Virtual life
Students film college lives online

By NIKKI VELISARIS
Collegian Staff Writer

College students from several schools in New England have placed live World Wide Web cameras in their dorm rooms, giving people worldwide an opportunity to see what college life is really like.

CollegeWeb.com, a student-run company, launched the new program, WebDorm, on Monday. Images from the cameras and biographical information about the students are broadcast live on the Web at www.WebDorm.com.

The idea for a virtual dorm was inspired by the growing popularity of Web cameras and an increase in curiosity about college life, said Allison Mahoney, marketing manager of CollegeWeb.com.

The Web cameras capture an image every 30 seconds, which is delayed slightly and does not have audio capabilities.

"WebDorm might need some refining as of yet, but it has the potential to be more exciting than shows like MTV's 'The Real World' because it is live and unedited," said Jeff Hardgrove, WebDormer from Cornell University, in an e-mail.

CollegeWeb.com hopes WebDorm can break stereotypes of college life and show the reality of college living, said Alex Chriss, founder of CollegeWeb.com.

Students visiting the site can share fears about leaving home for the first time by witnessing the fun side of dorm life and talking with the WebDormers through chat rooms.

There currently are eight students participating in WebDorm, and more students from the Great Lakes region will become WebDormers next week. There are also plans to expand the program to colleges and universities in Florida.

"If they get the right kind of people to take part in it, then I think it could help show people that living in the dorms isn't like living in an animal house," Pam Klein (senior-sociology) said.

The CollegeWeb.com staff selects WebDormers based on a series of interviews. Students can apply to become WebDormers through the WebDorm site. Cameras are provided for students selected, but they must have their own computers. The camera can only see about a quarter of the dorm room.

"We choose students who are responsible, mature, have interesting lives and are involved in a lot of activities," Mahoney said.