By Jason Ethridge
The Scene staff
A piece of Forest Park history has disappeared from the spot it stood for nearly 40 years, leaving only a patch of gravel behind.
The landmark was a security booth in the median of the circle drive in front of C Tower. On April 6, maintenance workers used a forklift to pick it up and carry it away to be demolished.
The booth was removed because of its age, the expense of replacing it and the restructuring of the Forest Park campus due to construction of the new Center for Nursing and Health Sciences, according to campus police Lt. Terri Buford.
“It just got old,” she said. “It’s been here for years, and when we looked at having it repaired, it just wasn’t something I had the budget for.”
The security booth dated to the 1970s. It allowed Forest Park visitors and others to easily locate campus police if they needed directions or assistance. It also gave officers a place to sit and keep tabs on the parking lot.
Inside, the booth contained not only basic items like a phone and computer, but also first-aid supplies and a battery pack for jump-starting cars. It even had its own heating and air-conditioning unit.
The booth became known as the “guard shack.” Officer Gary Payne, who worked out of it for eight years, considered it an important part of campus security and wishes it could have been replaced.
“Sometimes I enjoyed working there, and sometimes I didn’t,” he said, noting there are ups and downs of any job dealing with the public. “You never know what kind of mood a student will be in when they come up to you.”
Buford also was sorry to see the booth go, but she understood the reason. The health building will serve as Forest Park’s new entrance, and visitors will be able to get help at that location.
Buford is working on a plan to increase the visibility and effectiveness of campus police. She plans to have two officers on bike patrol by July.
“We want to be visible,” she said. “We want students or anybody that comes on campus to know that there is an officer when they are needed.”
Some people didn’t even notice that the security booth was gone. It was dark brown and somewhat blended into its surroundings.
General transfer student Samantha Moniger, 33, enters campus from the other side, so she wasn’t aware of the change. But she’s happy to hear campus police will be out and about more.
“It’s a good thing when there is a security presence – within reason,” she said. “No one wants to live in a police state. Well, most people don’t.”