At Cornell, careful - moms are watching

For students at Cornell University, keeping in touch with Mom and Dad is becoming a whole lot easier.

Cornell installed cameras before the summer overlooking certain areas of its campus, enabling viewers to go on the Internet and watch students do everything from eat lunch to make out under a tree.

Though anyone can gain access to these images, students' parents in particular are taking advantage of this technology as of late.

"I like the webcams," Cornell parent Ken Engelhart said. "It makes me feel like I am not so far away from my daughter."

But despite the positive parent feedback that Cornell has received, Penn officials say they will not be offering the service any time soon.

"Monitoring student activities is not within the scope of [our] policy, nor is it a current topic of discussion," said Karima Zedan, spokeswoman for Penn's Division of Public Safety.

But how Cornell parents feel about the Big Brother-esque cameras is not necessarily indicative of how their kids feel.

"I would never use the webcam," Cornell junior Aaron Edelman said. "I don't know anyone who would want their parents to see them all the time."

Other students, however, are seizing the opportunity to please their parents.

"It's moderately creepy, but I'd still use it to make my mom happy," Cornell sophomore Max Adelman said. "Not a lot of people know about it because it's not well-publicized."

Back in Philadelphia, the University has jumped on the surveillance video bandwagon, but for more serious purposes, officials say.

Penn currently uses a video surveillance system called Closed Circuit Television Cameras, but its purpose is to prevent crime, not to reconnect with Grandma Clarice in Des Moines.

Penn operates 82 CCTV cameras, in addition to 200 fixed cameras placed throughout the Penn Patrol zone, which covers 30th to 43rd streets and Market to Baltimore streets.

Officials remain adamant about the serious nature of these cameras, which, under University policy, can only be used for crime-related purposes.

But while Penn may not embrace the so-called Mom-cam phenomenon, other schools haven't shied away from the trend.

Pennsylvania State University, Towson University in Maryland, and California's University of Redlands have all instituted some sort of "Mom-cam" on their respective campuses.

"Since August, we've had about 152,000 views," PSU spokesman Doug Stanfield said of the cameras. "I was a bit surprised - I didn't think it would be this popular."

At Towson, the cameras function both as a loveline between family members and as a resident weatherman.

"When the snow starts to fall, the webcam receives the largest number of visitors," TU spokesman Matthew Wynd said.

He did admit, however, that it is a bit odd to passersby who see students on their cell phones "waving like crazy at the camera."

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