Physical Security Director Joe Souza is not the only one who spends a lot of time surveying campus.  

Director Souza was sitting in his office in the Security Building on Radio Road when he saw a shadow fly by his window. After checking the building cameras, he spotted a red-tailed hawk. 

“I see this one, or a friend of his, fly by nearly every day circling over the parking lot. They’re easy to detect, as they are always calling out when soaring above,” writes Souza. 

Red-tailed hawks can be seen year-round in Florida, just like how Physical Security is always present around campus. 

“Physical security describes security measures that are designed to deny access to unauthorized personnel from physically accessing a building, facility, resource, or stored information; and guidance on how to design structures to resist potentially hostile acts,” as defined by Defitintions.net.

They conduct surveillance across campus to assure the safety of students and staff. Recently, the department has increased campus security by adding cameras to the Blue Light Phones that can be found across the school. 

When Director Souza sees the red-tailed hawk overseeing the campus, he is reminded of the important jobs that Physical Security conducts within the University of Florida. “They are surveying their area, much like our cameras do,” he writes.