With high profile guests come heightened security protocol. The UA Police Department will be working with the U.S. State Department as part of a special security detail for the Dalai Lama, who will be speaking in Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday, May 11, at  9:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m.

“Every guest goes through a metal detector and every bag will be checked,” said Lt. Matt Mills, UAPD special event director.

The doors will open at 7 a.m., Mills said, but no overnight camping will be allowed. The State Department will escort the Dalai Lama because he is a head of state and the agency cares for him every time he comes to the U.S.

“We are expecting about 24,000 people,” said Ali Williams, Fulbright webmaster and interim director of communications.

Guests to the panel discussion must leave the building after it ends so that the State Department and UAPD can sweep the building again before the keynote address.

“The biggest thing we want guests to know is they have to leave after the first event for security reasons and because there are two separate tickets,” Williams said.

Everyone is subject to a security screening as they enter and leave Bud Walton. The north entrance will be closed, so guests must enter from the south, west and east of the arena.

“There will be several police officers with wands,” Williams said

The doors will open at 12 p.m. for the keynote address.

The  UA website, dalailama.uark.edu has a list of restricted items that will not be allowed in the building.

Those items are: professional cameras, recording devices, laptop or notebook computers, laser pointers, backpacks, large bags, coolers, large purses, glass or metal containers, food and beverage, posters, banners or signs of any kind, umbrellas, strollers, flags or flagpoles, sharp objects or any object that may be perceived as a weapon, weapons of any kind, any amplification equipment or noisemakers, unauthorized fliers, brochures or merchandise and unauthorized collection or commercial activities.

The website and UAPD advise guests to plan accordingly. Anyone with these items will be sent out of the building to dispose of them and will have to go back to the end of the line to gain entrance again.

“The State Department will not talk about any specific de

tails,” Lt. Mills said.

No information on threats or specific details about the Dalai Lam’s safety will be released to the press or public.

Parking and transit for the event have been taken into account. No buses, except for UA transit buses will be allowed near the stadium.

“There will be free parking at Baum stadium on both sides of South Razorback road at its intersection with 15th Street and there will be 10 shuttle buses driving people to and from parking lots,” Williams said.

The buses will run before and after the event, and will leave from the east side of the parking lot.

Handicap parking will be available in Lot 56, with golf carts to transport passengers to Bud Walton.

Event-goers can expect large crowds and long waits.

“It will be just like a game day,” Williams said.