Dell Studio 15 laptop integrated webcam

After much shopping around, we had settled on getting a Dell Studio 15 laptop for our 13 year old. One problem... it seems you cannot order this from Dell WITHOUT the integrated webcam. Really disappointed that Dell won't let you deselect the integrated webcam option when configuring a system using their online shopping. I even called their 800 number but the sales representative could not offer this laptop without that option. Ridiculous! Personally, I don't think it's a good idea for a young teen to have a webcam... too much chance for mischief or lapse in better judgment. But everything else about this laptop fits the bill for what we want. Dell support not helpful in resolving this delema (maybe this is a sign that I should shop elsewhere... but that's another question).
Is there a simple way to disable the integrated webcam, short of physically destroying it? e.g. a coworker told me to put a bead of opaque epoxy across it, but I would be reluctant to irreversibly damage the unit.
Forgive me if a similar question is addressed in a previous thread, but I can't seem to use the forum search tool to be based on ALL key words and if I put in a bunch of key words to try to narrow down the search, it seems to flag all strings that contain any of the words. That brings up too many to browse through, hoping to find something helpful.
In case it matters, the new laptop would be set up with Vista Premium.
Thanks,
HMS