DPS News

Article written by Alexa Selter, senior at Newhouse and DPS Communications and Marketing Assistant

As students prepare for final exams and graduating seniors count down to May, the Department of Public Safety is already hard at work behind the scenes, planning for one of the biggest events of the academic year: Commencement.

With thousands of graduates, families, and guests gathering on campus, DPS plays a critical role in ensuring the day runs safely and smoothly. From traffic management to crowd control to emergency preparedness, the coordination required is months in the making.

Planning Starts Early

Preparation for Commencement begins in early February. DPS coordinates closely with Major Events and JMA Dome Staff to map out every detail, from gate assignments to emergency protocols.

Commander Jermey Welling, who leads Community Engagement for DPS, oversees some of this coordination. For him, Commencement represents something much bigger than logistics.

“It is awesome to see the students come through the University, watch them grow and succeed over their four years in our community,” Welling says. “Completing their goals of getting a college degree.”

The Day Of: All Hands on Deck

On Commencement Day, over 25 DPS officers are deployed throughout the JMA Dome and surrounding areas. No matter where you are in the venue, there is a DPS officer nearby. The goal is simple: ensure that every graduate, family member, and guest feels safe from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

“Seeing the joy and happiness on all the families’ faces makes working Commencement exciting. Keeping everyone safe during such an accomplishing time makes Commencement that much more rewarding,” says Sergeant Kara Salce.

Beyond logistics, officers also serve as a resource for guests who need directions, assistance, or answers to questions. For many families visiting Syracuse for the first time, DPS officers are often their first point of contact.

“It is great to see the students and families interacting with each other, culminating four-plus years of hard work truly paying off. No matter what your job is at DPS, we all interact with the students in some way or another, and it is always nice when a student sees you and thanks you for something you did for them during their time here. It validates why you go the extra mile for them and truly humbles you,” says Evidence Custodian Matt Zingaro.

Memorable Moments

For some DPS staff, Commencement carries a deeply personal significance, one built over years of connection with the students they serve. Zingaro reflects on what the day means to him:

“During my time on patrol I spent a great deal of time actively patrolling my adopt-a-hall duties while on midnights at Booth Hall. In one year I made friends with several residents, some of whom I still keep in touch with today. It is great to watch them grow from young adults to flourishing individuals who have built great careers and families of their own. Through the years I have taken the spot behind the stage to congratulate the students I met along the way, or have worked with them at DPS as some of them have been student workers. I cannot wait to see our very own Megan Wilson graduate this year, her father and I were partners here at DPS for years, so I got to watch her grow up as part of the DPS family. More importantly, she spent the last four years assisting me after her father retired from DPS. It is an experience I will never forget,” says Zingaro.

A Team Effort

Commencement is a massive undertaking that requires coordination across the entire DPS team, from officers on the ground to dispatchers managing communications to supervisors overseeing operations.

As this year’s Commencement approaches, DPS is once again preparing to ensure that graduates and their families can focus on what matters most: celebrating years of hard work, perseverance, and achievement.

To the Class of 2026: Congratulations, and know that DPS is proud to be part of your big day.

Article written by Alexa Selter, senior at Newhouse and DPS Communications and Marketing Assistant

Two years ago, I moved into Watson Hall as a sophomore at Syracuse. I was living with a roommate I barely knew, nerves running through me, and the person who made me feel most welcome was the man sitting at the front desk.

His name is Don Plantz, and he is a Residential Community Safety Officer at DPS. My roommates knew him. My friends knew him. My parents knew him. And when I sat down to interview him this spring for this spotlight, he squinted at me and said, “You do look a little familiar.”

That is very on brand for Don.

Walk into a residence hall on Don’s shift and there is a good chance he already knows who you are. That is not an accident. Every day, he sets a goal for himself: learn five new names. He thinks about them on the drive home, matching faces to names until they stick. By the end of the semester, he is not just waving you through the door. He is calling you by name.

“I don’t want to just say hi, how are you,” Don says. “I want to call them by their name.”

Don has been an RCSO at DPS for five years, working across five different halls. He is currently stationed at Orange Hall, and if you stop by his post, you will likely find a candy bowl waiting for you, a seasonal display, maybe a jelly bean dispenser. The decorations and candy were his idea from day one. When he first got the job, he thought about the students who would be living in his hall, many away from home for the first time, some who could not make it back for the holidays.

“I said, I know what I want to do. I want to decorate my post every holiday and put candy out every night.”

I remember that candy bowl. I remember how it felt to come back to the dorm after a tough day and have someone at the desk who actually looked up, smiled, and asked how you were doing. Not because it was in the job description, but because that is just who Don is.

His road to DPS was not a straight one. Don was born and raised in Syracuse, graduated from Paul V. Moore High School in Central Square in 1975, and went into the Air Force for five years. He was stationed at Lakenheath Air Base in London, an experience that broadened his world considerably.

After the Air Force, he worked a range of jobs, including a long stint as a travel agent and trainer at Rosenbluth International out of Philadelphia. A company executive’s words stuck with him and have guided him ever since.

“He said, everybody thinks making a lot of money is what makes you happy, but it’s not that. He said, you have to have a passion for whatever you do.”

The actual path to DPS came through a regular customer at the Nice & Easy convenience store in Fayetteville where Don was working at the time. That customer, then DPS peace officer, now Commander of Community Engagement Jeremy Welling, noticed Don was ready for something new.

“He said, you ever thought about working at SU?” Don remembers. “I said, what would I do at SU, Jer? I don’t have a degree.”

Welling told him about the RCSO program. Don applied, was selected, and has not looked back.

“It has been the best job I have had.”

Don will be turning 70 in November and when people ask when he plans to retire, he has a simple answer.

“As long as I have a passion for working, I’m going to work. The students are keeping me young.”

That passion shows up in the small things and the big ones. He brings extra food deliveries inside so students do not come down to find them missing. He follows up on lockouts all the way through, not just handing someone a phone number. He holds the door open during fire alarms and waves off anyone who offers to take over.

He also takes seriously the security side of his role. Not long ago, he caught an unauthorized visitor who had followed a student into the building and could not produce a valid room number. Don sent him out immediately and called DPS when the man returned later that night.

“I am always constantly looking out for the students as far as their safety,” he says.

But moments that clearly mean the most to him are the ones no job description could anticipate.

There was a student in Brewster hall who had passed away during the school year. After the passing, Don had been hoping to meet her parents to tell them how much she had meant to him. He came into his shift that night and a couple approached his post asking for him by name. The student had told them all about Don.

“I woke up that morning hoping I would get a chance to meet you,” he told them, “to let you know how much she meant to me.”

There was one InclusiveU student in his hall who would always pass the candy bowl without taking any. Don noticed. He thought about it and tried something different. The next time they came in, he held the candy out directly to her. Now every time the student passes the elevators, he can hear her telling the other students: the guard at the desk just gave me candy.

“It just warms my heart. It really does.”

I was one of those students who benefited from Don’s presence without fully being able to put it into words at the time. I just knew that Watson Hall felt safer and more like home because of him. My parents would ask about the man at the front desk. My roommates still bring him up. That kind of impression does not come from just doing your job. It comes from genuinely caring about the people in front of you.

Outside of DPS, Don works as a cashier at Target, goes to Syracuse Mets games, and makes regular trips to Binghamton, where his wife Joanie is in a nursing home. He visits on his days off, sometimes staying overnight to keep her company. He has told his students about her, and without fail, their first question when he returns is: how is your wife? A few have already asked if they can make the trip down to meet her.

Don has been married for 38 years, and he shares one piece of advice with students regularly: never go to bed mad.

“My biggest fear would be if one of us should pass and we never had a chance to say I’m sorry. And it was probably over something really stupid.”

Ask him what he wants the campus community to know about him, and he does not talk about safety protocols or check-in procedures.

“I actually get excited every night that I have to work,” he says. “I know I’m going to see all my friends.”

That is what he calls us. His friends.

I am graduating next month, and I will not be walking past Don’s desk anymore. But I will remember what it felt like to have someone in that building who actually knew my name, who genuinely wanted to make my day a little better just by being there. That is not something you forget.

And if you are a current student living in Orange Hall, go say hi. There might be jelly beans.

Article written by Alexa Selter, senior and Communication and Marketing Assistant for DPS

Before an officer ever sets foot on the scene, before help is ever on the way, there is a voice. It asks where you are, keeps you calm, and quietly manages the chaos so you don’t have to. That voice belongs to the team inside Syracuse University Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Communications Center, and most of us never think about them until we need them.

This week, we do.

What Is Public Safety Telecommunications Week?

National Public Safety Telecommunications Week is observed each year during the second full week of April, honoring the dispatchers and telecommunicators who serve as the critical link between the public and emergency responders. These are the professionals who answer every call, coordinate every response, and keep information flowing in real time, often while managing multiple emergencies at once. It is a role that rarely makes headlines, but one that quietly underpins everything public safety does.

What Is the ECC?

The Emergency Communications Center (ECC) at Syracuse University Department of Public Safety is, in the words of Bailey Pattillo, a public safety dispatcher at SU DPS, “kind of like a nerve center — so everything comes in here for the most part.”

Operating around the clock, the ECC handles everything from lockouts and lost items to mental health crises and large-scale emergencies. On any given shift, ECC staff answer phones, manage radio communications with personnel in the field, and handle “data” such as monitoring cameras, tracking alarms, and pulling background information.

 The ECC coordinates a significant amount of information, and the coordination is not only to DPS staff and administrators, but also to other Syracuse University Departments/Units, community members outside of Syracuse, NY, Syracuse City agencies, which are a direct reflection of how integrated SU’s communications system has become.

How It’s Changed: The Evolution of SU’s ECC

Pattillo has been with the ECC for nearly five years, and in that time, she’s watched the center’s capabilities grow considerably, particularly when it comes to technology.

The integration goes beyond the SU campus. The ECC shares a unified CAD system with Onondaga County, meaning dispatchers can see county calls and county agencies can see SU’s. For example, “If  we are responding to a fire, I can immediately include all entities that need to be involved, without making additional phone calls. While the responders are coming to campus, we continue to add details so everyone responding is equipped with the latest information ” Pattillo said. A dedicated radio channel in the center also allows ECC staff to monitor city communications, keeping tabs on any large-scale events that might affect the SU community.

The People Behind the Headset

Pattillo didn’t start in a dispatch center. She spent four years as a police officer in Georgia before relocating to New York to be closer to family. When she arrived, a position opened in the ECC, and though it wasn’t the road she’d originally planned, she found this footing quickly.

“As far back as I remember, I always wanted to be a police officer, and I got to do that,” she said. “But building a rapport with the community is probably one of the most important things in public safety that you can do.”

What she didn’t anticipate was how much the job would reshape her understanding of the work. As an officer, she could calm someone down by interacting with them physically. In the ECC, she only has one tool: her voice. “If I stay calm, the caller is more likely to stay calm,” she said. “That’s pretty much the one tool we can use — our voice, our tone, and how we relay information.”

The most rewarding moments, she said, are when the call works out. “When you have a concerned parent who calls, whose kid has gone through something… they’re up here by themselves, and we’re able to connect with them and get them the proper resources.”

But it’s not without its challenges. One of the most persistent misconceptions, she says, is that dispatchers have a “crystal ball” — that with all their resources, answers are immediate and outcomes are guaranteed. “It takes a lot more groundwork than I think people realize, and sometimes, we can’t resolve a situation with just a phone call. she said.

What Every SU Student Should Know

If you ever need to call DPS in an emergency, Pattillo has one piece of advice above all others: tell us where you are first.

“I can’t get anybody to you if I don’t know where you are,” she said. “In an emergency, the first thing I need to know is where you are. I can figure out what’s going on later, but where?”

She also asks for patience with the process. Dispatchers are often managing multiple calls simultaneously, and they’d have to triage calls by life-saving type or highest impact to Syracuse University first, sometimes without the caller even realizing it. Staying as calm as possible and listening to the questions being asked will always help move things faster.

“When someone calls about a person who’s down, I need to establish three critical things right away,” Pattillo explained. “First, is the person injured? Second, did someone else cause that injury? And third, is that person still on scene? Those answers dictate any follow-up questions I ask and how we respond. If it’s a medical emergency, we send medical help. If someone caused the injury and they’re still there, it’s a different type of response—our officers need to know what they’re responding to so they can help safely and effectively.”

More Than a Job

When asked what Public Safety Telecommunications Week means to her personally, Pattillo didn’t hesitate: “Doing the most I can with what little information I have.”

It’s a phrase that captures the ECC in a sentence. No road presence. No physical intervention. Just information, coordination, and a voice that shows up, every shift, every call, to be the calm in someone else’s storm.

To the entire SU DPS ECC team: thank you for the work you do every single day. Happy Public Safety Telecommunications Week.