[Marxism] Query from George Snedeker on dorm cameras

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

I was wondering if anyone has any ideas or information about the following.

I've been concerned with the presence of new dorm cameras in the 
hallways and lounge areas of the dorms at the college where I teach. 
Some of the students feel this to be a violation of their rights to 
privacy. The cameras can see all the way down the halls passed the 
bathroom and up to the doors of students rooms. The cameras have the 
capacity to listen, but the students have been told by the university 
police that they don't routinely listen. The issue at stake here is 
whether or not dorm hallways are private space. In a recent appeals 
court in Washington State the court ruled that dorm hallways were 
private space because students must go out into the hall in order to get 
to their bathrooms. The Washington ruling is "persuasive", not "binding" 
in NY where I teach.

I'd like to know if anyone has any ideas about the right of privacy 
issue or knows of any other college that has these kind of cameras in 
dorms. George Washington University is one school that has these kind of 
cameras. I teach at SUNY/Old Westbury and we also have them.


The court ruling in Washington State had to do with the police making an 
illegal arrest, not dorm cameras. Nevertheless, it did define hallways 
of dorms as private space.

Please write to me offline at snedeker@xxxxxxxxxxx
George

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