The group sent a June 11 letter — signed by 800 students, faculty, staff and alumni — to the university urging it to remove surveillance cameras from the Diag and Law Quad.
The call comes days after the university ended its partnership with all private security firms tasked with surveilling campus. The ACLU chapter called it “deeply troubling” to install cameras in the Diag, or “the center of free speech.”
“The timing and placement of the cameras strongly suggest that they were installed to spy on and record students engaged in political speech, which would violate the university policy,” said Nithya Arun, president of the ACLU chapter.
A university spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
The chapter accused the university of violating its policy on “surveillance cameras” by not including students to participate in a required oversight committee.
The university has a policy on “Proper Use of Security Cameras” that states the chief financial officer shall convene annually with a committee made up of faculty, administrators and students. The committee at least once every three years would review and revise the policy and provide periodic updates to the university community about campus security systems.
Any covert cameras can only be installed by university police for the purposes of a criminal investigation, the policy states.
The chapter said the university has not been transparent about its surveillance policies.
“The university says it values free expression, but these cameras tell a different story,” Lily Chavez, incoming chapter co-president, said in a statement. “Students deserve a campus where they are not monitored like criminals. The cameras in the Law Quad don’t just record innocent activity, they can peer into student residences and invade their most basic sense of privacy.”
The letter asks for the university to remove the cameras until a committee is formed, as well as answer why they were installed, what capabilities they have, whether the cameras monitor in real-time, when university employees are allowed to view the recordings and how the university would prevent privacy abuses.
The group also pointed to an investigative report from The Guardian that found the university has used undercover investigators to surveil students who have been involved with pro-Palestinian groups on campus.
UM Interim President Domenico Grasso announced on June 8 the end of the partnership with the private security firm, saying one of its employees “acted in ways that go against our values and directives.”
“What happened was disturbing, unacceptable, and unethical, and we will not tolerate it,” Grasso said in a Sunday release.
In July 2024, the university decided to contract with outside security firms, according to the release.
“These individuals were intended to help us keep watch over our campus and enable us to respond quickly to emergencies,” Grasso said.
“However, we are clear: no individual or group should ever be targeted for their beliefs or affiliations,” he continued.
The security firm informed the university the employee is no longer employed with their company, according to a university statement dated June 6 and updated June 8 that called the employee’s behavior “unacceptable.”
Five students told The Guardian they have been followed, recorded or eavesdropped by undercover investigators, on and off campus, according to the Friday, June 6 article by The Guardian.
The undercover investigators appear to work for Detroit-based private security group City Shield, according to The Guardian.
The Guardian reported evidence collected by undercover investigators was used by Michigan prosecutors to charge and jail students, and most of the charges were dropped.
“The safety and privacy of our students, faculty, staff and visitors are of utmost importance to the University of Michigan,” the university said in the statement.
“The university does not surveil individuals or student groups, nor has it requested or authorized the surveillance of any students on or off campus. Unfortunately, recent media reports have mischaracterized the role of contract security personnel who were engaged solely to support campus safety efforts.”
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