1. I proudly hold the position of Supervisor of Desk North Operations of the Residential Safety Program (RSP). This means I get the honor of working with the RSP Desk Monitors of the “north” side of campus (which includes H, Mendelsohn, Roth, and Tabler Quads). I traveled across the north side of campus, collecting their thoughts, opinions and stories. My goal was to give them the opportunity to show that they are more than just a fixture at the door of the residence halls; they’re all interesting, hardworking, resilient people who play a valuable part in maintaining the safety of Stony Brook University.

2. RSP Desk Monitors
Kyoko Weissleder

3. RSP’s Headquarters is located in the basement of O’Neill College (the entrance is in the back). The Desk Monitors are stationed at the main entrance of every residence hall on campus from 11pm to 3am every night. They check the IDs of everyone who enters the main door to make sure no non-resident enters the building for nefarious purposes and report any suspicious or dangerous activity. Presently, 87 Desk Monitors work at 43 desks monitoring the safety of 9,445 resident students.

4. Unit #27 – LaNique J. Although LaNique lives in Sanger college, she works at other desks in Tabler quad due to limited positions. Today, I found her at Dreiser Desk. She has been working for RSP for one year and plans to return to the program the next semester.

5. Unit #22 – Antonique M. All Desk Monitors are Stony Brook University Students. Antonique brought her Child Development textbook with her to work so she could study for her exam.

6. Unit #12 – Ken W. When I caught Ken, a computer engineering student, he was hard at work on an assignment he had an hour to complete.

7. Unit #14 – Mariama D: “What makes RSP rewarding is meeting different individuals in the building. I [mostly] work in Benedict DE and a lot of students recognize my face and say hi to me. Sometimes I’m…not in a bad mood, but just calm and they say “Hi, how are you doing today? Your hair looks nice”. Stuff like that and that makes my day good. Well, my night.”

8. Unit #20A - Aadarsh K. expressed gratitude for the community between the Desk Monitors (who are always willing to cover shifts for each other) and the educational value of working for RSP, which includes the importance of basic procedures and how to help others behave safely in an emergency.

9. Unit #13 – Gabriella R. shared a story of a group of residents trying a half-hearted attempt to trick her into letting them in the building without showing her their IDs. She saw through them and stood her ground until they gave in.

10. Unit #20B – Cynthia T: “Honestly, as a challenge, there are a lot of rude people coming in but I’ve learned that you need to stand up … actually this job made me kind of blunt in a way. At first I was like, “oh, I feel bad” but later on I’m like, “No. You. Get over here. Give me your ID!” The thing I really love about this job is that I get to know a lot of people who come and go and I know their names. Even when I’m not working I’ll sometimes see them and we’ll have a casual conversation.”

11. Unit #25 – Julio N.
In addition to being a Desk North’s Employee of the Year, Julio is an RA in Tabler. He is friendly with most people he encounters in his quad, but when he has a shift in another building where he is less known, occasionally he will experience difficulties:
“I kept getting this young lady coming inside …she would scoff at me telling me that she wouldn’t give me her ID…Sometimes she wouldn’t even look at me. She would completely dismiss me and tell her friend to ignore me…I’ve tried speaking to some of the RAs in the building but nothing came of it. It’s definitely one of those times when the job can feel a little frustrating. You have someone who’s not cooperating when it’ll potentially take maybe two seconds out of their night to show me their ID and tell me where they live. And that’s it. But when I think about all the other people that come with a smile on their face and try to strike a conversation, it’s really easy to forget the one or two people who give me a hard time”

12. Unit #26 – Meiling L. is a tenured Desk Monitor and the person in control of RSP’s social media.

13. Unit #21B – Julia M: “It’s really nice because people you interact with they are – most of them are very respectful and they appreciate that you are doing your job. Some of them might not appreciate it as much so that’s the down part, but most people are nice.”

14. Unit #16 – Julianne A. “Your body has to get used to working a night job. So I’m on a totally different sleep schedule than I was as a freshman before I started working”. Julianne called the sleep deprivation that comes with a working a night shift “training” for when she becomes a medical resident.

15. The purpose of the Residential Safety Program is not to inconvenience your life. RSP employees take excessive precautions to support safety. Please express sympathy with them. One of the ways RSP encourages safety is with the “Walk” service which is available to escort callers to any place on campus from 12pm to 3am.
Call WALK (9255)