SDSU Installed More Than 1,300 AI-Enabled Cameras Across Campus, Including Hundreds in Student Housing

San Diego State University spent more than $1.3 million on AI-capable surveillance cameras across classrooms, dining areas, parking structures, gyms and residence halls, with the full camera locations disclosed after student journalists obtained records.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

San Diego State University installed more than 1,300 AI-enabled cameras across campus, including hundreds in student housing, before students learned the full scope of the surveillance network through reporting by the school’s student newspaper.

The university spent more than $1.3 million on the camera system, making SDSU one of the most extensively monitored campuses in the California State University system. University Police completed installation in 2024, placing cameras in classroom buildings, bookstores, dining areas, parking structures, gyms and residence halls.

The full location list became public after student journalists at The Daily Aztec obtained the records through a public records request.

The records showed that more than 330 cameras, or nearly 28% of the network, were installed in student housing. Huaxyacac, SDSU’s largest first-year dorm, has 79 cameras. Tenochca has 36, while Chapultepec has 33. In all, 18 of the university’s 24 residential buildings appeared on the camera location list.

The license agreements students sign before moving into campus housing do not mention the full AI-enabled camera system, according to the report.

The cameras are Avigilon units. The company’s website advertises AI features including facial recognition, license plate recognition, object and intrusion detection, behavior analysis, crowd density analysis and audio detection.

SDSU officials have said the university is not using several of those features.

La Monica Everett-Haynes, the university’s associate vice president and chief communications officer, said students are informed about cameras through the Guide to Community Living handbook and the campus housing website. However, the materials do not describe the AI capabilities behind the equipment.

The issue has raised questions about compliance with California State University policy. The CSU surveillance camera policy says cameras are intended for public areas, defined as “an area open to public use, where no reasonable expectation of privacy exists.” The policy also says cameras may not be aimed at “areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, nor will they be directed or zoomed into the windows of any private residential building, including residence halls.”

SDSU’s housing handbook says cameras may be used in “community elevators and other common areas (e.g., lobbies, lounges, laundry rooms, hallways, dining facilities, etc.).” The Daily Aztec’s records show more than 330 cameras across residence halls.

Campus police characterized the system as limited in function.

“The upgrades support basic motion detection in restricted areas to help alert staff when activity is present outside of business or class hours,” Amanda Stills, the department’s public information officer, wrote in an email to The Daily Aztec.

“To be clear, they are not used for behavioral tracking, profiling or facial recognition,” Stills said.

Stills said the university intentionally limits the camera features out of privacy concerns and campus expectations, and she said SDSU has no plans to purchase additional AI capability.

Critics argue that the issue is not only what the university says it currently uses, but what the hardware is capable of doing. Avigilon’s own materials describe functions that go beyond basic motion detection, including tools that can identify faces, read license plates and analyze movement.

Students also have not been given a campus map showing where the cameras are located. SDSU does not plan to post signs identifying camera locations, according to Stills, who said such signage could undermine public safety.

“The university does not currently use signage specific to camera locations and does not have plans to add such signage,” Stills wrote, adding that “cameras are widely present in public spaces and common work areas both on and off campus.”

SDSU is not alone in adopting AI surveillance tools, but it is among the more advanced campuses in the CSU system. All CSU campuses use some form of CCTV, and California State University, Northridge is the only other CSU campus identified as using AI-powered cameras.

The trend extends beyond California. Michigan State University hired a contractor to build a surveillance system designed to “detect barrier breaches, track individuals as they move across campus, count crowd size and read vehicle license plates.” Other campus security products, including ZeroEyes, Flock Safety and Volt AI, are also appearing at schools across the country.

At SDSU, the central dispute is over notice, transparency and future use. University officials say the system is used for limited safety-related purposes and not for facial recognition or behavioral tracking. Critics say students living and studying under the network were not adequately informed about the number of cameras, their locations or the AI features the hardware can support.

The cameras are already installed across campus. Whether their more advanced capabilities remain unused depends on university policy and future decisions by administrators.