THE SEA of Orange. An amorphous frenzy of inebriated students and psychotic fans who all share the same goal: winning. Yet now at the bottom of the Hill in Scott Stadium stand about 10 yellow-shirted security personnel whose job description reads "Human Fence." Anyone who attended last Saturday's home football opener against Wyoming may have noticed all of the "beefed up" security in and around Scott Stadium. According to Jason Bauman, the associate athletic director for Facilities and Operations, the new security procedure "Includes a different deployment of staff and also involves behind-the-scenes efforts to try and educate people about safety."
With all of the hype concerning the 20 extra security guards who will be standing on the field this year, one may have expected a smoother-running game. But by now we should all be accustomed to failed expectations when it comes to the administration. Initially, half of the entry gates by the student entrance remained closed at 12:30 when the gates were opened to the public. Had there been more guards, it would seem that all of the gates could be manned by personnel to check bags, swipe ID's and ensure order, but I guess that they were too busy checking out the newly-cut field to be of any service to the fans.
Second, the crowd control last weekend was the worst that I have ever seen it, with students standing on the steps in the crowd (a huge no-no in previous years) and absolutely no security presence in the stands. Last year, there were security personnel at the bottom of each staircase in the student section to ensure that the stairs remained open in case of an emergency. This year the steps served as an extra three feet of bleachers for drunken fans to stand on. So where were these security guards? Did they simply move from the stands to the field? I thought at first that they were probably up inside the stadium, ensuring that the traffic near concessions ran smoothly and without large mobs forming.
Once again I was wrong. The police were still on the field instead of securing order in the corridors of the stadium. A stretcher with a passed-out girl had to fight its way through the crowd as paramedics yelled at the top of their lungs for people to move out of the way. There must be some way to prevent these situations and save lives. And where were the security personnel in the "different deployment" scheme? Oh yes, now I remember
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