After approximately 20 years, Point Loma Nazarene University’s (PLNU) Department of Public Safety has removed the community service officer (CSO) position that was previously an on-campus student employment opportunity. The position was terminated in an effort to facilitate a safer campus with more experienced workers.
The CSO position was one of the two available jobs for students in the department and required students to be in the field on patrol around campus, or in the welcome center at the gated entrance to the university. The other position offered is the role of dispatcher, where a student employee works in the Public Safety office answering phone calls, primarily in the evenings.
The CSO position had been slowly phasing out, according to Kaz Trypuc, the Public Safety assistant director and public information officer. The position was officially eliminated in Aug. 2024 after the summer semester, and there are currently no plans for it to return.
“It’s been a multi-year process of increasing the professionalization of our department, especially when our new director arrived,” Trypuc said. “Anytime you have a change in leadership, it creates an opportunity for a change in strategic priorities.”
The new director and PLNU alum, Mark Ryan, was hired in July of 2018 after 29 years of working for the San Diego County sheriff’s department.
“That change in leadership also invited us to look at how we could change the direction the department was going, and we give a lot of attention to our staffing,” Trypuc said.
Mitch Woolley, a fourth-year computer science major, was previously employed in the CSO position and was laid off when the position was terminated.
“I’m sad because I loved the job, but objectively, I think it’s smart because [Public Safety officers] get a lot more training, they go to more courses [and] get more certifications,” Woolley said.
Previously, the CSO was a part-time employment option maxing at 20 hours a week, while the Public Safety officer position was full time. Students, however, had a much higher turnover rate, were less consistent and had less training than their full time colleagues. The department also believes the full time officers have more perceived authority, Trypuc said.
Noah Ashe, a third-year political science major, shared Woolley’s sentiment.
Looking for an opportunity to make an impact on the lives of others, Ashe was drawn to the opportunities offered to students at public safety. Following the termination of the position he is still connected to several staff members there, but bummed out that he is no longer working with them. Despite that, the shift to a more “professional” staff is a smart move for the department, Ashe said.
However, Ashley Lemus, a fourth-year applied health science major, doesn’t feel the same as Woolley and Ashe. The termination has left her confused and without a job.
“I honestly don’t really get it,” Lemus said. “It kind of sucks because that was a job I had and now I don’t have that … I’m not really sure why they did it.”
In the past, Public Safety held 25 to 30 students in various positions, and only about six full time officers. Now, six students are remaining in the dispatcher position, and there are 22 full time Public Safety officers.
“Having more officers out around our campus makes complete sense,” Ashe said. “We had a few instances where we were short-handed, so that’s the whole reason we’re trying to alleviate this — to give us the flexibility to make sure that our campuses and our students are safe at the end of the day.”
Working 40 hours a week, Public Safety officers are more present on campus and able to recognize those coming and going from PLNU to keep watch for suspicious activity.
According to Trypuc, issues of misconduct between student workers and staff were not a factor in the decision to remove the position.
“There have been instances over the years where an employee has reported some misconduct on the part of another employee,” Trypuc said. “All of that has been dealt with appropriately, but there wasn’t some type of incident that precipitated this change this year or last year.”
According to Trypuc, reports of any kind of misconduct are handled through the human resources department or the Title IX office.
“If any employee behaves in an unprofessional or inappropriate way, absolutely we’re going to deal with that,” Trypuc said.
Other changes made in the department include additional theft prevention, building security, and parking/permit enforcement based on previous “high profile” thefts in past years on campus, according to Trypuc.
Ryan declined to allow The Point to interview Public Safety employees. He said that confidentiality agreements, signed by all Public Safety employees, help to ensure that sensitive information, including anything related to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), is not shared with outside sources.
