Screenshot of live security feed from DeChantal Hall surveillance camera
�I think it’s invading our privacy.� – Susan Frock, senior
As Seton Hill University’s (SHU) student body grows, video cameras are the solution to a rising demand for security. Students may have noticed when walking in the new residence halls, in the cafeteria, or if parking in D-lot, video cameras now lend an eye to Campus Police.
SHU installed the first cameras a year and a half ago in Farrell Hall.
By Stephen Puff,
Staff Writer
As Seton Hill University’s (SHU) student body grows, video cameras are the solution to a rising demand for security. Students may have noticed when walking in the new residence halls, in the cafeteria, or if parking in D-lot, video cameras now lend an eye to Campus Police.
SHU installed the first cameras a year and a half ago in Farrell Hall.
According to Mike Dell, chief of Campus Police, there was no specific incident that prompted the cameras on campus.
The university has been expanding and the resulting cameras are an awareness for student safety.
However, the cafeteria cameras were installed due to break-ins, said Darren Achtzehn, food service director at SHU.
There were four separate incidents of open windows and footprints on the dinner tables since the cafeteria started staying open after dinner. These occasions initiated the installation of two cameras in the main dinning hall, one on the food line, and one watching his office. The cameras in the cafeteria record onto VHS tapes, the cameras run from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. and can store three days of footage.
The security cameras in the new residence halls and in D-lot use DVR digital recording that can store up to 20 days of constant video feed without sound.
The cameras are not constantly monitored, but the footage can be reviewed by date and time if an incident is reported.
SHU will install more cameras in the parking lots and buildings, Dell said. He hopes the cameras will deter people from committing a crime, not just catch students.
Residents, like senior Susan Frock, are apprehensive of how cameras will affect life on campus.
�I think it’s invading our privacy. It’s kind of like you pay to go here, why should you be under scrutiny all the time,� Frock said.
Both Dell and Achtzehn are of the same opinion on the primary use of the cameras: for student safety. �I don’twant a student sneaking through a window and slipping. There are doors,� Achtzehn said.
Some students agree with the safety concerns of campus security.
�They (the cameras) are good because there’s a lot of things on campus that should be video-taped. My car was dented in B-lot.�
With SHU’s expansion, additional officers and cameras have been employed, but it does not bother junior Josh Knopp. �I think it’s (adding cameras) fine. Any public establishment needs it,� said Knopp.
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