The Atrium now has a fully operational, digital color security camera system.
The cameras are actively recording 24 hours a day, and all cameras are in plain view.
"We have no hidden cameras," Ann Talley, director of residence halls dining service, said. "It's not legal for us to do so."
The Atrium security cameras were originally scheduled to be installed when the Art and Journalism Building was opened in 2001, but there was not enough money to do so, Talley said.
"We tried to put the camera system in the original building specifications but because the construction cost for the building were already maxed out, the security system was something we had to put on hold," Talley said.
Talley said the four-year lapse between the building's opening and the installation of the cameras is due to the time it took to find the money within dining services' budget and to select the right security system.
"It takes time to research the different kinds of systems, and we wanted to make sure we made the right decision and got the best one for our money," Talley said.
The cameras in the Atrium are the first digital color security cameras in dining areas, Norm Beck, director of auxiliary services, said. Other security cameras within dining services only record black and white video.
Security cameras are not something new to dining services, Beck said.
"We already have cameras in Micro Cafe, Noyer, and Woodworth," Talley said. Those cameras have been in place five or more years," she said.
The main function of dining services' security cameras is to prevent theft, according to Beck.
"They act primarily as a deterrent against robbery and theft," Beck said. "We'll do whatever we can to stop the process because it is unfair for students who do pay their bills to have to pay for the stealing of other students."
Dining services management monitors the feeds from the security cameras and reports any problems to University Police.
"They're in; they're active; and they will be used," Beck said.
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