Observing the security

After several positive posts, the time has come to write a little rant. Even before entering the US, one thing was clear to me. They appreciate security. It doesn't necessarily have to work. As long as it makes them feel safer, a security theater is all they need. At some schools, it's mandatory to have transparent backpacks in order to prevent shooting scenarios. Others want to cut loss on lives by giving the students a fair fighting chance. Bulletproof textbooks are sure to give them an edge over a gunner!

In the meanwhile, plenty of watch lists are created, to keep everyone safe. Don't worry though, the overfunded homeland security department has done its best to protect us against major threats, such as sinister blinking devices, or deadly biological warfare. Oh, and of course, dropping your iPod into the toilet will also be professionally handled by a full-scale terror alert. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I think they deserve our utmost respect for keeping the country safe, though, especially now that the majority of Americans are officially homegrown terrorists. Of course, a lot of security is in place not because it really works, but because it covers the asses of those responsible. As my favourite security guru, Bruce Schneier, so eloquently advises, refuse to be terrorized!

Here on Roosevelt University, the security is also tight. There are security guards everywhere, and I'm glad that we're allowed to go to the restroom without having to identify ourselves. Last weekend, for example, I had to show my temporary meal card four (!) times before I could have my lunch. First time when entering the building, second time when entering the cafeteria, then at the counter, and then the fourth time to some overzealous security-conscious guard inside.

The irony is, though, that the temporary meal card is a simple printed business card with no photo or security measures whatsoever. The cost to make a copy of such a card is under one dollar, and literally anyone can use it. On the card it says that it was valid only for the first weekend, yet it's been used for three weeks already. Some of my friends have thrown theirs away after those two days, and couldn't get their meals until they managed to get a replacement. The security people were treating them like scum for having thrown out a worthless piece of paper that was no longer valid!

Student ID is something we use everywhere except eating at the University Center. They completely rely on it for security and identification. However, to get my student ID, I did not have to prove my identity! I just walked in and said who I was, they took a picture and I was good to go. Those people should realise that the security chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and that if you take several eyes of thick steel and pin them together with a paper clip, it isn't going to work. It's pointless to check student ID at every corner, if one can get a student photo ID just based on their claim to be a student.

Security is not only a problem at the university. For example, at the jazz festival, a simple blue shirt with the sign SECURITY gave you the right to boss everyone around as you pleased. Tell them where and when to go, what and how could they photograph, where to sit, how long to stay at a given place... and they did so with great zeal and obvious pleasure. I have never seen less professional and significant, and at the same time more annoying security.

In the Michigan lake, the lifeguard people go to great lengths to protect you. They care about your wellbeing to such an extent, that they do not let you swim further, than twenty meters from the beach, where the water is slightly below chest-level for me. I expected that there would be some sort of a barrier in the water, and people observing the swimmers from a watchtower on the beach. That was obviously not enough, because there was also a chain of lifeguard boats facing the beach approximately every thirty meters, with people yelling at you to swim back when you entered neck-deep water. Oh my. I was having a really hard time restraining myself.

It was really hot on the beach, and so it came as little surprise that later on, one woman collapsed and fainted. She was quite dehydrated, and possibly in need of an IV, so we called 911 to send an ambulance. First on the scene was a police car. They added to the overall chaos by "taking care of the situation", but that was understandable. Maybe they were around with nothing else to do, so they took the call as well. However, before the ambulance arrived, two more patrol cars came by with their sirens ablaze, and a huge firetruck! Now, I understand that the woman was in need of water, but sending a whole firetruck to the beach still seemed like a bit of an overkill to me... no wonder that those departments are eternally low on funds, if they spend their resources like this. :-( I hear sirens several dozen times per day in my room. If every call is handled in such manner, I'm no longer surprised.