By Kiara Catanzaro
Opinion Editor
Wear and tear on school-issued student ID cards is inevitable after years of swiping them. In most cases, it’s not the student’s fault for using his or her ID card for its intended purpose, so why should they be responsible for purchasing a new one when it stops working?
There are many students with ID cards that don’t work, which becomes an annoyance for on campus employees. During this semester, several dining hall employees have memorized my student ID number to save time while swiping me in to the dining hall. I don’t want to be an inconvenience, but I should not have to pay for a new card because my ID doesn’t swipe.
The university is changing the frequency of how often an ID card is used. Last year, students only used their ID cards to pay for food on campus or to access the Richter Center. Students use their cards to access the library or their residence halls such as Deveraux, Robinson and Falconio. If their card won’t allow them access into these places, including where they live, it should be the university’s responsibility to replace the student’s card.
Aside from malfunctioning ID cards, students may also have unreadable IDs, which can be a potential safety problem on campus.
Safety and Security Services notes that if an ID card has unreadable information or photo of the student, their card should be replaced. It turns out that students don’t have to pay for ID cards under this circumstance; Safety and Security Services will send an email to the I.D. office requesting to issue the student a new ID without charge. However, it’s not certain that the student will pay for the card because Residence Life has a policy on what should be charged to the student’s account.
This still leaves a question unanswered. If an ID card is readable, but doesn’t work, should the student have to pay for it? There should be list of what is considered a damaged card. If a student’s card doesn’t swipe or their information is unreadable, the university should issue the students a new ID card without charge. However, if a student loses his or her card, it should be the student’s responsibility to pay for a new ID. This would clear up the gray area of what is considered a damaged card.
A possible solution would be to issue new ID cards once there is noticeable damage to a student’s old ID card at the beginning of the year. This will allow students to not be an inconvenience to employees and have secure identification with campus security. Damage to a card will happen over the course of four years, and students shouldn’t have to stress about an additional fee if they’re not responsible for damaging their card.
With the increasing use of ID cards several times a day to access residence halls, purchase food or use the gym or library, students shouldn’t have to worry about a problem they can’t control. It’s easy enough to offer ID cards to students if they’re not responsible for damaging them.
