As political theory and constitutional democracy junior Douglas Hissong worked his first shift as a night receptionist in South Neighborhood, he couldn’t help but wonder — what had he gotten himself into?
“I had the worst first night,” he said. “I had a fire. I had a flood. I had an incident with a drunk person.”
But it didn’t stop there.
“Someone almost got stabbed once. We’ve had a lot of guys with guns ... Abuse happens more than you think,” Hissong said. “We’ve had to stop ex-boyfriends from coming in the building ... My first night had all of that. So it was a little overwhelming to say the least.”
Eventually, many of the problems Hissong experienced his first night on the job were resolved, as an experienced night receptionist on duty helped Hissong through the process.
“He calmly took (the problems) one at a time, and that’s how I do it now,” Hissong said, who is now working his way through his third year as a night receptionist.
Hissong was even recently promoted to a supervisor position.
The position consists of everything from making the rounds from building to building to being the first responder to any issues that may arise.
International relations and economics junior Elizabeth Bondarenko is another third-year night receptionist in South Neighborhood and she also agrees that, at times, things can get pretty interesting.
“Sometimes it can definitely get a little crazy,” Bondarenko said, recalling a time when a cab driver attacked a student, or another night when a girl fell out of a sixth floor window in Case Hall.
“Every night is really different and you can really get into some interesting situations,” she said.
And Hissong said weekends are the worst.
“Thursday, Friday (and) Saturday we staff an extra man because we know something is going to happen,” Hissong said. “That’s when you get your floods; you get your massive waves of drunk people — you get your craziness.”
Another big part of a night receptionist’s job is the commitment to long hours.
The doors of South Neighborhood lock at midnight, and the receptionists sit through the wee hours of the morning all the way until 6:30 a.m.
And for some of the students working these jobs, at times, this means going straight to class after work. Bondarenko said he prefers 8 a.m. classes because he can go to them directly after work and then sleep afterwards, without having to wake up again immediately.
“Last semester I had 8 a.m. (classes) every day of the week, so I was pretty much always up all night and went to sleep at noon and got up at 8:00 in the evening. So I’m kind of a vampire,” Bondarenko said.
At times, this can lead students to have a backward life, but Bondarenko said she loves it.
“My roommates definitely think that I’m crazy, but I super enjoy it,” Bondarenko said. “I’ve always been a night owl anyways.”
For Bondarenko and Hissong — despite all the adversity their jobs present them — both are passionate about their jobs and the fact that it’s all about the safety and security of the residents.
“The (crazy) nights are always my favorite, because you always walk away feeling better because you helped something or you did something,” Hissong said. “You’re actually flexing your muscle. You’re showing what you got and that’s when you’re being tested, and I like that.”
