Students and faculty at Binghamton University may choose to be a little more careful with their identification cards starting this semester, as those who lose theirs will now have to shell out $20 for a replacement, a 300 percent increase from the $5 charged in previous years.
The price change can be attributed to the ‘all-in-one’ features implemented over the summer, as ID cards are now used simultaneously to grant students access to their residence halls and other University buildings.
‘The new card contains a microchip (proximity chip) for authorizing access to buildings with prox card readers,’ said BU Registrar Terry Kelley-Wallace.
Because these new cards are more expensive to make, they are also more expensive to replace.
According to the registrar, BU’s administrative affairs division decided to update the system for security reasons.
‘It was prompted by future plans to eventually install proximity readers on all University buildings,’ Kelley-Wallace wrote in an e-mail. ‘The belief is that this will increase building security and safety. Currently, students are required to use their proximity cards to access the University Downtown Center, as well as many dormitory buildings and some academic and research laboratories on campus’
Some students are dismayed over the increase in price, like Rigoberto Martinez, a junior human development major.
‘I think it’s ridiculous,’ Martinez said, while leaving the registrar’s office with a newly replaced card. ‘I don’t live on campus, I just use it to go to the gym ‘ I was surprised at the jump.’
A special laminate covering the front of the card provides increased protection, as students will now hold the cards for their entire career at BU, as opposed to the expiration employed during past years.
‘The new cards do not have an expiration date because of the new durability,’ Kelley-Wallace wrote. ‘Annual card replacement is no longer necessary and building/room access changes that need to be programmed onto the card can take place seamlessly.’
Some students supported the new system because of its convenience.
‘The new cards are very practical,’ said Donna Kramer, a junior philosophy, politics and law major and Discovery assistant for Newing College. ‘I like them a lot better.’
Devin J. Hammer, a senior biochemisty major living in Hinman College, agreed.
‘It’s easier than carrying two cards ‘ it’s consolidation, my friend,’ Hammer said.