Two days before the former President even arrived on campus, the athletic complex in which he would address hundreds of students was surrounded by newly-installed fencing. Two hours before Jimmy Carter took the stage, law enforcement officials of every kind packed the area around campus. Two officers guarded the entrance to campus, three more the road leading to the gym, two more kept a wary eye on protesters gathering across the street and more than half a dozen were scattered in the surrounding area. And that was just outside.Tuesday afternoon's visit by Carter brought far more security to campus than any other time in recent memory. Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett, who worked on the logistics of the Carter event, estimated its total cost to be "somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000."

"I just wish it was a few degrees warmer," joked a Brandeis police officer directing traffic at the Main Gate.

Inside, people were herded through metal detectors, often having papers, bags and cell phones confiscated on the way in. A bomb-sniffing dog patrolled the media entrance, and a security guard told a reporter not to use his cell phone during the former President's talk, lest he be forcibly removed by embedded Secret Service agents. Every way in and out of the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center was guarded, thanks to a mix of countless city officers, campus officers and Secret Service agents. A fire marshal kept a watchful eye near the entrance.

The Secret Service agents were hard to spot at times. One dark-suited agent patrolling the back of the gymnasium confirmed he was on Carter's security detail. Asked if he knew how many Secret Service agents were on site, the agent coyly responded: "Yeah, I know how many there are."

The Secret Service agents largely dispersed when Carter left the stage, but Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, who took the stage shortly after, could not have been worried about his safety-dozens of police remained for his talk.