Plans to merge the three different points systems into one and to integrate JumboFob into a single ID card are welcome news to a student body befuddled as to why their points won't pay for laundry. Remembering the difference between Dining Dollars, Points Plus and Vending Points is hard enough without having to keep straight the balance on each of the accounts. Proposals were also made to let ID cards access dormitories, replacing the JumboFobs.
The creation of Dowling Hall five years ago brought the various student services offices together from across the University, and made life easier for both students and staff. Centralizing the Points and Fob systems will have a similar effect, this time making the ID card a useful tool for any transaction.
It's about time Tufts made these changes. The University lags behind peer schools in terms of making services accessible to students. Many other schools let students access dorms with their ID card instead of keys. At Duke University, ID cards can be used to buy food, check out library books, go to basketball games, and access dorms, printers and the gym. ID cards, however, may already be pass?©. There are talks at Duke of switching to thumb scans instead of scanning a card's magnetic strip.
It's not an issue of keeping up with the Joneses, but of the University staying up-to-date. Tufts ensures that its academics are kept up to par with other Universities for bragging rights and to attract the best students and scholars possible. Student services should be treated in the same manner. Tufts wants to offer the best academic experience available and student services are a key component. If red-tape is a hassle, it is what students will remember after graduation. That can't help fundraising efforts.
These reforms and giving ID cards a new look may not be an issue of "pride" as Tufts Community Union President Dave Baumwoll believes, but, they are important to keep day-to-day life as easy and efficient as possible. Streamlining University services is the best way to keep Tufts running smoothly with content students.
