For the desk reception staff, this so-called fun-filled homecoming week is full of angry residents, frustrated guests and those dreaded bag checks.
During the course of a normal week, desk workers swipe ID cards, give directions to lost visitors and call public safety if residents lock themselves in the bathroom.
But during homecoming week, desk workers are seen more as wardens than as cellmates.
Homecoming week is usually a weekend for bag checks because resident hall directors are aware there may be a high level of alcohol smuggled into the halls. Signs are put up on the entrances and on the inside doors of the residence halls to remind students to have their bags open for inspection to prevent contraband from entering inside backpacks and laundry bags.
I am a desk worker, and my least favorite part of the job is checking bags. Looking into perfect strangers’ bags is just as uncomfortable for me as it is for the residents having to open their bags.
Next time a desk worker asks to see your bag, please don’t take it personally. Every time the signs are posted, people inevitably get their panties in twists and believe the bag checks are personal attacks.
Chill. We’re not out to get you.
If a resident has something he or she would rather not have the desk worker see, you can choose to not come inside the doors.
On more than one occasion, I have seen the classic “in-out” move. Residents with particularly full backpacks (that sound suspiciously like the kiddy pool at a recreation center) walk into the entrance, read the posted signs and walk straight out the exit.
However, if you don’t mind having your bag checked, I am sorry that I witnessed your bad test grade, your Jonas Brothers album and your box of feminine hygiene products.
It’s between you and me – I promise.
According to Creighton’s 2008 Student Handbook, the university has the right to search a student’s belongings if an official believes the student may be in violation of the university’s policies or code of conduct.
While bag checks may seem like an invasion of privacy, residents still have rights when it comes to their personal belongings.
Although the bag checks are mandatory, a resident does not have to open his or her bag for a desk worker. However, if the resident does not open his or her bag, a desk worker can keep him or her from entering the building with the bag.
Desk receptionists are also not allowed to touch your bag or anything inside of it. If a resident holds the bag open, the desk worker can only look inside but not move around the contents. The desk worker can ask you to move the items in your bag, but he or she cannot touch anything, under any circumstances.
As much as residents may believe that the desk workers gets their jollies from looking through backpacks – they don’t. Desk workers don’t give a hoot about all the books for Theology 101, smelly gym socks or moldy peanut butter sandwiches. They just want to do their jobs without getting fired.