Ball State University Senate unanimously passed a motion Thursday to install security cameras in on- and off-campus parking lots as soon as possible. The motion called for security cameras to be installed in the stadium lot, the stadium overflow lot and the H2 residence lot west of LaFollette Complex.
"There is no question about the need or the commitment to this," Randy Hyman, associate dean of student affairs, said. "There was a general consensus that security cameras were most efficient."
This motion came after a year in which the university took no action, a Student Government Association representative said.
The motion was formerly approved by the Campus Council on Sept. 22. Asher Lisec, president pro-tempore legislative member, brought it before the University Senate because the bids had been stalled since the legislation's introduction last October.
"They were supposed to be installed in the Fall of '05, but when everyone got here, they weren't," Lisec said.
Chris Kurtz, vice president of SGA, said he kept getting the run around when he questioned campus officials about the costs of the new security system. The costs would come out of the university's budget and be at no extra expense to students, Lisec said.
Fred Suppe, associate professor in the department of history, attended the Senate meeting and said installing the cameras would be an effective solution.
"It would reassure students, especially females, to have illumination at night," Suppe said.
Cameras would be installed on light poles and near the entrances and exits of the parking lots, Lisec said.
"After 2 a.m. when the shuttle buses stop running is when most of the break-ins occurred," Lisec said. "At the Senate meetings last year, there was overwhelming concerns for car break-ins."
Gene Burton, director of the Department of Public Safety, said vandalism has not been a major problem this year in the parking lots where the cameras would be installed.
"We've had a couple of calls but nothing as bad as last year," Burton said.
If or when the university puts the cameras in, there will be a clear expectation that the film will be reviewed on a regular basis by the appropriate police, Hyman said.
One possible feature of the security cameras would allow police to use Ball State's current wireless Internet to monitor the parking lots from a laptop in their police cars.
"The security cameras will not be an end all," Burton said. "It gives us another tool that is effective to protect cars."
The university has yet to identify a security system and finalize the decision, Hyman said. He is unsure when the security system will be installed or if it will be operational this year.
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