Students share views on CSC security following increased presence on campus

A Contemporary Services Corporation employee gestures toward a counter-protester at a protest last spring at UCLA. (Brandon Morquecho/Daily Bruin senior staff)

By Maggie Konecky
Nov. 17, 2024 6:50 p.m.
This post was updated Nov. 18 at 12:42 a.m.
Vivica Vickers believes security on campus has changed since last spring.
“Everywhere you go, there’s someone just watching,” the third-year biology student said.
All through fall, campus contractors – including the Contemporary Services Corporation and its subsidiary APEX Security Group – have provided bicycle patrols and crowd control, according to the CSC website. Although these firms have provided security for sports games, concerts and other campus events for years, they gained attention – and scrutiny – after last spring’s protests.
Wesley Hicks, a doctoral student in musicology, said they think increased security could pressure students into not protesting in public spaces. Hicks added that while they did not believe individual security guards were thinking about these effects, they believe the intimidation factor could be an administrative decision.
“Are they preventing things from happening or are they implying security by their presence?” Hicks said, “These are people in uniform. They might be a form of intimidation.”
According to a contract between UCLA and CSC obtained by the Daily Bruin, private, unarmed security guards are asked to “deter by presence, and to make reports of any unusual activities that come to their attention.”
However, other students said increased security on campus made them feel safer.
Emilia Perez Rocha, a graduate student in film, said she felt safer with uniformed security guards – as opposed to increased police officers – on campus. UCPD brought in more than three times as many private security personnel as sworn police officers onto campus during protests in October, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“I went to San Diego State for undergrad, and I never saw any security and I didn’t feel safe walking around,” Perez Rocha said. “Because I see them so very often, I know that it’s something they’re very on top of.”
Perez Rocha added that she had seen students report concerns to bicycle patrols and that the guards seemed approachable. Security guards are asked to “be courteous, yet firm,” according to their contract with the university.
Nezi Matutu, another graduate student in film, said she felt similarly to Perez Rocha. She added that knowing security is making regular rounds makes her feel safe.
“It almost seems like the window for something unsafe to happen is even smaller,” Matutu added.
Vickers said she views CSC employees’ presence as not comforting or ominous but rather comedic, adding that she thinks they look “silly” riding on their bicycles. She added that one instance with a CSC employee stuck out to her.
“This one time, one of them was riding up the grass on Kerckhoff Hall,” Vickers said, “They literally fell off the bike and ate it really bad. And I feel like nobody takes them seriously as much as they think they should take them seriously.”
Vickers added that she did not feel her campus experience had been particularly affected by increased security.
However, many students said that they associate CSC security with their role during campus protests last spring.
CSC security guards patrolled the Palestine solidarity encampment in the spring and were present during the beginning of the attack on the encampment by counter-protesters.
However, rather than intervening, the security guards retreated to Kaplan Hall and refused entry to students. CSC officers are supposed to “sound appropriate alarms” themselves, but not physically intervene in response to disorder on campus, according to their contract with the university.
Max Leistman, a third-year economics student, said CSC had failed when students needed them the most.
“We saw in spring quarter where students were attacked, they didn’t really step up,” he said.
According to CSC’s contract with UCLA, security guard time is billed at $36.27 per hour, with the guards getting paid $26.92 of that hourly rate and the rest going to CSC. Security guards are subjected to background checks before being allowed to work on campus.
[Related: UCLA spends millions on pro-Palestine protests, considers attendants to fund costs]
In May, two students alleged that an APEX Security member assaulted a protestor, according to the LA Times. A spokesperson for Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA – one of the organizations involved in organizing the encampment – did not respond to a request for comment on the allegation.
However, Interim UCPD Chief Scott Scheffler said in a written statement that he was not aware of the incident, adding that APEX Security is primarily used to deter threats to campus safety and respond to issues.
“We have not received any report or complaint about an alleged assault by any Apex security officer,” Scheffler said in a written statement. “We encourage anyone who may be a victim of a crime to contact us.”