Spending time at Mid-Pacific from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. seems unimaginable for many students and faculty at Mid-Pacific.

However, this is an average workday for the Mid-Pacific night-shift guards. Although they are crucial in maintaining campus security, many students are unaware of what their jobs entail.

“I’m aware that we have night guards, but I’m not sure what they do all night,” sophomore Brooklen Chong said.

It is the responsibility of the night-shift guards to ensure our campus stays safe and secure all hours of the day.

“We do routine checks throughout the evening to make sure every building is locked, including checking the guard shacks cameras,” Director of Campus Safety and Security Brad Heatherly said.

The guards also secure other properties Mid-Pacific owns.

“Mid-Pacific has multiple residents outside of campus and also vacancy buildings we provide protection for,” Heatherly said.
The main concern of the night-shift guards is assuring that there aren’t unfamiliar individuals on Mid-pacific property. However, Hawaii’s homeless problem has proved a challenge to this.

“Some[times] residentially impaired individuals come from the University of Hawaii (UH) campus and residential areas and they hop our fences to try and cut through Manoa,” Heatherly said.

Other unwelcome guests include college students spotted visiting campus at inappropriate times.

“There have been times where students are back from college and they think our campus isn’t secure and they come to our school to check it out,” Heatherly said.

Despite the difficulty of spending all night at Mid-Pacific, night-shift guard Lenoard Rapozo expresses how ideal the job is.

“I took this job because I used to work with the Honolulu Star Advertiser and had to face a deadline every night, but with this job, there is no deadline,” Rapozo said.

Rapozo also highlights the positives that come with being a night-shift guard.

“Nobody is here so it’s quiet and being able to think is nice,” Rapozo said.

Aside from the benefits listed, the atmosphere on campus is said to be a comfortable environment to work in.

“It’s much cooler and there is no traffic so it’s easier to move around campus,” Heatherly said.

Despite this, the job comes with some challenges.

“It does take away from family [time] and it can be hard on the body,” Heatherly said.

In regards to the stories about spirits lurking at Mid-Pacific, the night-shift guards haven’t had any alarming encounters.

“I’ve only had one occurrence on Atherton third floor where it just felt like something was behind me, but other than that I haven’t seen any spirits or ghosts,” Rapozo said.

Overall, the Mid-Pacific night-shift guards are a very valuable aspect to the safety and protection of our school.

“It’s just a matter of enforcement and security and making tedious safety checks that are needed,” Heatherly said.