The said guard even lets the students wait for some time before telling them they cannot enter the campus at all. Because of this, some students were not able to attend their classes. Sounds familiar? This is not the first time it has happened.

There is really something wrong with how some of our university security guards conduct their duties. Lauron should do some checking. He especially should look into one of the security guards who seems to be the perpetrator of all this. To save this guard from embarrassment, we have decided not to name him here. It is a courtesy we are extending to him, in spite of his discourtesy to a lot of students. But the same security guard was the subject of a motion of last year’s Student Government officials. The said motion stated that this guard was causing trouble here in the university. With this in mind, it would not be very difficult for university officials to identify who he is.

The CSO or the NORSU administration should do something about this. As long as there is inconsistency in the security guards’ understanding of certain policies on what is required by students to enter the campus, some of them can go as far as bullying the students. If this goes unchecked, some students may not be able to control their anger and frustration at the guards.

We, the students, should try to do our part. We have been given ample time to change or validate our IDs. Let us take that opportunity to go to DBM and get some pictures taken for our new IDs. We should remember that our IDs are necessary for us to enter the university. Also, remember, we have paid for it.

This is our way of supporting Lauron and Macahig in creating better disciplined individuals. Hopefully, this will ease the tension at the entrance gate--an issue that we have come across for the nth time.