Photo ID for dining software is essential

It’s not uncommon hearing students complain about certain Dining Services policies, particularly the policy that requires one to have their student ID card to get their meals. Be it the Cafeteria, the Grille, or the C-Store, students are familiar hearing, “Sorry, you need your card. You can’t just give your student ID number.”

Why is it that way? Well, as Tracy Shuck, senior director of dining operations, put it, it’s simply a security matter. “Anyone can take a students’ number,” Shuck says. “And they can take that number and use it to get food off of someone else’s account.” Therefore, students need their card with them to ensure the staff that the ID matches the student.

The only regulatory flaw is students who lose their cards and can’t get access to their meals. If a card is lost or stolen, the owner must inform Dining Services right away so that they can contact Housing and give students a pass. Otherwise, someone may get away with using another person’s card for their meals, which is not uncommon, says Shuck. Just last spring one student didn’t report their card as lost, and someone used the card to obtain more than $100 in meals.

Presently, the Dining Services software has name and ID number recognition, but no photo identification. Shuck says that while it would be a great security improvement, the idea “has never been pursued” and the software upgrade costs are the biggest challenge. Such a program would allow the staff to easily verify a student’s identity, and catch wrongdoers in the act if the time comes. For those who may lose their ID cards, they would have the chance to enter their student number and their picture would appear. Thus there would be no problem accessing their meals.

It would be a good idea for students and the administration to consider upgrading the Dining Services software. This would certainly cut down on theft, student dissatisfactions, and long-term costs. Everyone wants to ensure the plans students paid for are protected, and also wants to make sure that transactions go smoothly.

New software with photo ID capabilities would help these objectives, and while not all problems can be resolved with one quick fix, this move could certainly fill the cracks in the current system.