A new year, a new ID
Elizabeth Sippl
	
In the past five years, there have been three different forms of school identification cards.  The first change came in 2003, when identification numbers were changed from social security numbers to an 8-digit number.  This was done to prevent identity theft, as ID numbers are used throughout campus.  IDs were changed again this year, due to the switch over to the Banner system.  According to Terri Peller, who works in the ID office, The Banner system generated new identification numbers for everyone- students, faculty and staff.   The new IDs feature a new identification number and come with the option of having an LSSU-themed background.  The background choices include: hockey; volleyball; basketball; the American flag; the Canadian flag; historic Fort Brady; from Fort to Future Brady; Crawford Hall, Fire Science students; and the Fish-Cam.  If none of those choices sound appealing, there is also the option to have a plain white background.  The most popular background choices are the American flag, with 273 choosing this design; followed by Crawford Hall and the hockey team, tied with 240 choices each.  The Fish-Cam came in fourth place, with 174 people.  These stats are not final because some people have yet to get their IDs taken.
There seems to be some dissention amongst students regarding the backgrounds.  While most students think the pictures are neat, some also feel that they dont look at their IDs enough to care about having a picture on it.  Jason Wenglikowski, the webmaster, picked the backgrounds by taking photos off the LSSU website.  The variety of backgrounds is another issue, as half of the choices are within two genres: sports and Brady hall.  Peller addressed this issue, explaining that because the new ID system (the system that makes and prints the cards was just acquired this summer) wasnt set up until close to the beginning of school, there wasnt much time to pick backgrounds.  They hope, next year, to expand options to include more majors and backgrounds.  
For those who have not gotten a new ID yet, the ID office is open from 8:30am-9pm Monday through Friday.  Replacement IDs are $10.  
