Who's Watching You?

Over this past summer, the University's security department began installing a series of video cameras on the uptown campus. The cameras were placed both in clear view and in hidden locations throughout the campus. The new cameras promise to provide students with added security, but their presence on campus underscores the role security plays in daily life at YU.

New to the campus are a variety of security devices whose presence is already being felt by students. Other tools include devices which allow security guards on patrol to "check-in" while on the beat. This ensures that the guards complete their rounds and would figure prominently in reconstructing the circumstances surrounding any incident. In addition to the cameras, which are used primarily to monitor doorways, other "secret" devices have been strategically placed; their identities, though, were not disclosed by the University Department of Security.

Jeffrey Rosengarten, Director of Supporting Services at YU, explained the secrecy behind the new devices. "If the people we're trying to keep out know what we're doing and how we do it, then our tools are useless." He noted that since criminals generally have more sophisticated technology than the people they prey on, disclosing how they are being kept away actually helps them to sneak in.

The cameras are easily seen focused on the entrances to Belfer, Furst and Rubin Halls as well as panning from the rooftops of these and the Main Building. Other hidden cameras have also found their way onto campus, with some students hunting for them in what has amounted to a scavenger hunt. As such, some insist that a camera was placed in the Caf Store to monitor events there. That possibility was strongly denied by security, though.

The sudden appearance of cameras has raised questions as to whether they are a response to recent campus events or the possibility of terrorist actions in the New York area. Rosengarten insisted, though, that their introduction was merely part of an ongoing move to beef up security. "Technology has been developed," he said, "that will allow us to do things in a more efficient manner." Instead of responding to a specific incident, "they [the cameras] help increase the general awareness of what's going on around us."

With administrative attention focused on increasing security, some students have begun to wonder whether or not to be afraid to live on campus. Josh Klein, a YC Junior remarked, "If they're investing so much money into new equipment, it would seem that there's something out there to be afraid of."

From the administration's perspective, this fear is misplaced. "On the contrary," one administrator noted, "students should feel less worried. The better job we do, the more prepared we are to deal with any incident."

As part of the effort, security guards have been directed to be more thorough in checking student ID's, especially entering the dormitory areas. A memo to this effect was distributed to guards and students at the beginning of orientation this year. The memo noted "recent events and possible terrorist threats" as contributing to the need to check every ID. For students, the routine has become more of a hassle than a help, with one student muttering as he entered Rubin, "Why does this guy check my ID every day when he knows me already?"

Rosengarten contends that the measures are definitely necessary. "It's very good for security personnel and students alike to always be aware and in the habit of noticing when something is out of place. This way, we won't have any lapses." In fact, he admitted, the added vigilance has paid immediate dividends since it has detected people trying to get into places where they should not have been.

For the guards whose job it is to watch over us, job duties have become more complicated. With cameras aimed directly at the entrances they protect, it seems to some that the cameras are intended to monitor guards rather than students. One guard, who asked not to be named, was apprehensive when simply asked about the new cameras. "Yes, I think they're watching," he said. "That's why I have to check everyone's ID." A more senior security member, though, denied this and said that there were simpler ways to monitor how the guards do their jobs.

In the same respect, Rosengarten reassured students who felt that they, too, were being watched. "Cameras are everywhere today," he stressed, drawing comparison to the cameras used by the police to give tickets to motorists. "I have no interest in watching you, in particular." Still, by keeping a lookout, "we get a sense of who's doing what." That way, it's easy to tell when someone is doing something he shouldn't be doing.

Simply, the new measures are in response to a global trend of escalating violent incidents. The Security Department insists that in addition to their own personnel, "We have top people from outside the university looking out for our security needs." The ultimate goal, however, is to create an environment in which students shouldn't even have to think about their own safety. That day, however, still seems a bit out of reach.