Protection and personality: a look into USC Village lobby security

Ask a resident of USC Village housing, and they probably couldn’t tell you how many times they’ve tapped their ID to enter a building. It’s a simple practice, part of USC’s security protocol, but the ID scans at the front desks quietly shape each student’s campus experience. The people who sit behind them are an integral, yet often overlooked aspect of the USC community.

In the eight years since USC Village made its grand opening on Aug. 17, 2017, as the biggest mixed-use development in South Central Los Angeles’ history, thousands of students have flooded the halls of the different buildings. Designed in a collegiate-gothic style, these homogenous red brick buildings host a total of eight residential colleges: McMorrow, Irani, Cale, Cowlings, Ilium, Nemirovsky, Bohnett and McCarthy Honors. 

The housing experience intends to give students a “built-in community from the moment they arrive,” according to USC Village’s website. This starts from the moment they walk in the building and meet the lobby security guards. 

“Seeing the students on the daily, I bond with them that way,” said Kayla Murray, a 3-11 p.m. swing shift guard at Nemirovsky and Bohnett Residential College. “I’m the first person they see when they come through the door, so I just want to make sure that I’m sharp.”

According to USC Housing Associate Director Chris Ponsiglione, these 24/7 guards are contracted externally through American Guard Services to provide constant security in the USC Housing lobbies. 

AGS hires and manages the guards; in total, it employs roughly 100 people to staff 17 different security stations in USC facilities. USC housing requests guards who are “even-tempered and polite, professional and have undergone comprehensive training,” according to Ponsiglione. 

These security guards are all responsible for similar tasks at their desks, ones that students are well-accustomed to. 

“I’m just checking the students, make sure that they’re supposed to be in the building and, if they have guests, check the guests in,” said Crystal Knox, a night security guard for Cale and Irani. “It’s necessary precautions.” 

Even though the guards are contracted separately, their responsibilities pave the way for cross-departmental teamwork. Lobby security guards work with Department of Public Safety officers when there’s a student they cannot control. For instance, if the fire alarm goes off or if they notice a student’s motor skills not functioning properly. 

“Our relationships are pretty good. They are like our fallback. I’ve had DPS officers tell me how proud they are that they see that I’m doing good,” Murray said.

The guards don’t typically work with residential assistants unless there is a policy they need to coordinate on implementing.

“We’re all in this together. When I say that, I mean more like the security officers ourselves, and then we have [DPS officers]. We have the RA’s. We have [the Customer Service Center], so we’re all a huge team. I think it’s equitable.”

While all the guards share the same responsibilities and training requirements, it is the unique interactions and bonds with students that have created a distinct connection to the USC campus community for each guard. 

Each USC Village residential building has a special theme for the students it hosts. For example, Cowlings focuses on arts and cultural aspects of L.A., while Cale emphasizes global perspectives and complex exploration. These specific thematic focuses are designed to be specially incorporated into the residential colleges’ programming with staff. 

Whether completely embraced or not, these thematic differences trickle down to the kinds of students that live there. This is evident to McCarthy Honors morning security guard Unique Sasser, who has worked at the front desk of every building in the Village.

“[Cale and Irani residents] are laid back and chill … [McCarthy Honors] students [are] more comfortable with talking,” Sasser said. “Each building, you get a different vibe.” 

The interactions change daily — from saying “hi” as students tap their IDs to comforting them after a night out partying — and have even broken negative stereotypes about college students for Sasser. 

“They aren’t as bad as how the TV makes it seem. You see how they can be all rude and extra, but these kids are actually kind. Working here made me open up more to socializing — to understanding others,” Sasser said. “Being security here, you actually create a bond with students.”

The social aspect appears to be an inevitable requirement of the job, no matter which shift, that many security guards look forward to. 

“I feel pretty much ingrained with [the USC community],” said Deliliah James, a Nemirovsky and Bohnett swing shift guard. “I love playing with you guys because it gets me through the day … Everybody is just so sweet.”

Murray has a similar perspective, something that motivates her to keep working at USC. 

“I love what I do. For me, it’s a pretty simple job,” Murray said. “Guesting in the students and the guests, it’s very fun. I have no complaints. I usually never have any problems. Everybody’s here to go to school and get a higher education, so I love that for them.”

While some guards appear to be open to these friendly interactions, some students aren’t as eager to befriend their front-desk security guards and prefer to keep a more professional relationship. 

Alice Zhou, a sophomore majoring in game art, is a first-time USC Village resident in McMorrow Residential College and hasn’t bonded with its guards. 

“I don’t really know them by name. I don’t think they know me by name,” Zhou said. “I kind of don’t feel like they [make an effort], but I also don’t make an effort to talk to them.”

Sydney Powell, a sophomore majoring in archaeology, who is in her second year living in USC Village housing, has a similar relationship with the security guards in Cowlings and Ilium Residential College. 

“It’s just kind of like, ‘I know who’s gonna be in here at this hour,’ and I know who’s nicer, who’s not as nice,” Powell said.  

While some students may be accustomed to silently tapping their IDs on the scanner, others have created dynamic bonds with these ever-present and familiar faces that watch the entrance to their L.A. home. 

Regina Duran, a junior majoring in narrative studies, said she has always had a good relationship with lobby security. Duran has lived in USC Village housing for two years — last year as a regular resident in Nemirovsky and Bohnett and this year as a residential assistant in Cale and Irani. 

“As an RA, I think I get to know [the security guards] a bit more, since we kind of sometimes work together when there’s some issues that arise, so it’s good to be friends with them and be friendly, so then they can kind of give you the scoops,” Duran said. 

These personal interactions have created wholesome anecdotes for students and guards to look back on. 

“There was this one girl student named Katie who lived in this building last year in Nemirovsky, and we would talk every time I would see her,” Murray said. “She got a scholarship award for one of her presentations … and she came back with this big billboard, and she was very happy about it and very ecstatic. I was just telling her how I was proud of her.”

The students who choose to interact with the guards seem to have reaped joyful benefits from getting to know the faces behind the desks. Their 24/7 post in the lobbies has ingrained them to the University in a unique manner, creating opportunities for even the simplest conversation to leave a lasting impact on someone’s life. 

“Last year, I worked at a preschool, and so every morning I would be waking up super early, and so [the morning guard] would always wish me luck,” Duran said. “They’re very observant, they notice those things and you kind of don’t really realize them because sometimes they’re like flies on the wall, but they really do care about you, and so I think that’s really meaningful.”