Berkeley professor's camera caught student allegedly sabotaging another student

A UC Berkeley prof smelled a rat—and a hidden “laptop cam” allegedly caught one. After years of mysterious computer failures totaling $46,855 and mostly hitting a single PhD candidate, the professor planted a camera in a department laptop. Police say it filmed 26-year-old Jiarui Zou sparking up a fellow student’s machine with some tool. He’s now charged with three felony counts of vandalism tied to Nov. 9–10; he was arrested Nov. 12 in Cory Hall, declined to talk, and has a Dec. 15 court date. Building management okayed the camera, and the alleged victim’s research is in power electronics—aka fancy circuits that manage power.

But the real fireworks are in the comments. One camp is calling this a tragic career self-own, with people groaning that a PhD was torched “for… what, more broken laptops?” Another camp is all-in on surveillance: one user wants more cameras everywhere (but only checked when there’s suspicion), arguing they protect the innocent too. Others ask the million-dollar question: What was the endgame? Meanwhile, the vibe shift goes full internet—progbits drops an archive link to skip the email wall, and a mini-meme erupts over “Bernie smells a rat,” with folks debating if it’s an Incredibles reference. In short: sparks in the lab, firestorm online.