Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined driving a car and being chased by security personnel on a golf cart. That was exactly what happened to Ray and I one hot humid afternoon a few days ago.
It was a sweltering day and Ray and I found ourselves at Soka University, a 4-year liberal arts college in Aliso Viejo. I’ve been going there for years now to use their ultra-modern library. There is a tiny corner in the building where solitude and tranquility seems to follow me – an experience that I rarely get from other libraries. I was recently informed that the university has only a population of about 400 students, which partly explains the lack of foot traffic and the attendant noise. Lately, it served as my Headquarters of sorts as I prepare all the papers and documents for my legal fight.
It was Ray’s first visit and we had planned to use the shower room to cool off. It was so hot that I was already sweating when we got there. I had done this no more than three times before and didn’t think much of it. But as I got inside, Ray was halted by a coach who asked him, “what’s your business here?” He was wearing trousers, a button down polo shirt and dress shoes, attire that students would rarely wear on campus. He stuck out like a sore thumb. I then walked up to the coach who up until that moment didn’t know that I was already in the locker room. I explained to him that we were both homeless and living in our cars and only wish to take a shower to cool off. He then rehashed the recent shootings at Virginia Tech that resulted in many student deaths. As a last resort, if only to try to impress upon him our peaceful intentions, I said, “Coach, the difference between Virginia Tech and now is that we are not students and have no intentions of harming people”. To which, he replied, “you’ll have to leave or I’ll call security”.
Within minutes, we found ourselves in my car and on our way out of the campus. As I turned the corner, I observed a security guard chasing me down with his golf cart. It was a scene out of the Kingston Cops. While driving I could see from my rear view mirror that he was also on a handheld radio speaking rapidly to someone. It was obvious that we had been reported and viewed as a potential security risk. We were then stopped at the gate and were treated to a less than pleasant regimen of admonishments by the security staff.
I have been the recipient of such things before. I was even carried out of a building by two security guards early in my selling career for soliciting inside a building. But this merits mention because it exemplifies a lack of communication between the leaders and the individuals who actually interact with the public. The university regards itself as a producer of leaders and prides itself in its adherence to the “Buddhist principles of peace, human rights and sanctity of life.” Their value set also includes “Wisdom, courage and compassion” – words that I culled from their website.
I hope that our unfortunate misadventure was the result of the overzealous application of the university rules. Because if it were not this incident shows a feeble corporate culture that does not stand firm on the values and principles it claims to abide by. One can even argue an unfortunate misinterpretation of the Buddhist teachings. As a fledgling student of Zen, I can’t say enough how disappointed I was that I haven’t been back since.
