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Student safety No. 1 priority for retiring security guard

“Baker security, this is Jim.”

With one weathered hand on his cell phone, and the other on the steering wheel of the golf cart, 73-year-old security guard Jim Nieder responds to the third call of the night.

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” he says after listening to a muffled request for his services.

When he reaches his destination at the side door of Parmenter Hall, he grabs the heavy ring of color-coded keys that, he says, you must “guard with your life,” and heads to help a small group of displaced students.

Whether or not he receives thanks for his assistance, Nieder quickly eases his way back onto the cracked, white leather seat of the golf cart and continues on his rounds.

RELATED AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Jim Nieder talks about his job<a href="http://www.bakeru.edu/orangeline/specials/security/slideshow/index.html" target="_blank">RELATED AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Jim Nieder talks about his job</a> RELATED AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Jim Nieder talks about his job

For eight hours a day, four days a week, Nieder diligently watches over Baker’s campus.

With one black sneaker on the gas pedal, and a Styrofoam cup full of Pepsi in the cup holder, he works his way down a mental list of doors that need to be locked, lights that need to be turned off and alarm systems that need to be checked.

“People may think that all I’m doing is riding around on this cart, but I’m keeping an eye on this place,” Nieder said. “I’m here to make sure the students are safe. I look at it like they’re my kids, and I take care of them like I would my kids.”

As a father of six, a grandfather of three and a great-grandfather of one, with another on the way, Nieder has spent much of his life working to take care of those relying on him.

Even though he only applied for the job on campus to keep him busy after retiring, he continues to protect and provide both in his home life and as a career.

His fellow security guard, Ed Pearson, is in a very similar situation. As a father, a Baldwin resident and a recent retiree, Pearson shares with Nieder both a job title and a perspective.

“From a parent’s point of view, it’s good to have someone patrolling the campus,” Pearson said. “We’re not commissioned officers or anything, just a set of eyes and ears.”

In order to be available at all times, Baker security has someone available to students, faculty and staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even when the campus is practically empty on holidays, an officer makes rounds, whether in a golf cart, on foot or in a car.

Senior Megan Nelson, a theater major, said her steady interactions with security over the years have all been positive.

Nieder often unlocks doors for her and others in the drama department at night.

Supervisor of Security Maggie Wilson has helped locate missing items.

And all of the security guards have checked up on Nelson and her fellow cast members during rehearsals to make sure all was well.

“I definitely feel that in some cases they’re underappreciated,” Nelson said. “I don’t think people realize how much they do on our campus.”   

The officer on duty at any given time follows a regimen of standard checkups across campus, as well as a constantly changing list that specifies activities and requests outside of the norm.

“We monitor who’s going into what building and at what time of night they’re going there just to keep track of what’s going on after hours,” Director of Physical Plant Gary Walbridge said. “I don’t think many students realize that we do that.”

While some nights are busier than others, and some days are colder than the ones before, Nieder promises that unless he is checking a building, he’s in the golf cart driving around campus.

“The most important part of this job is to keep the students safe,” Nieder said.