Nightly gatherings in Tuscaloosa’s bars, weekly Greek events and parties comprise much of The University of Alabama’s offerings for entertainment and social events for students. Besides the common elements of alcohol and college students, security and bouncers are present at almost any event and are tasked with the job of maintaining order and safety.
“Your job is to prevent the problem, not necessarily to intermediate after a problem has occurred,” Anthony Reinoehl, a former bouncer for Gallettes, said. “You need to be physically capable of being able to intermediate if an issue does occur between two individuals.”
Reinoehl said “bouncer” is really a misnomer for the role most bar security providers play.
“They’re not really called bouncers anymore. They’re called door guys,” Reinoehl said. “A bouncer is a physical title; it’s not really what you do anymore. Your job is to prevent issues versus having to break it up.”
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Adam Mesewicz is an employee for Freeland Security and Associates, which specializes in security guard services for events and parties. Mesewicz said the requirements for working in security are more stringent than people think.
“In order to work security in the state of Alabama you are required to become licensed by the ASRB, Alabama Security Regulatory Board,” Mesewicz said. “This requires eight hours of training and a background check. The training is mostly in the classroom and focuses on crowd control and safety.”
Mesewicz said different events call for different types of security.
“For example, at fraternity parties our main goal is to ensure safety while at the same time allowing everyone at the event to have a good time,” Mesewicz said. “We do this by checking IDs at the gate and making sure everyone at the party is supposed to be there.
“We also monitor the parties for dangerous objects, like glass bottles, and handle any other issues our contacts, usually the fraternity presidents, want us to deal with.”
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Reinhoehl said the door men at Gallettes went through on-site training at the bar, but were not required to do any physical training. He said mental preparedness was the most important aspect of the job.
“It’s important to watch out for people and make sure they don’t drink too much. If they are falling asleep, then they need to leave, if they are stumbling or falling over, then it comes on you to make the decision,” he said.
Mike Yates, a former employee of Harry’s Bar, said he spent two years ensuring others’ safety at the bar.
Yates said the job was as much about maintaining an image of authority as it was about actively diffusing issues.
“You walk around and make your presence known,” Yates said. “You need to make sure everyone there saw you so they know they can’t get away with anything. If they know a bouncer is present, it is a deterrent for fighting or causing a problem.”
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