Meet Megan, a Residential Life Safety Coordinator!
Megan Farrenkopf, Class of 2027, is a Residential Life (Res Life) Safety Coordinator at UC Berkeley. Safety Coordinators are a student staff position in the Residence Halls. These student workers are here to support students living in residence halls through safety and security protocols. Read on to learn about Megan’s experiences on the job!
Megan’s Safety Coordinator Journey
How did you decide to become a Safety Coordinator?
“My freshman year Residential Assistant (RA) was going over the residence hall rules and I learned that at night you have to clock in with the safety ambassadors. And she said—in a throwaway sentence—she said, ‘it’s a great place to work.’ So, you know, I’m struggling to find a job at Berkeley, and I really want part-time work, and I messaged my RA. She sent me the application, and I applied.”
You came in as a Residential Safety Ambassador, can you tell me a little bit about that role?
“The Safety Ambassador (SA) comes in at about 9 o’clock at night, and they come into the booth, open up the computer, and set up our scanning system. They sit here and ask the residents to scan their IDs as residents come in. Most residents know the drill, so the point of a Residential Safety Ambassador (RSA) is just to be vigilant. If someone needs help or has a question, the SA is there as a resource. And the scanning ID isn’t for the resident, it’s for deterring any person that’s trying to follow the resident. We’re just there to make sure that everyone is safe and everyone is okay.”
And what are your responsibilities now as a Safety Coordinator?
“Now I oversee those who are working as ambassadors. Sometimes that means being the disciplinarian, but mostly it means I’m the person that’s supporting them. If a heater is broken in the booth and it’s getting cold, I bring them a new one. If they’re out of paper for sign-ins, I bring them paper. The computer’s acting up, I help with the computer. I do those technical things that support our desk monitors and make sure that they can do their job effectively.”
What’s one skill every RSA should have?
“Stay observant—that’s a very good one. Most of the time, there are very few instances when we have called emergency services or had to intervene. It’s a very chill job. But every once in a while, something happens, and it’s important to be observant because if you’re not, you’re just someone sitting behind the desk, and that’s not the purpose of this job.”
While on the Job
What do your shifts look like?
“We drop all the monthly shifts at the same time, and then we tell everyone that these are the minimum shifts you need, and you just sign up for the nights you want and the buildings that you like. And every RSA should be wearing their official t-shirt.”
Megan at her desk during a shift!
“Desk monitors work 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and the shifts go to 1:45 a.m. on weekends. As a security coordinator, we start at eight, and then we’ll go 30 minutes after the safety monitors, so 1:30 a.m.”
What’s your typical work schedule?
“What’s really nice about our program is you get to schedule yourself. It’s very easy if you know your schedule to leave yourself time for friends. For instance, if I have a midterm coming up, I’m not going to work that week. I can prioritize studying. But for me, and I think for a lot of our other RSAs, it’s really good to come in and work because we need to force ourselves to sit at the desk. This job helped me with my studying in the sense that I have a set time to sit at a desk and get my work done.”
Have you ever had to deal with a safety emergency?
“Thankfully, I’ve been on pretty quiet shifts, but I’ve definitely heard some stories, yes. In my experience, it’s really about caring for the people who are inside. I want to make sure that the person inside is getting the attention that they need. One of the best trainings we’ve gotten is the bystander intervention training. If someone comes in and you notice them, that looks like asking, “Are you okay? Do you need anything? You need to hide in the room for a minute? You need me to call anyone for you?” That’s what I care about, really. I have had shifts where I’m helping people fill out an emergency defense request and helping people call Safewalk, and because I’ve never had to deal with someone who’s trying to push into the building, I care about the people who are coming inside and who need help.”
Do you work with Resident Assistants (RAs) at all?
“We work very closely with RAs. Anything above the ground level of a residence hall is what RAs deal with, but sometimes we do have to notify an RA about a situation: ‘Just letting you know I saw this person, maybe go check on them.’ And likewise, if an RA sees something, they tell us: ‘Hey, I just saw this person leave the building, just check on them as they come back in.’ We work very closely in that respect.”
Do you have a lot of interaction with students in the res halls?
“I do try to engage people in conversation as they come in. Some people will greet me back and ask what’s going on, and ask about the work I’m doing. So that’s kind of cool. And I feel like once they have a conversation with me, they do feel comfortable to come up and ask questions. One of my first shifts this fall—I think it was still the first week of school—one guy went up to his room and came back down, and he asked me how to fill out a maintenance request. So yeah, you can definitely always ask your RSA questions.”
What’s the best part about this job?
“Sometimes if we’re working during a time that nobody really wants to work, especially around midterms or final exams, they’ll just have some snacks delivered to us while we’re working. So that’s really nice!”
Beyond the Job
How has being an SC shaped your Berkeley experience?
“It was really good to get a part-time job, especially one that was adaptive to my workload and my schedule. I can schedule myself whenever and that’s been amazing, and I feel like it’s really changed the way I approach safety. This fall I was an Orientation Leader, so during our safety talk, I was so pumped to talk about the topic, I didn’t even realize how invested in safety I had become after this job, which I think is a pretty important investment. Now I get to be an SC and do it at a deeper level.”
What’s something you would improve about campus safety?
“I think it’s a little odd which residence halls we prioritize. For instance, we work at all the Units, but we don’t work with Channing Bowditch and we don’t work with Clark Kerr and Foothill, and those halls aren’t really set up to have a safety ambassador since it’s a lot of smaller buildings. Finding a way to be present in those other residence halls—I think that would be important.”
What’s a safety resource not enough students know about?
“Absolutely Safewalk for sure. And also the night shuttle—I don’t know anyone who has taken advantage of the Bear Transit night shuttle other than those who live at Foothill. But those shuttles are so good at night, especially when you’re out late.”
Reva Gokhale, Class of 2027, is majoring in environmental economics and policy.