The Quad Cam: A tool for the perverted or a tool for the homesick?
Affixed atop Foellinger Auditorium is a tiny camera. Called the Quad Cam, this versatile use of technology peers out towards the Main Quad’s manicured lawns, filming you, your peers, and any other person who just so happens to stumble in front of its lens. The camera was recently introduced by the University so that UI alums who just couldn’t sever the ties between themselves and Davenport Hall could view the Main Quad from the comfort of their own home. Think of the Quad Cam in terms of the fish bowl effect and how the monotonous movements of a fish quell its viewer’s anxieties. However, after talking with some of my friends about this innovative use of technology, anxiety wasn’t quelled, but, instead, it was fostered.
Here, in order to maximize the effectiveness of my point, allow me to act out my friends’ reactions:
Me: (Walking alongside his friend after a long day of classes) Hey, have you heard about the Quad Cam?
My friend: (Too hung-over and sleep deprived to comprehend) The Quad what?
Me: The Quad Cam. It’s a camera that sits on top of Foellinger and films the Main Quad.
My friend: (Still too hung-over and sleep deprived to comprehend) The Quad what?
Me: (Becoming annoyed) It’s a camera they put on top of Foellinger so that homesick alums can view the Main Quad in real time.
My friend: (Finally coming to his senses) Why would they do that? You know that more than just alums will look at that thing. Think of all the perverts out there. (Eerily lowering the tone of his voice and peering up at the sky) Just think…(End scene)
And that’s where the pattern begins. The majority of the people I have spoken to about the Quad Cam have initially thought of how the tool could be used alternately by peeping-toms and perverts. The University, however, has reassured the student body that the camera cannot zoom in, and, thus, the faces of those on the Main Quad cannot be seen.
In order to see if what the University said was correct, I decided to perform a little investigation of my own. After logging onto the University’s main website, I typed “Quad Cam” in the homepage’s search box. With one hit of the “Enter” key, a list of links appeared before me. I then clicked the first link, which was titled, “Quad Cam, University of Illinois.” Almost immediately, I was staring at a live action image of the Main Quad. I must say, it was pretty interesting to see the Main Quad from the comfort of my dorm room. Like a little kid, I amused myself with the Quad Cam’s controls for hours, turning it left and right, up and down, and zooming it in and out…JUST KIDDING! I actually tinkered with the camera for ten minutes, and, like the University said, I was only able to move my grainy image of the Main Quad to the left and the right and up and down. No zoom option was available.
Why is it, then, that whenever I speak to someone about the Quad Cam, they think of perverted ways it could be used? It is natural that with the vastness and accessibility of the internet, people can become paranoid. It doesn’t help either that programs such as Datline’s To Catch a Predator are incessantly drilling it into our heads that perverts are out there. I understand that the internet requires monitoring and the making of smart decisions in order to be regulated; however, how many times do we have to hear Chris Hansen say, “What were you thinking?” in order to understand that the soliciting of minors on the internet is a bad thing. Once you’ve seen one pervert, you’ve seen them all.
It is this constant beating of a dead horse that has bred paranoia throughout America and has turned innocent inventions, such as the Quad Cam, into tools for the perverted. When you are told by Dateline week after week that predators are out there, waiting to solicit your friends and family, it is natural to have you senses heightened. This heightened sense of awareness is not a bad thing. An educated public is a must in order to maintain a democratic society; however, even education, when used in excess, can be a dangerous thing.
January 24th, 2008 at 6:37 am
What with being constantly harrassed by teachers and administrators about the use of sites like Facebook and Myspace, I can understand why students might be wary of being filmed without their consent. However, I think the bigger problem here is not the overpublicizing of predators, but rather this: Why would a college graduate want to abandon his own real life to watch small figures make their way across a screen at his alma mater? Why does an adult need a continuous picture of their Quad as a sercurity blanket? Yes, this has the potential of being misused, but the real question deals with the (mental) safety of the viewers, not the students being taped.