Cal Poly Humboldt spent more than $90,000 to hire a security firm to guard Nelson Hall for six days after a pro-Palestine occupation forced its closure earlier this month, public records obtained by the Outpost show. 

The university hired AX9 Security, a firm with licenses to operate in nine states and Washington D.C., to post a couple people outside of Nelson Hall from Feb. 28 (after the protestors left the building at around 2 a.m.) to the evening of March 5. It cost CPH $91,476, according to a copy of their contract the Outpost accessed via a public records act request. 

The unarmed guards were instructed to avoid physical contact with students and staff and to report any safety concerns to the University Police Department, according to a CPH spokesperson. 

“We recognize that recent events over the past two weeks have impacted members of our campus community,” the spokesperson said. “In response, additional security personnel from AX9 have been brought in to support a safe learning and working environment.”

There were also rumors that the AX9 personnel were asking masked students entering Founders Hall for their IDs; neither the Outpost nor Cal Poly Humboldt could verify the incident.