If suggestions made in a Feb. 10 meeting take hold, students may be able to order Wing Works, take out library books, get into the Museum of Fine Arts for free, and open dorm doors all with the same card.
The initiative to upgrade the current student ID into a more useful "Jumbo Card" is directed by junior Ed Kalafarski, co-chair of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Services Committee. Specific upgrades discussed at the meeting included: integrating the JumboFob into the magnetic strip on ID cards, unifying the points system, and redesigning the face of the card.
"There were a bunch of people working to improve the card but they weren't working together. What we did was put them all in the same room," Kalafarski said, "The affected departments all got on the same page, and the important thing is that the technologies exist and are achievable."
The University's Department of Public Safety is currently examining the cost of including JumboFobs with student IDs. Cards with integrated fobs already exist at schools like Boston College and Dartmouth College.
The Jumbo Card also aims to simplify the Point system. The current Point system has three separate points accounts: Points Plus (those used in the bookstore), Dining Points (those used for meals and at Jumbo Express) and Vending Points (used in vending machines, library printers, copy machines and for laundry).
The new card would combine Points Plus and vending points into one account. "The cards right now are more confusing than they are convenient. This new system should simplify card use," Kalafarski said.
The committee is also looking to implement technology so that students can add points to their cards over the internet with a credit card.
The new ID will also improve aesthetically, as it will incorporate what Kalafarski described as a "hot" new design.
"The main reasons for switching the card are pride and convenience," TCU President Dave Baumwoll said. "The aesthetic look of the student ID is a symbol of the pride students have in Tufts."
According to Kalafarsi, the current IDs misuse the Tufts seal, as nothing is ever supposed to be written over the school seal, as the seal is the University's signature. The current ID has text placed over the school seal.
"IDs carry with them a sense of Tufts pride, and the current form and look of the IDs does not accurately reflect the pride that many students have for Tufts," Baumwoll said.
According to TCU Senator junior Jose Vazquez, the new IDs were supposed to be issued to this year's freshman class. Public Safety was unable to get University approval, however, so the new IDs were not issued.
Out of the meeting came a committee which formed to continue work on the Jumbo Card. Committee members are Director of Public Safety John King, Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Lee Klos, Acting Executive Director Richard Papazian and Kalafarski. The library staff will also be consulted in the implementation of the new card, as it will also act as a library card.
"This initiative is a huge step in the right direction and will help make the Tufts experience as convenient as possible," Baumwoll said
Kalafarski is confident that students will get to use a Jumbo Card by this fall. "This is definitely happening. The nature of the changes mean they can be phased-in over time," he said "What we'll end up with is something that is more convenient for students and staff in many ways, with a hot design that's a better representation of the university as a whole."
Dean of Students Bruce Reitman and Paul Stanton, Director of Administration, also attended the meeting.
