The New ID's?

Last spring when it was announced that, come fall, all students, faculty and staff would be required to wear their IDs, many disgruntled students dreaded the fashion faux pas. Now that the IDs are here the protests seem to have died down. In fact, the convenience of the all-inclusive identification cards may seem to outweigh any nuisance they bring. So what do you think? Are the new North Park IDs a positive addition to campus advancement, or are they just another thing to try and remember before you run out the door?
More than just another showcase for your beautiful freshman mug shot, the new IDs double as access keys to dorm rooms, campus entrances, and common areas. Now instead of needing to carry around a ring of keys people can simply touch ‘n go. Such a system, when fully implemented in future years, will increase security on campus by limiting those permitted to enter buildings to those who can provide the correct credentials. Additional updates to the IDs could also include the ability to use them as debit cards on campus and in local restaurants and stores.
If you have been to Helwig yet you also know that the IDs have expedited the process of bee-lining your way to your favorite elliptical. Students can electronically submit the gym’s waiver which activates the ID to allow access to Helwig. When you are ready to leave you just tap your ID again and your hard work and sweat is recorded in the log.
On the down side, North Park’s new identification system can prove stressful to those for whom forgetfulness is a foible. If you leave your dorm room or apartment without your ID, you have to go back and get it, or risk being written up. In addition, students must remember to update their cards at a hotspot every forty eight hours in order to receive the new access codes. Not to mention, the whole “having to wear an ID” thing brings many students back to their middle school years, a time most would prefer not to relive.
When it comes down to it though, most students seem not to care one way or another about the new ID system. Junior, Kari Sager, admits to not wearing her ID and feels that the transition was talked up to be much worse than it has become. “I think it’s easier than carrying around multiple keys,” says Sager, “but I’m pretty much apathetic to it. It is, however, a step in the right direction for North Park.”
Don’t just take her word for it…think about your opinion and tell us, so what do you think? Continue this discussion with the rest of the North Park community at www.northparkpress.blogspot.com. What you say might just make its way into next week’s paper. So finish reading this issue, grab your laptop and enlighten us. So what do you think?