You’re on Camera: Lack of Communication Stirs Controversy over New Surveillance System

By: Lama El Danki and Norhan Amin
@Ledanki @NorhanaAmin

The AUC community recently noticed an increase in on-campus surveillance and has begun raising concerns over the measures being taken, especially regarding the lack of consultation with relevant stakeholders.

This gained more traction following the installation of cameras across campus, such as the one in front of the Bus Gate and adjacent to ‘A.M. Kitchen’.

“It is very important, specifically in difficult times, not only that advice is given but that decisions are also shared,” Assistant Professor of Political Science and University Senator Marco Pinfari told The Caravan.

Like many others, the aforementioned camera was the first time for Pinfari to hear about security cameras being set up inside the campus.

“Something like that was not communicated at all; not to the community or any committee, or to anyone at all. As the security office says, it was only for the sake of protection from any theft, sexual harassment, and other security purposes,” President of the Student Union (SU) Amr El-Alfy said.

The administration has provided very little information regarding why and to what purpose these surveillance cameras will function.

“It [surveillance cameras] opens all sorts of questions that we have not even started tackling,” Pinfari said.

The Student Watch AUC is a student-run group on Facebook that has also expressed their intention to monitor the surveillance issue to ensure that they are kept in line with the rights and freedoms of the AUC community.

“The aim of the page is mainly to point out to the students all the violations committed by the university,” a representative from the Facebook group said.

There are many more aspects that need to be known by the University Senate and the student body alike that include who will be watching these cameras; the specific locations of where they will be set up and if any of the information collected through them will be used by authorities other than AUC security, he added.

“Any suggestions of [installing] cameras inside campus will be done through a committee consisting of faculty, students, and the administration,” Executive Director for Safety and Security at AUC Mohamed Ebeid told The Caravan.

Ebeid said that these surveillance cameras are in fact part of a broader security project that has been ongoing for almost three years.

This project will also include improvements to the security fences and tighter regulations on the buses and at the gates.

“The surveillance cameras are not targeting students, faculty, or staff… What is intended is protecting everyone,” he said.

Pinfari, however, said that he does not see any major benefits that can come from increased surveillance.

El-Alfy also mentioned that he believes that the situation will escalate further.

“What will be the trend after that? Will we find cameras in corridors between classes? Or cameras covering the whole plaza? The thing is how can I ensure that the university will not use it for anything else or abuse it in any other way,” El-Alfy told The Caravan.

On the other hand, Professor Mervat Abou Oaf, professor of practice in the department of Journalism and Mass Communication and university senator told The Caravan that although the issue of surveillance was only brought up peripherally in the last Senate meeting, they have only been set up at the gates and parking lots.

So far, she says, this is justifiable.

“We really do not know if there are any other surveillance cameras on campus that are hidden or that are actually functioning, but most of the violations that have been reported came from cameras that unfortunately belonged to students and faculty,” Abou Ouf told The Caravan.

Addressing this issue in the last Senate meeting, President Ricciardone said that generally, most institutions and public areas as well have surveillance systems.

“I think having a few surveillance cameras on campus will help people feel protected. If somebody wants to throw chairs out the window or violate the rules, that’s what the camera is there for,” he said.