Web cameras give new ‘insight’ to campus life

Ten new web cameras strategically placed all over the Auburn University campus will allow students, alumni, locals and fans to see what is happening on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“You can get a moving snapshot of what the campus looks like,” Mike Clardy, manager of News and Web Services with AU’s office of communication and marketing, said. “We geared this up to coincide with the beginning of the semester.”

Anyone can log onto http://www.ocm.auburn.edu/webcams/ to see live, streaming video of popular, high-traffic areas of campus, including Toomer’s Corner, Jordan-Hare Stadium, Samford Lawn, the Harrison School of Pharmacy and Cater Lawn.

Brock Parker, Matt Laney and Clardy, all from the Office of Communication and Marketing, spent the last month tweaking the cameras.

“Since mid-July we’ve been working on them as far as pointing them in the right direction and getting them in focus,” he said.

The University had three operating cameras before, but harsh conditions took those out of commission.

The site is especially useful for parents who want to see what is happening on campus, alumni who are homesick for their Alma Mater and prospective students who can see AU’s campus from their home computers.

One student even used the old cameras to say happy birthday to her mother, who was fighting in the Middle East.

The girl told her mom to go to the Web site at a certain time.

“She’s out standing at the web camera holding a happy birthday sign,” he said.

Students on campus Thursday were excited about the new cameras.

“It’s a beautiful campus, so show it off,” said Kevin Bogdan, a geology graduate student.

He thought it would be a good resource for freshmen.

“Seeing just the class change and the weather,” he said.