Fliers, e-mails and petitions will be circulating campus today, as student body leaders attempt to raise awareness about tonight's State College Borough Council preliminary vote on placing surveillance cameras downtown.

The campaign to spark student interest is planned to start at 6:30 a.m., when members of various student organizations will begin posting fliers in classrooms and public spaces on campus, encouraging student to attend the council meeting.

During the recent USG elections, there was an overwhelming majority of people who voted on a referendum against the installation of cameras on Beaver Avenue, campaign organizer Dan Henning (junior-biology) said. The referendum asked students whether Penn State should partially fund the installation of the cameras.

"It infringes on personal freedom as well as personal privacy," Penn State College Republicans Chairman Brian Battaglia said.

Student leaders decided to organize following last Monday's borough council work session, Henning said. During the work session, many leaders were present and spoke to council regarding cameras but the messages were scattered, he said.

"We knew to get something done, we had to be together," Henning said.

Various student leaders met Thursday night to discuss ways to rally students against the installation of cameras. Ideas included following around council members with video cameras and contacting state legislatures about the issue.

During the informal meeting, they decided to present council with a letter of opposition to the cameras and to recruit as many people to come to the meeting as possible.

Student and borough residents need to work together to prevent problems downtown, Henning said. Student leaders are working on other options to reduce the number of incidents in Beaver Canyon without surveillance, he added.

"Cameras are not a positive way to improve that relationship," Henning said.

Large buildings on campus such as Willard, Thomas and the Forum will be the first to get the fliers, Paul Cronin Undergraduate Student Government (USG) director of town affairs and president of the off-campus student union said.

In addition, they would like to put up signs about the vote on overhead projectors in some of the larger classes, he said.

"We want to paint most of the big classrooms," Cronin said.

E-mails will be sent to club presidents and listservs to be distributed among the members, said Henning.

Petitions will also be circulating the campus.

The physical presence of students is critical at tonight's meeting, Henning said. "Any way you can show a unified student voice is great," he said.

The most effective way of getting the message across that cameras are not wanted will be to pack borough council's meeting chambers, he said.

"There's 90 seats in there. We want at least 100 people," Cronin said. "The more the merrier, of course."

An overwhelming show of student support against the cameras will impact the way the council votes, Battaglia said.

When leaders present petitions to members of borough council, there is a gap in the communication, Henning said. With a petition and a large student presence it makes a difference, he said.

"You can imagine them as a group, and that's more effective," Henning said.