By the middle of May, 16 new security cameras will be watching the hallways of the Willard and Boucke buildings.

Currently, there are at least 82 surveillance cameras on campus monitoring areas from the Palmer Museum of Art and Old Main to McCoy Natatorium and Rec Hall, said Don Reed, security system specialist for Penn State Police Services.

Theft is the primary reason for the cameras on campus, he said.

They are all visible and most are oriented to monitor doorways, he said.

Computer labs have been the target of thefts for years, said the university's Senior Director for Teaching and Learning with Technology, John Harwood.

In addition, computers have been taken from faculty offices and out of the backpacks of students, he said.

The closed circuit cameras will be placed in high-traffic areas near computer labs with large amounts of equipment.

The only time police would review the camera footage is if there is a theft, Harwood said.

Recently, computer labs in South Chambers Building and Cedar Building were burglarized.

A student and part-time Information and Technology Services employee, Steven Donghyun Kim, was arraigned Tuesday on charges related to those incidents.

"They just wiped out 78 PCs," he said. "That is a very big theft. It's grand larceny."

Harwood said the same thing could happen in Willard and Boucke. It cost $21,000 to replace the computer equipment taken in the burglary, he said.

Following the thefts, several classes had to be put on hold until they could be moved to other labs on campus, Harwood said.

"My students were deprived the use of the classrooms that we had signed up for because of the theft," he said.

The new cameras will deter large-scale pilfering of labs, ensuring computer equipment is available when students need it, he said.

"I'm very keen on not losing things," Harwood said.

"I'm very interested in protecting student property."

The cameras will not be placed in classrooms and will not invade students' privacy, he said.

"If students want to object, I would love to talk with them," he said.

On-campus cameras and the proposed surveillance cameras in Beaver Canyon are two different situations, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Town Sen. Brian Battaglia said.

Security cameras around labs are a theft deterrent, he added.

The surveillance cameras downtown are more of a concern because they can view balconies and can potentially see into private apartments, he said. Because the security cameras on campus are located in hallways and public places, they do not invade people's privacy, Battagila said.

"Security and safety cameras are a fact of life," Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said.

In order to protect computer labs from theft, Mahon said the university could either close the labs during certain hours, post additional police officers or install cameras.

"We've made a decision on campus that cameras at certain locations are a benefit," he said.

Mahon said he was surprised by the amount of concern over a few additional cameras downtown when there has been no record of abuse with the hundreds of cameras already in place at many banks, schools and public buildings.