Give a Peekaboo smile for the camera.

WEB CAMERAS ON CAMPUS ARE USEFUL FOR security, but parents are starting to use them to combat empty nest syndrome. A web cam was originally installed at University of Redlands (Calif.) so alumni could virtually visit campus, but officials started receiving happy reports from parents arranging times for their student to appear. "It's a bit strange when I see a couple of students waving at a blank wall across the plaza," says Ron Stephany, VP of University Relations. He also admitted to using the camera to check out how long the lunch line is. Some schools have a "Hi Mom!" setting that will automatically zoom on a specific location, but Redlands doesn't in order to protect privacy and because there is only one camera on campus. Stephany says the cost is minimal, but points out "you can't just put a camera anywhere, it has to be able to connect to the network."