Students face stiff penalties for sharing i-cards

Chris Lanouw, a graduate student, hands his i-card to Andrew Dorgan at the entrance of the ARC on Tuesday.
Ned Mulka The Daily Illini

Think twice before asking to use a friend's i-card to enter the Activities and Recreation Center this summer.

Students registered for at least three hours of classes at the University this summer are covered by the Student Service Fee for entrance into any Campus Recreation facility, but if they are not enrolled in any classes, there's a fee to pay.

"If you are not a student during the summer you'd have to pay $78 for a membership from June 15 to August 21," said ARC employee Andrew Dorgan. "I have seen abuse of the i-card with people using their friends in order to get into the ARC."

Erik Riha, lead assistant director of marketing said that even though he knows that sharing of the i-cards occurs, there is a penalty if someone is caught in the act.

"We know that some people will use their friend's card," Riha said. "If we catch them using a friend's card, the i-card is confiscated and is given to the i-card office. Both the person who used it and the person whose card it is will be temporarily suspended from the Campus Rec facilities."

If the card is stolen from its owner, said Riha, it is that person's responsibility to report it as stolen. If it is reported, then they will not be suspended from the facilities and will receive a refund for a new i-card.

When someone is found to be using another person's i-card around campus on multiple occasions, they may receive a worse penalty than being suspended from the facilities, said University Police Lt. Roy Acree.

"The i-card is viewed as property of the University," said Acree. "If someone is caught using one that is not their own, there will be disciplinary action that is taken. Depending on how many times they had done something like this in the past, it's possible that they could be suspended from the University."

Acree said that this type of offense would be directed to the University's Office of Conflict Resolution in order to decide the punished. The Office of Conflict Resolution was unavailable for comment.

Along with providing access to Campus Recreation facilities, i-cards also contain access to dining halls. It is also possible to link a TCF Bank debit account to the card.

"Students and other owners of these cards have to be aware of the technology that exists," said Acree. "It's essential that someone notifies the authorities whenever they lose or have something stolen. If someone finds a missing wallet, the offender is likely to use it as quickly as possible before a person deactivates it."