By Tyla Waxter
When a student in the accessibility lab of the Harold B. Lee Library had a medical emergency, an on duty student security officer handled the entire crisis and brought relief.
Joseph Eich, a senior majoring in exercise science, is a student security officer for the HBLL, and the one who administered to the ailing student.
'Keeping people safe in case any accidents do happen, we''re able to be a connection between ambulances or whatever is needed,' he said.
This semester, three juveniles from the community were arrested for stealing backpacks. The guards were informed during one such theft. The juveniles ran, but were deterred and now face court.
Throughout the library, you might see an officer dressed in a military white shirt with navy blue sacks roving the floor. These are some of BYU''s un-sung heroes.
'Our role is to protect people and property,' Lieutenant Arnold Lemmon said. 'BYU is a very safe place, but we encourage people to protect their personal property.'.
The library security is a division of University Police. The security personnel in the library are students, except for Sergeant Matthew Andrus who heads the division.
The security guards go through extensive training where they are taught verbal judo, or public interaction, CPR and pepper spray training, which is their only defensive tool.
Eich said the week before he started working he went through training, including going through different scenarios. He was also instructed on how to compose himself during situations.
Another part of the training is how and when to use pepper spray.
'That was fun,' Eich saidsarcastically, because every officer is given the experience to spray themself.
'It felt like your eyes were on fire,' Eich said. 'There''s no way of putting it out for half an hour.'
However, he said he has never had to use it before and has never heard of it being used for library security purposes. It is to be used as a last resort.
Thirty officers in the entire division run alarms and answer calls, Andrus said. They also interact regularly with police dispatch.
'It takes a special individual to prioritize... to class responsibilities,' Andrus said.
Many of the officers also maintain scholarships.
'BYU is unique from other universities across the nation in letting students handle situations,' Andrus said. 'They are busy and good at what they do.'