New surveillance cameras to be installed at Langara

The VPSN was recently interviewed for an article about the installation of surveillance cameras at Langara University. The resulting article, published on October 14th, can be accessed here.

In my conversation with the reporter Michaela Garstin, I was excited about how this reporter was seizing this relatively rare opportunity. According to her digging, this is the first installation of surveillance cameras to the campus. The cameras are yet to be installed, and Michaela is watching the process with a close eye. While it is a bit disheartening that the Langara student society do not feel the need to hold the security team to scrutiny, I am glad that Michaela is. This is a time of great opportunity for Langara students: by demanding openness and accountability from the first moments of a surveillance system’s introduction, those demands should be more fully considered by the security team as they develop the surveillance system. I applaud Michaela for shining a light on this issue, and I encourage all Langara students to take any intrusions on their privacy seriously, and to demand that their school and student union do the same.

P.S. While I think this is a great article, I disagree with the use of the term “CCTV”, as it implies that the proposed system is closed circuit, when it is most likely digitally networked. Check out this great blog post by VPSN collaborator Richard Smith for more on why CCTV is a misnomer.