As the Experience Music Project Electric Bus continues to rock in the Beta parking lot on West Campus, the cost of providing security for the week-long event adds up. Although the University has requested that EMP reimburse some of the $4,500 needed to pay police officers on duty, the majority of the cost will be covered by an event security fund long in place at the University, but recently revitalized.
The fund--managed by the Event Advising Center in the Bryan Center--has an annual budget of $40,000 and is available for all student events that require security.
The money for this year's fund was left over from last year's Alcohol Task Force, said Assistant Vice President of Student Affair Sue Wasiolek. The Undergraduate Social Space Committee recommended that the fund fully subsidize security costs. The fund will now also cover the cost of Emergency Medical Service staff at parties, whose presence was mandated by the University in October.
The Duke University Police Department requires a minimum of two officers at any party or event held anywhere outside of a dormitory commons room, Maj. Burnice Parker said. All events that take place in the Devil's Den on Central Campus, the Great Hall and Page Auditorium, among others, require security.
"The officers are there for safety and to make sure everything is under control," Parker said.
Officers on security duty cost $35 per hour, a price that increases an event's overall budget by several hundred dollars.
However, the event security fund subsidizes all of the cost.
"I don't hear anyone complaining," said Rick Gardner, program coordinator at the Event Advising Center. "Everyone has been very appreciative of the funds."
Thus far this semester, $14,166 has been given to groups for 43 individual events. Excluding the EMP Electric Bus--which was one of only two events that necessitated more than a thousand dollars in security funds--events have requested an average of $230.14.
DUPD alleviates some of the cost of security by charging only $18 per officer per hour for a group's first two events of the semester.
"The policy was created years ago, and is meant to give students a break on their budgets," Parker said.
For students, receiving help from the security fund is an easy process that Event Advising takes care of once a student group applies, Gardner said.
"The paperwork only takes five or 10 minutes. It is all part of registering a party," said sophomore Will Plaxico, social chair for Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. Because KA uses its outdoor patio for most of its parties, DUPD requires security personnel to be on hand.
"I think [the fund] acknowledges that there is a shared responsibly between the group and the University," Wasiolek said. "We are ensuring that parties and events are safe and properly staffed."
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