Tuesday, October 2, 2001

Cameras installed to monitor food services
By Aaron Chimbel
Staff Reporter

Dining services managers monitored employees for the first time Monday by using video cameras installed in some Sodexho food service locations across campus, Sodexho General Manager Rick Flores said Monday.

The first of 38 cameras was installed last month in The Main, Deco Deli, Frogbytes, Edens and in the kitchen area, he said. Installations in Pond Street Grill and Sub Connection will continue until mid-October. The cameras are not focused on watching students, he said.

Caleb Williams - Skiff Staff The Main, Frogbytes, Deco Deli and Edens will use surveillance cameras to moniter their employees.

Cameras have been placed behind serving areas, above cash registers, in kitchens, outside storage areas and at the service entrance. He said the addition of cameras is a proactive approach to prevent any problems from arising.

“All of the cameras are in our area, not the students’,” Flores said.

Junior computer information science major Michelle Pope works at a restaurant and said the cameras should only be near the cash registers.

“I don’t think that (the cameras in food areas) are really necessary,” she said. “People are pretty trustworthy, what do they have to gain by doing anything to the food?”

Food service worker Delphia Holste said the cameras do not bother her.

“I have nothing to hide,” she said.

Sodexho paid between $30,000 and $50,000 for the cameras, Flores said. Meal prices will not be affected by the addition of the cameras since Sodexho must have any price changes approved by TCU, he said.

Flores said the cameras can help identify slow service areas. Knowing where the problems are will ease long lines, he said.

Junior advertising/public relations major Andy Halperin said he often goes back to his on-campus apartment to eat lunch because of the long lines.

“I definitely think there is a problem with (long lines), especially at peak times like noon,” he said.

Flores said adding the cameras has been a long-term project for Sodexho. Other Sodexho facilities use cameras in a similar fashion.

Sodexho provides food service at Howard University in Washington and has been using video cameras for three and a half years, said Steve Gibbs, Sodexho District Manager for the Washington area. He said the cameras were added after a string of break-ins.

“Since installing (the cameras) we have had reduced employee theft and a feeling of comfort and safety,” Gibbs said.

There have been no theft problems at TCU, Flores said.

Flores said the timing of adding the cameras is almost perfect in light of the attacks on New York and Washington.

“(The cameras) make sure the right people are in the building and give our employees a sense of comfort,” Flores said. He said no problems of suspicious people at TCU.

He said in addition to monitoring service, the cameras will provide security to employees who leave late at night. He said the video will be recorded and can be reviewed if an employee gets injured.

Food service worker Eric Carroll said he does not like the cameras.

“It’s hard to concentrate when you know someone is peeping down over your shoulder,” he said. “There might as well be a person standing there.”

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills said TCU approved Sodexho adding the cameras. He said it is common for businesses like Sodexho to install cameras.

Aaron Chimbel
a.a.chimbel@student.tcu.edu