Ram Cams watch over two campus locations

Big Brother could be watching you, or maybe big sister or maybe even a total stranger.

In fall 2002, university officials installed two cameras, called Ram Cams, on the side of the University Student Commons and the James Branch Cabell Library on the Academic Campus.

“(The Ram Cam on the library) overlooks the compass, which is a central gathering and transition spot,” said John Ulmschneider, executive director of VCU Libraries. “Most students that walk through there are on their way to class or to the dining hall. It reflects the dynamics of VCU.”

Timothy Reed, director of the University Student Commons and Activities, said the purpose of the camera on the Commons is to observe the Phase 3 construction of that building.

The cameras stream video to a Web site that students can log on to and watch events currently taking place at the two locations.

“It’s actually useful,” Ulmschneider said. “It was very helpful for me to get on and see the conditions of the sidewalk during the snowstorm this winter.”

While some might appreciate the convenience of the Ram Cam, others question whether it is an invasion of privacy. “The question of privacy was raised initially,” Reed said, “but the cameras are designed so that you can’t zoom in on people’s faces.”

Some students are still uncomfortable being taped and broadcast over the Internet without their knowledge or permission.

“The Ram Cam is kind of spooky to me, especially on a university campus,” said David Lloyd, a School of the Arts alumnus. “This is supposed to be a place of freedom of speech and thought, but that’s hard to do when you are bound by electronic shackles.”

Police and university officials want to assure students that there is no ulterior purpose behind the Ram Cam.

“This is a special-interest thing, not a police thing,” said VCUnet Director William Jones, who installed and maintains the cameras.

Even though no official surveys were conducted since the installation of the cameras, university administrators consider the system a success.

“So far the student response has been positive,” said Roderick McDavis, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Some students, however, beg to differ.

“I don’t see why we need that,” said Kathryn Shackelford, a senior at VCU. “If they could use it for security purposes I guess it would be OK, but I would like to approve it.”

Although students can use the Ram Cam to observe the two locations, the cameras have proven useless in security efforts. Earlier this year, a book vendor’s tent outside the Commons was robbed at gunpoint.

“We tried but we weren’t able to (see anything on the monitor) because the location of the tent hid the faces of the people,” said Willie Fuller, VCU’s chief of police.

Shortly before Fuller came to VCU in 2000, the university police department conducted a study that concluded that campus security could be enhanced if the campus were equipped with security cameras. But because of this year’s state budget cuts for colleges and universities, VCU could not complete the project.

Giving the Ram Cam recording capabilities would require purchasing a significant amount of costly audio-visual equipment, McDavis said.

Thought the cost might be high, Fuller said the police department would like to have additional surveillance equipment.

“We would love to have further use of cameras for safety and crime prevention, but the key to personal safety is awareness,” he said. “You can have all the cameras in the world but if you are not aware it won’t help.”

Security cameras are installed at most residence halls, where they are monitored by residence-hall staff, as well as at the School of the Arts building where the police control them.

While security may be a concern for some members of the VCU community, others view the Ram Cam as a novelty.

“I think it’s kind of neat,” said Sean, a VCU student and employee of Seattle’s Best Cafe in the e2 Bookstore. “I think someone will think of it as Big Brother watching them, and others will be like ‘Hey mom!'”