Issue date: 8/17/07 Section: News

For SIUE students, the Cougar Card is more than just a form of identification; it is a passport to the university.

"It's pretty much a key to everything," junior Stefan Mierzwa said.

The card has more than 30 different uses, including checking out library books and receiving discounts at participating businesses off campus.

Losing the Cougar Card can stir up a sense of panic in students. Rightfully so, since the current Cougar Cards not only provide access to almost everything on campus.

Mierzwa had lost his Cougar Card twice.

"I felt worried that someone was going to pick it up and charge stuff on it," Mierzwa said.

If students lose their cards, they should contact the service center immediately so the lost card can be deactivated, Lora Flamm Miles, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, said.

"They really need to take care of it," Miles said. "There is money attached to it."

Replacing a misplaced Cougar Card is relatively easy, but at $15 a replacement card, it can get pricey if the student does not hold on to it.

"Some students are very responsible," Miles said. "Some students we almost see on a monthly basis."

Flamm Miles said the entire campus is being re-carded for security reasons. Cardholders' Social Security numbers were embedded in the former versions of the Cougar Card. In fact, state regulations are requiring the university to do away with using Social Security numbers as much as possible.

The re-carding of the campus will be free and is required for everyone, Flamm Miles said.

The re-carding process has already begun; traffic in the Service Center picked up as fall semester approached. Satellite re-carding stations will be set up around campus to make it quicker for people to get the new card.

The re-carding schedule can be found at www.siue.edu/COUGARCARD/.

Flamm Miles said students only need to bring in their old card so the university can destroy it. This way, no one will be able to obtain the Social Security numbers off of them.

Students will be able to take a new picture as well, Flamm Miles said.

The card has an added feature; it will function as a regular debit card.

Flamm Miles said students will be able to set up a checking account with the Bank of Edwardsville, which now has a branch in the Morris University Center. Students are able to use the Cougar Card as a debit card; the money will be taken directly from their checking accounts.

The new card marks the fourth time the university has changed the Cougar Card. It has been changed in the past to picture parts of SIUE such as the Cougar Mascot or a building on campus, according to Flamm Miles.

Students have always had an identification card at SIUE, but it was not until the 1993-94 academic school year when the Cougar Card became what it is today.

The Cougar Cards' introduction coincided with the opening of the first residence hall, Woodland Hall, according to Flamm Miles.

The need for a smart card arose when access to the residence hall needed to be monitored and meal plans became available, Miles said.

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