Human beings are social creatures. We talk, we laugh, we spend time with each other – it’s instinct. But almost as important as our social nature are moments of privacy. Almost everyone can respect the need, even for just a few moments a day, to be alone.

This makes the idea of security cameras an unnerving thought. The idea that you’re being watched, all the time, the images being captured and stored forever in a database that could be connected to potentially every home computer in the world. It’s enough to make someone paranoid.

And yet, I think that despite the somewhat eerie omnipresence of these electronic eyes, it’s a necessary and positive advancement in society. Potential for abuse aside, security cameras, even those not being constantly surveyed, represent a security measure that is very difficult to overcome.

Take, for example, the recent theft of the backpack from Skyline’s own bookstore. Evidently nobody even noticed the suspect taking the backpack from the pile, crowded as it probably was. Had there not been a camera for exactly that purpose, the suspect might have gotten away scot-free with an ill-gotten laptop.

Instead, when the theft was reported to the security office, they simply reviewed the camera feed and spotted the suspect taking the backpack from the pile. Had there been no camera (out of some misguided accusation of invasion of privacy), the student would have never known what happened to his backpack.

It’s this and many other examples that make me believe that, when used properly, security cameras can only be used for good things. It’s when you start automating the process (cameras at stoplights that simply snap license plates and mail you a ticket with little to no human interaction) or allowing morally questionable people access to the cameras that the problems begin to arise.

Granted, the situation is delicate at best. I advocate the use of cameras in public areas, workplaces, and the like. I don’t advocate the use of cameras in private areas, or positioned in such a way that they could see into private areas.

The minute they start pointing cameras in their windows, I’ll be first in line at the protest marches. But for the time being, using cameras to prevent theft and other crime is a positive, useful contribution to society that I hope to see continue.

–Andrew Lidwell–

You are missing your bag which has a $1000 laptop inside of it. You don’t know if you misplaced it somewhere or if someone stole it, so you go to the Campus Security office. With the help of the security and the new surveillance cameras, you find that, not only did it get stolen, but the school also found the person that stole it. Skyline College’s new surveillance cameras are now working.

So, as we all may or may not know by now, Skyline College has new surveillance cameras. These cameras have been up and running for about a month now and it has already helped to make the school safer. On Jan. 26, Alan Caicedo of Skyline College was arrested for stealing another Skyline Student’s backpack which had a laptop inside of it. Caicedo was caught and arrested two days later with the help of the surveillance cameras. While some students may feel that it’s a great thing to have cameras on campus, others feel like it’s not. But why would someone feel that the new surveillance cameras are not a good thing? Is it maybe because of the fact that the people who are actually stealing and not making skyline safe will now have a 50/50 percent chance of getting caught? Or maybe it’s because Skyline Students are doing illegal things like smoking where they are not suppose to and because of the surveillance cameras, the schools security can actually catch them in the act. But of course you have to look at both sides of this story. Why do some students feel that it’s a good thing to have the new surveillance cameras up? Is it because now they (the students) will feel a lot safer about leaving their bags down in the open, knowing that if it comes up missing they could just go to the school security and see if they misplaced it or if someone actually stole it? I can’t find out all these answers by myself, so I got help from the Skyline community.

I recently did a poll asking some skyline students about how they felt about the new surveillance cameras.

–Anttwan Stanberry–