CSO Blanton: Security Around Campus

By Josh Cook

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Campus Security Officer Chris Blanton. The following text is a transcript of our interview, covering the most significant matters surrounding this job.

So what made you want to be a CSO?

“I didn’t originally know I wanted to be a CSO until I started doing the job. I had a friend who recommended me for the job, so I applied for it and I got it. Once I got it, I felt like this is something I’m good at. Now I’ve always worked with kids, but I worked with at risk kids, the youth, working in facilities, or transitional housing, working for the county and San Mateo and San Francisco County. So I’ve always worked with kids. I just always worked with kids that had… I don’t want to say issues, but they had things that developed in the inner city community and these things develop into bigger issues like gangs, drugs, and things like that. So from there, when I got here, it turned out to be something that I really enjoyed doing”

What action have you had to take up in the past in order to secure the campus?

“Well, we’ve had guns on campus. We’ve had violence on campus.. And we’ve had to act.. We’ve had to evacuate classrooms and put all the kids in what we consider a safe space. We’ve had to deal with situations where it wasn’t possible to evacuate, and the kids are in a space that can turn into something that you don’t want it to turn to, so there’s been a lot of things that we’ve had to do. So to say how I’ve been working, its always been to create a safe environment or to act without any type of preparation for things that happen in a moment.”

Speaking of which, how eventful would you say being a CSO is?

“I think that depends on the person. For me it’s eventful because I’m social. I like working with the kids. I like talking to them. Kind of invested in their, in their present and their future, if you could say that. So for me, it’s eventful every day.

How much do you care for the students you protect?

“That’s why I’m doing what I do.. Not just for their safety, their physical safety, but for their mental safety, the safety of their future and everything else. I’m hoping that I can contribute a little bit to whatever it is that they do. Hopefully, I’ve said something, I’ve done something, that they can, you know, say in the future, “hey, you know, you would always believe in me”, or “this dude pushed me to do things that I didn’t think I can do”. You know, even if it’s just a little small part of it, I appreciate it”

So would you say that you feel appreciated enough?

“I feel appreciated, yes. And not to mention the fact that I understand that jobs like this don’t always come with a showing of appreciation. You know what I mean? When you do things that other people don’t really understand, they don’t know to appreciate you, you’re just a part of the machine. So I don’t expect it, but fortunately here, we actually get it.”