The picture that appears on a student’s ID is either sent in to the school by the student or taken at the beginning of frosh year. The same picture is also used for the Faculty Class Information System, a web-based resource that gives professors access to pictures of their students, presumably to assist them with the name/face matchup.

Students are able to have their picture removed from the database if they choose. Although ITS reports that no one has yet exercised this right, it is an important option to keep available to students to protect basic privacy rights.

Even if they lost an ID, students are currently unable to replace their original photos. Students are stuck with a picture that supposedly represents them throughout all of their college years. Often, the picture is of poor quality and distorted by the computer.

Students’ appearances change over the years–sometimes significantly. Students are faced with looking at pictures that are outdated or just don’t look like they do. This situation is merely bothersome or amusing for ID pictures, but it has the potential to confuse or mislead well-intentioned professors.

Faculty may be unable to determine who is who after looking at such a picture. This flaw will reduce the usefulness of the whole system, which is unfortunate, since it has great potential.

Additionally, professors need to know their students’ names, not their histories or past hair styles.

Since the photos are produced electronically with digital equipment, supplementary pictures can be taken at little or no additional cost to the University. It seems more than fair to ask that a student who is willing to pay the replacement fee for an ID card be granted the luxury of an up-to-date photograph.