This editorial represents the opinion of The Bona Venture staff.
Our Bonaventure memories may never fade, but our ID card pictures will.
Open the wallet of any student on campus to find his or her trusty Bona ID card. It’s easy enough to tell who spent a few semesters as a Bonnie just by looking at the card. The card wears and fades far before we walk across the stage for graduation, and it’s one of the biggest inconveniences for a student.
A worn out card means each time you have to use Bona Bucks or swipe into the Hickey, you cause a herd of hungry Bonnies to pile up behind you as employees are forced to manually type in your ID number. Replacing your old, worn card for a freshman-like new one costs $25. With a campus of fewer than 2,000 students, we should be offered one free ID card before graduation.
Most banks require credit or debit cardholders to get a new card every year. Some of the reasoning behind this is to encourage customers to use the card more, but another reason is because the card’s magnetic strip begins wearing out. A worn card simply makes it inconvenient for cashiers who must manually type in the card number, much like Lydia and Sandy do in the Hickey every single day.
Most Bonnies spend about 210 days a year on campus. If each person averaged about three swipes a day, then Bonaventure students swipe their card 630 times a year. This adds up to more than 2,500 swipes by the end of senior year. A Bonaventure ID card costs approximately $10 to make. If the university can’t provide a free card, students – at the very least – should only be charged the cost of making a new one.
A free ID card seems trivial, but Bonaventure is a small school committed to individualized attention. Convenience of student life is part of that. Bona’s offers free late-night buses in Allegany and free tickets to basketball games; students can even catch a free ride to Ellicottville or Good Times once a week. A free Bona ID upgrade would effect a daily change in the dining venues across campus – quicker service and happier Bonnies.
