Just about a month ago, I got a phone call from someone who had just been to my building to get out of the heat. He was calling to let me know that I no longer had a television in my lounge. I was a little disturbed by this news. I mean...it's a 63" television. I don't understand how something that large works its way out of the building. It's not the heaviest thing in the world, but it is pretty awkward to carry around. Trust me, I know.
Later that afternoon I took a colleague of mine out for her birthday, and a few hours later the Dean of my Department, a man I often refer to as "my supervisor," decided to join us. I followed up on this television matter with him, and he told me that a television repair company had been hired to evaluate and fix the TV, (which by the way was/is broken), and that they most likely had it. Good enough for me.
Fast forward one month. I receive an email from the head of Environmental Management discussing the televisions in the residence halls, to which I reply "don't they have my television already?" Long story short, they do not. My supervisor had been copied on these emails, which led to the foundation of a brief argument. He's questioning me on policy and procedure. I assured him that policy and procedure regarding my hall had been followed. My hall is closed for the summer. The front doors usually stay locked, except for when the contractors are here during the day, and sometimes when the security guards are here in the evening. Also, for the past two years I've been discussing the broken gate and doors in the back, and the overall lack of security. In every weekly report I've ever filed, I've discussed how easy it is to enter the building from the rear. Why is this important? It's important because the lounge is tied directly to the back door. Either one of the security guards helped steal the television, or someone walked in and out the back door...with a 63" TV.
My supervisor, however, seems to only focus on the possibility that I may have left the front door unlocked, and that is the major problem here. He ignores: the fact that the doors are usually locked, that anyone walking out with the TV during the daytime would have to deal with the maintenance staff and contractors, and that anyone walking out the front during the evening would have to deal with the security posted right at the door. Never mind the fact that once you have a television and walk out, where are you going if you walk out the front door? Nowhere that doesn't look suspicious. Were you to walk the television right out the back, however, you could be in and out the building and into a truck in less than five minutes. There's also the fact that we have a surveillance system with a camera pointed directly at the front door. It doesn't record, but no one knows that except for me, my supervisor and the video people who came to service it. Anyone stealing anything would probably try to avoid it. But it's not like anyone listens to me. I'm simply an objective analyst.
Hopefully when he gets back into town he'll see my point. If he doesn't, well I guess I'll be joining the ranks of the unemployed. Lot of jobs on Craigslist...
Legal Note: Opinions in this post are my own and not representative of the university I work for or the people I work under. All suppositions, presumptions, theories, hypotheses, etc. are my own. This blog is for entertainment purposes only, blah blah blah. There are purposely no names included in this post, and I have revealed nothing that violates either general expectations of privacy or the University confidentiality agreement, which, actually... I never signed anyway. All of that is to say...don't be trying to sue me.
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