A growing student violation facing campus security forces and the St. Joseph Police Department is one in which the victims are also the criminals.
The criminal object – a fake ID card – is easily carried in wallets and purses as a small plastic deception that bears the student’s likeness with a false name and age. And according to CSB/SJU staff and administration, these students are doing more than trying to fool bouncers %u2013 they’re fooling themselves.
“We’re trying to look at this issue less from the punishment perspective and more from that of consequences,” said Director of CSB Security Darren Swanson. “Students are giving all of their information to a company that they know nothing about, other than the fact that they’re clearly not the most ethical business.”
CSB Security and St. John’s Life Safety both report increasing numbers of confiscated student fake ID cards in the past year, usually discovered in forgotten purses or wallets.
“We have seen a large increase in the number of students getting (ID cards), but we want to caution our students about being smart,” Swanson said.
“Using a fake ID is against the law, and students can be charged criminally for using one,” said CSB Dean of Students Jody Terhaar. “But they’re also giving someone information that can be very easily used for identity theft.”
Administrators caution that buying a fake ID can result not only in being cited for violating school policy, but also result in career and future ramifications on a far greater scale.
“We encourage all of our students, if they’ve procured an ID, to check their credit history and bank statements,” said Director of Life Safety Shawn Vierzba.
While some of the ID information may be fabricated, students often use actual information when procuring fakes %u2013 becoming vulnerable to identity theft or fraud.
“I used my real address on my card, but people could find that out with a search engine,” said a CSB/SJU student in possession of a fake identification card who wished to remain anonymous. “I don’t see the big deal with the business in China having that information.”
“It’s not a secret that (ID cards) are fairly accessible,” Swanson said. “But I don’t think students realize that this is a criminal offense that you’ll have to list later in life when you apply for jobs.”
Underage students who attempt to use fake identification to access St. Joseph bars often pretend to have lost their card if confronted by officers, Terhaar said. While students often believe this will exempt them from punishment %u2013 the opposite is true.
“The student may tell the police they don’t have an ID, but all the bars are videotaped so we can see them entering with one,” Terhaar said.
In an age where information is so readily available, some students believe that the information given to obtain an ID is minor compared to that shared with social network.
“They don’t have anything on you that they couldn’t get from Facebook,” the anonymous student said.
However, that is not the case.
“I’m not sure they provide their street addresses or birth dates on Facebook, and they often do with these ID cards,” Terhaar said. “They aren’t doing anything illegal on Facebook, so I don’t think it’s an apples-to-apples comparison.”
Administrators also warn students may leave their families and friends exposed in case of an emergency.
“Our biggest concern is for our students’ well-being,” Vierzba said. “If a student was in an accident, and we find only their fake identification, we can’t alert their next of kin or process that information.”
“We have an obligation to tell our students they’re doing something illegal,” Swanson said. “We’re just trying to keep them safe and on the right path.”