Texas State U's Student-Monitored Camera Network

0:00It's April 9th. You're listening to Dallas News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Corey with the Story. Texas State University in San Marcos is rolling out a new program called Operation Overwatch this Fall, where students will monitor 900 cameras across two campuses. Campus police used to handle this, but now they're handing it off to student workers to free up officers for other duties. The goal is full 24-7 coverage, with the police chief aiming to hire enough students to staff it around the clock. Right now, officers juggle patrols and screens, but this shift lets them focus on real-time response. Students aren't all on board though. Some in a politics class called it straight out of a dystopia playbook, like the Panopticon idea where constant. Watching shapes behavior without even catching crimes, they see a shady vibe in the always on eyes. A criminal justice professor pushes back, saying active student monitoring beats passive cameras that just record after the fact, making it better for.

1:03Stopping trouble before it escalates. So far, they've got three students on board, with hiring, revving up for fall. This could reshape how campuses stay safe. Getting student jobs was security in a big way.