OUSA's stand comes after students narrowly voted in favour of the student association opposing University of Otago's $1.25million plan to install 60 CCTV cameras on public streets.
The vote in the online referendum was tight. Just over 51% of the 3702 voters thought the OUSA should oppose the CCTV monitoring, while almost 49% did not agree.
Whether the vote will have an impact on the university's plan remains unclear.
When the plan was unveiled two and a-half weeks ago Deputy Proctor Andy Ferguson said it was not a foregone conclusion and would be dependent on consultation with students and other parties.
However, chief operating officer Stephen Willis was quoted in student magazine Critic this week saying the university would need to be convinced there was another way to ensure student safety before scrapping its plans.
After the referendum results came in yesterday evening a university spokeswoman said it would ''digest'' the outcome in the coming days and weeks.
''However, we wish to reaffirm that the main driver of the proposal to provide CCTV in streets surrounding the campus is duty of care to our students and their safety,'' she said.,
OUSA president Hugh Baird said it would be guided by the result, even though it was so close.
It was still willing to work with the university and hoped a solution could be found that improved student safety without intruding on people's privacy, Mr Baird said.
He believed the results showed there was concern about safety among students, but having CCTV in every street might not be the best way to address that.
''Hopefully, there is some sort of middle ground.''
To change the university's mind, students and OUSA would need to come up with alternative solutions.
When it announced the plan, the university said the roll-out of CCTV cameras would be split into two phases.
It hoped to begin rolling out cameras covering areas north and south of the campus, including on Castle and Leith Sts, this year.
The next phase would be carried out next year and involved areas including Clyde, Dundas and George Sts.
