Crosby climbers cause crooked campus camera

Students climbed onto the roof of Claudia Crosby Theater on April 11 and tampered with TROY TrojanVision News’ quad camera, which overlooks the university’s quad and is used as a weather camera during their broadcasts. The camera was titled over to the left, making the shot appear crooked.  

TROY TrojanVision News’ Director of Television Aaron Taylor discovered the camera angle looked off Monday morning and watched recorded footage from the weekend. 

He quickly uncovered what caused  the camera to become lopsided.  

“Our camera is mounted, and it’s not supposed to tilt to the side,” Taylor said. “We got concerned as to why our camera was messed up. 

“We found that there were students on the roof of Claudia Crosby, which is not safe.” 

While the faces of the students cannot be seen in the footage, the camera captured audio of what the roof climbers said. One of those conversations recorded included talks of rappelling off of the roof of Crosby. 

“It’s only two stories; it’s pretty survivable,” one student was captured as saying. “We should at least bring ropes; I’ll even bring my rappelling harness.” 

The student then found the camera and said it would be a good anchor point to rappel from.  

Taylor contacted Dean of Student Services Herb Reeves and Troy University Police Department (TUPD) Chief George Beaudry. According to Beaudry, this isn’t the first time students have climbed onto campus rooftops.  

“Unfortunately, this is a reoccurring issue,” Beaudry said. “We don’t want anybody to get hurt — that’s the main thing. 

“It’s a prohibited area. [Claudia Crosby Theater] is a high enough building that you could likely die or be seriously injured if you fall.” 

Taylor said he’s not concerned about the camera itself — but about student safety. 

“Our camera wasn’t damaged,” Taylor said. “I’m not seeking any justice for the camera. 

“My main concern is that students were putting themselves in harm’s way. In the footage, you could even see them dangling their feet off the edge.” 

The camera was re-mounted Apr. 14 by TrojanVision’s engineers. As of now, there have been no new security updates to prohibit roof climbing on Troy’s campus. 

TUPD has not yet confirmed the identities of the roof climbers. However, Beaudry said he has promising footage of the suspects.