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Most participants entering our city have no real idea of just what it is that the Gate does. Some mistakenly think that we are Greeters, some refer to us as security, and to most we are those surly guys and gals that search your cars, tear your tickets, and patrol the borders of Black Rock City. The latter is correct, but we do much more than that.
Our number one priority is to insure that each and every inhabitant of Black Rock City gets in safely. That means moving vehicles through efficiently and making sure that traffic on the highway doesn't back up. Usually that means we don't have time for niceties, chatter and directions. We have to keep things moving! Fortunately we have Greeters to dispense the requested hugs, "Welcome home's" and maps. The leaving of the default world really happens after you make it through Greeters. The Gate means business. If we're stern, it's because we care.
Yes, we are also looking for stowaways. It costs a lot to run the infrastructure of a city of 48,000 and it's unfair to those that support the city through their ticket purchase when ne'er-do-wells sneak in. Paraphrasing Emmanuel Kant's theory of Utilitarianism, "If everybody can't do it, ain't nobody can".
We also look for items that create "moop" (material-out-of-place), firearms, fireworks, and animals. We are not at all concerned with illicit (ahem) enhancers. WE ARE NOT THE POLICE. We don't care about your sex toys and your fetish gear, although we may smile pleasantly if we accidentally stumble across them during the search.
We make sure all art cars are registered with the Department of Mutant Vehicles. We unite artists with art placement. We get the ice trucks, water trucks, and "poop pumpers" in to the city as rapidly as possible.
We also shut down entrance and exit to The City if a child is lost, or if weather conditions make it too dangerous to drive. We have contingency plans for just about every emergency you can think of. If (knock on wood) The City ever needs to be evacuated, the Gate staff would be there, along side Exodus as always, to help empty The City as safely as possible. We do what is in our realm to keep the city safe while meeting the stipulations imposed on us by the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Perimeter, Exodus, and Population (formally known as "Census") are departments that also follow under the Gate umbrella.
Put succinctly, Perimeter are the folks patrolling the fence line looking for people trying to sneak in, as well as ensuring the safety of those that have accidentally stumbled out, and those that are just plain lost.
Population has the ever-important job of counting the number of participants entering and exiting the city and Exodus is the team that manages the safe departure of burners off the playa at the conclusion of the event.
The Gate works very closely with DPW, Rangers, the Placement teams, as well as nearly every other department on playa.
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Who are the people on Gate Staff?
The Gate staff is a dedicated and diverse bunch. We run the gamut from late teens to sexagenarians, city lawyers to tule-dwellers and everything in-between.
Our department runs 24 hours a day before, during, and after the event and the work is physically grueling, sometimes mentally taxing and usually thankless. Dust storms that halt action for others on the playa don't faze us-we can't let them. We have a job to do.
We are quickly becoming one of the largest departments on the playa. When people join the Gate family they don't often leave. Many of our key staff have worked for the department for eight or more years. Gate Staff retains more of our staff and volunteers than any other department. We're a tight bunch with a keen sense of camaraderie. In fact, we often have people defecting to the Gate from nearly every department on the playa. Yep, we are THAT good.
It will be the hardest you've ever worked, and the most you've ever felt appreciated. We are a crazy & diverse family, and you can be a part of it all.
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||header photo©2008 Erik Schorr | All Rights Reserved||
Original style designed by Norrash