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| Fighting Crime and making friends
along the way |
Tyler Finnerty
Police Beat Writer |
Josh Brown |The Appalachian |
Dee Dee Rominger,
the University Police Department’s new sergeant of Crime Prevention,
has a full itinerary every day. She begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends
after many students have gone to bed.
Rominger’s schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 3 included
a presentation about sexual assault for a Freshman Seminar class,
office work, bicycle patrol from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., opening a
door for a faculty member who was locked out, directing traffic
for a funeral procession and bicycle patrol at the Walk for Awareness. |
“Each day
is different. I don’t do the same thing every day,” said
Rominger.
Rominger became the sergeant of Crime Prevention
after Stacy R. Sears left the position to become Appalachian State
University’s assistant director for Housing and Residence Life.
“I was ready for a change, but I still wanted
to work with the students,” said Sears.
Sears worked at the University Police Department
since she was a student at Appalachian.
Sears said what she misses most about the police
department is being out on a daily basis and interacting with people
as opposed to being more confined to an office.
“I look forward to working with the students
and the people at Housing and Residence Life,” said Sears.
“I think [Rominger’s] very enthusiastic
about the job; she really wants to make a difference and wants to
meet the students and is trying to find every avenue out there in
order to make a difference,” said Sears.
Rominger began working with the police in December
and was a patrol officer until receiving this position in August.
Rominger said since she has been with the police
she has been to bicycle school, radar school, field sobriety classes
for DWI stops and rapid deployment classes for active shooters in
a school situation.
Rominger, who turns 40 years old today, grew
up in Avery County and has lived in Watauga County for nearly 18
years.
Before coming to Appalachian, Rominger worked
for 10 years with the Department of Crime Control as a community
service coordinator.
“I like bike patrol. I think that it’s
a great asset for us,” said Rominger of her favorite part of
the job. She said she believes bicycle patrol makes the police seem
more approachable.
Rominger’s other duties include: Rape Aggression
Defense classes, bicycle patrol during Greek tailgating at the football
games and any crime prevention programs, including the safety walk.
Rominger is also involved with many on-campus
committees including the Special Olympics committee, the Alcohol
and Drug Prevention committee, the Walk for Awareness committee
and the Healthy Carolinians committee.
“I like the interaction with the students,”
said Rominger. “I’m here to help students, basically I
want them to feel comfortable coming to me.
“I think it’s real important that [the
students] understand that our department is here to help them, that
we’re not necessarily the bad guy,” said Rominger. |
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