CEDAR FALLS - Bongo drums throbbed in the background as students chanted, "Big brother off our hill; Cedar Falls you've got to chill."

Just down the block, in the heart of the College Hill business district, four female students emerged from a car. Thursday nights are big for college students to hit the local nightclubs.

One heard the commotion and blurted out, "Who's big brother?"

A student observing the protest from just outside a bar's front door noted the oblivious comment. He told her the city put up cameras around College Hill just before the University of Northern Iowa Homecoming event last fall.

She figured out the point of the protest, then joined her friends in ignoring the protest in favor of a night of dancing.

The UNI chapter of Amnesty International set up the protest as part of a week of debate over government intrusion. Earlier in the week they hosted a debate of the Patriot Act.

Josh Plank, a student active in Amnesty International, said the protest had two goals. Those students who knew nothing of the cameras fit into the plan.

"The immediate goal is to try to get the cameras off the hill," Plank said. "The long-term goal would be to get students more involved in politics."

About 20 students joined the protest when it started Thursday night at 10 p.m. They held up signs reading "Big brother off the hill," "Bill of rights, get well soon," or "Money for schools, not for spying."

Once in a while a car would drive by and honk the horn in support or give a fist of solidarity out the window.

Plank and other Amnesty volunteers passed out fliers on campus this week to make people aware of the cameras. On Thursday night, they solicited signatures on a petition to take down the cameras on College Hill.

"Most of the students aren't even aware they're up there," Plank said. "We have to tell them they've been up since around Homecoming."

Cassie Naakteboren was one of those students.

"I didn't know until the fliers went out," Naakteboren said. "We thought we'd come out here, Amnesty International is a great thing to support."

The city installed three cameras on College Hill before Homecoming to monitor crowds. The cameras are always on, and are accessed over the Internet by police. They can be controlled by police through personal computers anywhere. The cameras can pan left and right and zoom in close enough to identify faces or license plates.

The cameras were installed in part because of large crowds on College Hill during Homecoming weekends. At times, the crowds have become unruly and have been known to riot. Police Chief Rick Ahlstrom said the cameras would take away the anonymity and deter bad behavior.

This spring the city will install similar cameras downtown.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1402 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.