Many Elon University freshmen finding their niche on campus involves being chatty in classes and signing up for a plethora of clubs.
Junior Joseph Del Vecchio, entered Elon his first year as solely a business major.
Junior Joe Del Vecchio smiles during an Etalk meeting. Photo by Courtney Campbell
“I never planned on joining anything with television,” he said. “I wasn’t even a comm major when I got here.
He is now co-executive producer of Etalk, an entertainment talk show, along side junior Abbey Maloney and is double majoring in Marketing and Strategic Communications.
Del Vecchio first got involved by accident. After winning an Biscuitville competition, requiring him to write a speech for free food for a semester, he was noticed by one of the show producers, alumna Lindsey Nicole ’14, who thought he was hilarious. She contacted him and asked him to join the show.
He went to a meeting and, though one of the only boys in the organization, he was immdiately hooked.
“What I love most are the people,” Del Vecchio said. “They are all so much fun and friendly, and they are always so willing to help to produce a good show.”
Del Vecchio directs and runs the technical boards during the latest episode. Photo by Courtney Campbell.
Del Vecchio rose the ranks through Etalk, beginning as a cameraman who occasionally appeared on weekly websites to director and now executive producer. He applied to be executive director because he cares about the organization and believed he has good organizational skills to help Etalk succeed.
As executive producer, Del Vecchio needs to plan out a budget, work behind the scenes in the directors chair and make sure the entire show runs smoothly.
Etalk is filmed live-to-tape, meaning the show is not run live, but the team tries to record it as though it is. This year, Del Vecchio has worked to make improvements in professionalism — last Sunday, they filmed their first live-show for a pre-Emmy broadcast.
“We’re making progress,” Del Vecchio said. “I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds.”
Behind the scenes of Etalk, Elon’s entertainment talk show. Photo by Courtney Campbell.
The four Etalk hosts discussing this weeks latest gossip. Photo by Courtney Campbell.
Setting up for the next block. Photo by Courtney Campbell.
Host Madison Sternberg interviews tennis player, Neal Post. Photo by Courtney Campbell.
Elon University’s Campus Security and Police were given body cameras in August 2014 to increase trust and security among the community. However, with the tapes being stored the public is worried how often they’ll be used and about public release.
Graphic by Danielle Deavens
Legislation has in at least 15 states has been introduced this year to keep recordings of police encounters out of public records.
In a Elon Poll that surveyed 867 North Carolina residents from Feb. 16-20 found that 91 percent of respondents supported on-duty police officers wearing body cameras, but only 63 perfect believe that the footage should be made public. It was found that both political persuasion and race sway this belief.
“It’s another tool to have in our toolbox,” said Dennis Franks, director of campus security and police. “Everyone has embraced having them. The only negative I can see to them is if they go down.”
The main reason for having body cameras is to increase safety among the community and police accuracy. According to Cliff Parker, town of Elon chief police, one of the main reasons for the low crime rate in Burlington and Elon is the general sense of community. Having body camera would increase this as everyone is held accountable.
Video by Atoria Mills
Body cameras allow for transparency and the accountability of officers. This may reduce false accusations, misconduct or abuse against them. The use of cameras on-duty also provide hard video evidence of decisions made by officers in situations, providing an accurate picture of what happened instead of speculation.
“We look at the totality of an investigation or encounter,” said Parker. “A body camera can help enhance that, but it’s not the ultimate answer.”
The recordings can also provide valuable evidence in obtaining accurate witness and victim statements that are often not remembered in a high stakes or quick situations. This can be used to speed up court proceedings by providing indisputable proof of situations.
“A lot of the situations we deal with are very fluid and very rapid,” said James Perry, town of Elon assistant police chief.
Currently, Elon University police have four body cameras in use between the security and police staff. The cameras were originally used for parking enforcement in Burlington, but are being adapted for campus use.
These body cameras are also very costly — up to $1,000 per person. This includes the purchase, operation and storage of the film. According to Parker, it takes time and money to determine which cameras are good to use as it would be disappointing to find the camera purchased were not quality.
“We’ve been looking at the best camera,” Parker said. “You have to also keep in mind that companies are flooding the market. You have to look at historically, what is a good product.”
Video by Atoria Mills
However, this transparency from the film is an issue for both police personnel and civilians in terms of privacy.
In the Police Executive Research Forum’s 2014, Ronald L. Davis, director of office of community oriented policing services, said body cameras can also affect how officers relate to people in the community, the community’s perception of the police and expectations about how police agencies should share information with the public.
Some citizens may be nervous to approach police if they are wearing a camera for the sake of their privacy causing them to withhold information.
Taser body camera
Recording itself is a manual process and the policeman wearing needs to turns it on. Law enforcement can decide when to activate the camera, how long the footage is stored and if and when it should be accessible to the public. For example, it could be turned off when interviewing a victim of sexual assault.
Police can also choose to not be heard in daily conversations.
“You don’t want everything we have to say to each other…constantly recorded,” Parker said. “Do you really want some of the things we have to talk about recorded?”
The police are still working through the quirks of the body cameras, deciding whether or not the footage should be available but will continue to use the new equipment.
Courtney Campbell 