Security cameras in Moore Hall, Music Building cost CCFA $15,000

Over the past couple weeks, seven cameras have been installed in various sections of Moore Hall including hallways and lobby areas.

When including the additional camera installed in the Music Building, the installation project cost the College of Communications and Fine Arts $15,000 in total, which translates to more than $2,100 per camera. There are no maintenance costs associated with the cameras.

Renni Ritzler, director of technology operations for CCFA, said the project was initiated due to several thefts of computers and digital equipment in Moore Hall, especially within the journalism department.

The CMU police department will be overseeing the surveillance system in Moore Hall, as well as other areas of campus including Kelly/Shorts Stadium and Warriner Hall.

“Personally, I forget they are even there,” said Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette, who has an office in Warriner Hall. “Overall, I know that (the cameras) add to the general security of the building.”

Journalism professor Jaifei Yin, who works in Moore Hall, said the cameras were a necessary cost to the university.

“Our department computer lab and offices were broken into more than once,” Yin said. “Something had to be done to prevent the break-ins.”

Although the cameras ultimately mean a safer campus for students, she said the feeling of “being watched” is still an eerie reality.

“It does give you a strange feeling of being watched,” Yin said. “But it's a public building, so we can expect that. Over time, perhaps people will get used to them and forget that there are cameras there."

Although the police were unable to comment, Ritzler is confident the cameras are not monitored around the clock.