A College of Communication employee failed to follow security protocols in the placement of cameras in COM’s video-editing rooms and is in the process of a disciplinary action, COM Dean Tom Fiedler said Wednesday.
The action comes amid student rumors of spying and invasion of privacy. Many COM students said the employee, whose name has not been released, placed cameras in the speakers of computers, overstepping his boundaries for ensuring security in the rooms.
A Daily Free Press staff writer reported that in one of the editing labs, there were wires sticking out of speakers in an unusual fashion.
The employee in question is known by many students for being over-the-top when it comes to enforcing rules.
However, the review was not called for because of student concerns, but rather because the employee did not follow the college’s security procedures, Fiedler said.
“[The disciplinary action] is not related to spying, it’s related to the security measures that have been put in place here,” Fiedler said.
Fiedler dismissed the rumors.
“When you talk about somebody spying, that suggests that somebody was looking in on students when they’re not aware of this,” he said. “And this wasn’t the case.”
“Let me stress that this isn’t a situation where a camera was in a place where someone’s expectation of privacy had been violated,” he said.
While Fiedler implied that the students knew about the security measures in the editing rooms, some COM students said they were not aware that the measures were even in place. Out of the several film and television students The Free Press talked to, none knew that there were security cameras in the editing rooms.
Fiedler said the measures have been in place for years in areas of COM that have been susceptible to damage and theft in the past, specifically in the broadcast areas of the college.
“It’s in the interest of the university that people aren’t stealing or damaging equipment. [The security] had been in place even before I had even arrived,” he said.
“There’s a long way from a security camera that was improperly placed and someone who’s spying,” he continued.
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