Drivers on Texas Tech University's campus have all encountered them. Some drive right through, hoping to not get caught. Some give a friendly smile and reciprocate a guns up. Whether you love them or hate them, the entry booths to the Texas Tech campus are there for an important reason.
Lance Rampy, events and guest relations manager for Texas Tech’s Transportation and Parking Services, said the purpose of the entry stations and their attendants is to keep the campus safe.
“It makes it a safe environment for everybody,” Rampy said. “We have so many pedestrians themselves on campus, with students. It doesn’t matter to me, what, if it’s positive or negative feedback, I know that we’re doing something positive by keeping someone safe.”
According to Stacy Moncibaiz, marketing coordinator for TPS, the entry stations were implemented in the late 1950s, with humble beginnings. The first stations were two traffic barrels and a sheet of plywood, with nothing but an umbrella to protect the attendants from the harsh West Texas weather. In the 1960s, small brown metal shacks were built to house the entry station attendants who manage campus traffic. Moncibaiz said these stations were better than the original bare-bones stations, but didn't match the university's Spanish Renaissance architecture. In 2007, the entry stations that are used today were built - heated and cooled stations that housed state-of-the-art technology, complete with matching red tiled roofs.
Eric Crouch, managing director at TPS, said despite Texas Tech's small size in the 60s, the parking attendants were still a necessity to maintain order on campus.
“Look at some of the old news photos and some of the old news stories before the entry stations [existed] and campus parking control started,” Crouch said. “And that center part of campus was already - even with a small college, as we were - it’s already getting busy in that center of campus. Lots of cars wandering around. Parking was a lot less defined then, so they kind of parked wherever they ended up.”
Texas Tech is one of the only schools in the nation that implements entry stations to control traffic and parking on its campus. Moncibaiz said this is another way Texas Tech represents West Texas friendliness.
Another West Texas gesture is the signature guns up gesture attendants give that signals drivers that they have access to drive on campus. Crouch said a simple wave can be a confusing message for drivers, sovthe guns up tells people they are welcome to join the other Red Raiders on campus.
With over 35,000 students, Rampy said the parking attendants are more important now than ever. Although the ultimate goal of the attendants is to keep Texas Tech safe, Rampy said they are also responsible for giving directions and maintaining transportation order.
Crouch said the attendants rotate throughout the six entry stations, including the Broadway entrance, which is the busiest entrance on campus. Rampy said some stations have 300 to 500 cars come through a day.
Crouch said it takes a special person to be able to be an entry station attendant.
“It’s really a unique person who fills that position for us,” Crouch said, “because they’ve got to be able to be friendly and outgoing and welcome folks with a smile, and then at the same time, they need to be able to explain the rules, and stand firm on those rules and control that traffic into campus.”
Rampy said when hiring entry station attendants, TPS looks for certain characteristics. He said it is important for attendants to be friendly, organized, and able to handle stress well.
Crouch said the entry station attendants are not always the most well-liked employees on campus, so it is important for attendants to be able to handle conflict with a smile.
“I think it’s always a challenge, too, for folks to be able to deal with a difficult situation where someone may not be happy with them and then turn right around and give that great customer service to the next person in line,” Crouch said. “So it takes a pretty unique personality to be able to do that."
But Crouch said for every unhappy visitor, there are 15 to 20 visitors who appreciate the help the attendants give.
Rampy said the entry station attendants may not be the most liked employees on campus, but they are some of the most important. “It makes it a safe environment for everybody,” Rampy said. “We have so many pedestrians themselves on campus, with students. It doesn’t matter to me, what, if it’s positive or negative feedback, I know that we’re doing something positive by keeping someone safe.”
