Students who waited in long lines at registration to take pictures for their new student identification cards might be a little upset to learn the new cards will not be activated until Oct. 16.
The services the new ID card will provide after activation are still unclear. "I don't think much is going to happen this fall," said William Barr, associate director of administrative services. But in the future, students might be able to use the new cards for everything from laundry to paying for tickets to athletic events.
Other schools, like Brown University and Duke University, have ID cards that have a wide range of uses. For instance, the "Brown Card," which Brown distributed this term, features a computerized picture and can be used for vending, laundry, photocopying and as an AT&T calling card, according to an article in the Brown Daily Herald.
Dartmouth's new ID cards are physically similar to the current cards. The major difference between the two is the new IDs have a wider magnetic strip on the back. Barr said the wider magnetic strip will allow the College to adopt new applications in the future.
"We're looking to try to do some things for Winter term," he said.
New technology is not compatible with the magnetic strip on the old card, Barr said. The new card is "setting a base in order to build some applications if the College chooses to do so."
"We have some vending machines now" that work under the current ID, Barr said. For instance, the soda and snack machines in the basement of the Collis Center accept student IDs.
Barr said the current ID also can be used as a copy card by "adding value on the strip."
Barr said he wants to talk to students and discuss what they think is most important before making definite plans.
"There may be applications that are not capital intensive but with wide appeal," Barr said.
Barr said, "you have to go through a phase of prioritizing" before money is spent to expand uses of the card.
Students have up until Oct. 16 to have a new card made.
Barr estimated that almost 2,000 cards were made yesterday. This term, the College will focus on making sure all students get their new ID cards, he said.
Due to proprietorship laws, students can only use their current IDs with systems that use reading terminals from Griffin Technologies, the manufacturer that provided Dartmouth with its entire Validine network 11 years ago, Barr told The Dartmouth in an interview this summer.
Although the new magnetic strips also come from Griffin, they can be used with terminals from other companies, because those laws do not apply, Barr said.
The College decided at the end of the spring to switch to the new magnetic strip.
