ON CAMPUS — It’s no surprise that residential security
officers are the same as ever, despite a year-old report analyzing the RSO
program.

The report, which was commissioned by former Vice Chancellor
of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson during Fall Quarter 2006, essentially
suggested that improving the relationship between students and RSOs could
reduce underage alcohol consumption on campus.

But when Watson retired in June 2007, the movement to
re-evaluate the program left with him, and rightfully so.

It would be a complete waste to spend time and money on
additional reports to bridge the gap between students and RSOs. Watson’s
original hypothesis that greater amity between the student body and campus
security would cut down on illegal drinking is ridiculous.

Did Watson honestly think that if students were less
intimidated by RSOs they would simply refrain from taking part in illegal
activities out of respect for their new “friends”?

RSOs exist in some form at all UC campuses, where they
enforce rules and provide security and safety.

On a campus like UCSD’s, where the crime rate is hardly
comparable to that of South Central Los Angeles, the main activity that RSOs
report are cases of underage drinking. Students are well aware of the
university’s policies on illegal substances and knowingly partake in these
activities regardless of these rules.

For that reason, students must be held accountable if they
are caught red-cup-handed and subsequently cannot blame RSOs for simply doing
their job.

It was one thing to hope that most students respect RSOs and
the vital role that they play in campus life, but to desire a better
relationship between the two groups is idealistic at best.

In a perfect world, students would follow all campus rules
and never create a situation that necessitates RSO involvement, but in reality
students are going to break the rules and those who are not sneaky enough to
slip through the cracks are going to get caught.

And when this happens, it’s understandable for students to
hold a certain amount of animosity toward the officers. But this anger is
actually positive; it strengthens the separation between student and officer,
which is necessary for students to respect the authority of RSOs and, for the
most part, adhere to UC rules and bylaws.

If UCSD administrators really want their student body to be
bosom buddies with RSOs, they can look at how private universities form their
campus security teams.

At Stanford University,
the residential advisers and residential security advisers are more like
watchdogs than police; instead of keeping students from drinking alcohol, they
are there to make sure that kids do not get sick or get into serious trouble.
The fact that freshmen living on campus at Stanford are permitted to drink
represents a big difference between private and public universities, and is
often one of the reasons that students choose to attend the former.

If administrators want to minimize RSOs’ intimidating
persona, they should expand on their idea of giving the officers new uniforms
and distribute Hawaiian T-shirts for official use on duty. The idea of an RSO
patrolling residence halls wearing a brightly colored, leis-printed shirt is
just as ludicrous as the thought of UCSD creating a positive connection between
the officers and students.

But if administrators want to ensure that students respect
the school rules and behave themselves, officials must make an effort to
emphasize RSOs’ authority on campus.

Right now RSOs want to continue doing their job and
enforcing the rules, but at the same time they want students to see them in a
more positive light.

Simply put, UCSD wants to have its cake and eat it, too. But
the university must realize that a second RSO report would accomplish nothing
and would only end up creating more hostility between students and officers.

Bringing the unfortunate realities of the student-RSO
relationship to light would make RSOs more frustrated with being disliked and
cause students to be even more aware of the ever-looming security presence on
campus. If UCSD truly cares about maintaining its desired level of safety and
enforcement, it must come to terms with the fact that RSOs and students need a
divide between them and that each must be allowed to play its specific role on
campus.