By Dharshani Dharmawardena
Daily Bruin Contributor
As the rest of UCLA’s population trickled off campus,
fifth-year English student Anton Jongeneel donned his Community
Service Officer shirt, strapped on his flashlight, radio and pepper
spray, and reported to work as usual.
With his wedding and graduation planned for next month,
Jongeneel has plenty to occupy him in addition to the 30-40 hours
he puts in every week as a field escort supervisor.
“You just schedule (work) in, and then you work around
it,” Jongeneel said.
Working the regular 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift, Jongeneel said he
found little time to sleep, study or bond with his fiancée,
but added that he tried to compensate during the weekend.
As the clock approached 6, Jongeneel checked his list and talked
with members of his crew, which included himself, one dispatcher
and three escorts. As field supervisor, Jongeneel serves as the
link between management and student employees, in addition to
overseeing building shifts during the night.
“I’m their information source throughout the
night,” Jongeneel said. “I make sure they do their
job.”
After explaining his expectations for the crew to the
dispatcher, who answers calls made to the CSO office, Jongeneel sat
behind the wheel of the purple CSO van ““ playfully dubbed
“Barney” ““ and took the Residence Hall Supervisor
Scott Scheffler, a third-year student, to the dorms.
Weaving through construction on his way out of the narrow
passageway leading to Strathmore Drive, Jongeneel stopped at the
UCLA Extension Administration Building, his first area check for
the night at 7:10 p.m.
Having worked as a CSO since his first year at UCLA, Jongeneel
said he can now easily find his way around.
“I know every nook and cranny of this campus,” he
said.
According to Jongeneel, visiting CSOs designated to monitor
certain campus buildings not only allows him to know his
officers’ locations, but also lets them see a familiar face
during a solo shift.
“When you’re working for five hours, you can get
kind of lonely,” he said.
While working as a CSO remains a relatively safe job, Jongeneel
said officers take precautionary measures against danger.
For protection, in addition to pepper spray, each CSO’s
radio comes equipped with an emergency button to alert the police
of possible hazards. If a CSO sees a crime, he or she is supposed
to call the police, not handle the situation themselves.
“We’re not intervening just to make sure we’re
not in danger,” Jongeneel said.
Although occupying a CSO supervisor’s position requires
constant movement, Jongeneel said they sometime receive the chance
to study while working.
Working at the Lindbrook Unex, which Jongeneel visited at 7:30
p.m., offers such an incentive because it allows study time.
Because of the position’s popularity, officers who have
worked longer hours have priority in choosing the shift, which
mainly serves to direct people throughout the building.
“It’s the easiest shift,” said Jon Frigulti,
the CSO on duty that night. “You need seniority to get this
shift, meaning it depends on how many hours you put in.”
Toward 8 p.m., Jongeneel headed back to the dorms to pick up
Scheffler and drove to Togo’s for dinner.
As an aspiring amateur chef, Jongeneel said he enjoys cooking
but found little time to enjoy this hobby except for Thursday
nights or the weekends.
“I love to cook,” he said. “I’ve been
trying to make different pasta sauces. I also cook fish and salmon
because chicken gets kind of boring, even though it’s the
cheapest.”
Moreover, Jongeneel’s tastes extend beyond a love of haute
cuisine. An avid singer, he participates in three choirs, devoting
eight hours a week for an activity he plans to share with guests
attending his upcoming nuptials.
“I’m putting together a choir to sing at the
wedding,” Jongeneel said.
Sitting in the van, Jongeneel took a few moments to eat his
sandwich and talk about his plans after college, which included a
two-year commitment to the Peace Corps.
“There were two other options ““ either grad school
or going into the work force,” he said. “And I have the
rest of my life to do that.”
In the Peace Corps, which his fiancée also joined,
Jongeneel said he hoped to find the “worldly”
experience he has always searched for.
“Otherwise, all I’ll know is L.A. and L.A.
isn’t all that,” he said.
By travelling and keeping busy, Jongeneel said he avoided
boredom that constantly irked him. Fortunately, his job keeps him
busy and moving.
“I think it’s a shame to live your life in one area
and not know what’s out there,” he said.
“It’s not fair that we only get to live for so long
““ that’s why I like being busy,” he added.
“I want to do it all.”
According to Jongeneel, working as a CSO affords him the
opportunity to practice his public relations skills.
While escorting someone home, having interesting conversations
helps to diminish awkwardness, he said.
“It’s helped me to talk to someone I’ve never
met right off the bat,” he said.
Throughout the night, Jongeneel monitored parking structures,
which according to Jongeneel serve as breeding grounds for crime
despite their innocuous appearance.
According to Jongeneel, thieves could easily sneak in the
structures and steal cars. During other times, he has caught people
doing drugs or having sex in the areas.
While some people have come to regard CSOs as people constantly
trying to look for students committing small infractions, Jongeneel
said that officers try to prevent crime around campus.
“It’s not to make sure that (students) aren’t
causing trouble,” he said. “It’s to make sure
people aren’t breaking into their cars or taking their
backpacks or their laptops.”
Jongeneel and other supervisors also handle complaints made
against CSOs.
“I’ll try to find out out what happened,”
Jongeneel said. “If it’s serious, I’ll write him
up.”
He added that he would also let management know about the
situation.
At the top of Bruin Walk near Moore Hall, Jongeneel picked up
Binh Dinh, a graduate student working as a CSO.
Having completed a lengthy walking session, Dinh commented on
how being a CSO can substitute for exercise.
“I notice I have a lot more stamina,” Dinh said.
“I don’t get as tired much.”
Inside Lot 9, Jongeneel made sure that a woman, looking lost,
was all right. She assured him of her safety and said that she was
waiting for someone.
At 10:25 p.m., Jongeneel received a page.
“I got an “˜I love you’ from my
fiancée,” he said, reassured and smiling because she had
arrived home safely.
Through his experience as a CSO and working with the police,
Jongeneel said he constantly saw people in danger and has warned
students to take care, especially since first-year student Michael
Negrete’s disappearance last December.
Although the campus remains relatively safe, people should take
precautions when walking or running at night, he said.
As a CSO, he said, “You know a lot more than the public
about what goes on behind the scenes of campus crimes,” he
said. “You have a better understanding of what reality is
like.”