ID Violations Not Big Issue For Football Games
After each home football game, a few students are reported to the Office of Student Standards and Conduct for using another student’s ID to get into the game, officials said.
While this is a popular option for students not wishing to purchase an access pass, it can lead to university consequences for both the student caught and the student whose ID was used.
“UAPD and other ushers who see students using other IDs to get in are in a violation of the code of conduct and get reported to the Office of Academics. Both students are referred, the one who is caught and the cardholder, unless the card was stolen,” said UAPD Sgt. Esteban Ceniceros.
Although it does not occur in large numbers, a few students do get reported at each game, said Lt. Gary Crain.
“We do not see too many cases, so evidently students are getting away with it,” Crain said.
“If they are caught, we confiscate the ID and report them to the Office of Student Standards and Conduct because it is a university policy violation.”
Students are reported by UAPD after each game, said Rachel Eikenberry, director of the office of student standards and conduct.
“We have quite a few cases that come in after every football game,” Eikenberry said. “Students who present another student’s ID at football games are reported to us by UAPD, and we process it from there.”
Students who are reported are processed in violation of code 21 of the Code of Student Life which includes “forgery, alteration, destruction, misuse, or possession of university documents, including, but not limited to, university identification cards or records, without authorization. Violations include, but are not limited to, forgery of applications for financial aid, admission, course changes or course credit, copying, misuse or alteration of parking permits, or alteration or misuse of transcripts, or student identification cards,” Eikenberry said.
When students are processed, they are sent a letter of charged sanctions, which includes all required sanctions for the offense, in this case, students are given a warning, which the university keeps on file for a year, Eikenberry said.
“I do not perceive it as a huge problem, but it is a common occurrence,” Eikenberry said. “I have had a lot of students come in and say that they simply did not know it was a violation of student policy; it is.”
Seth Curtis, a 23-year-old non-student from Alma, said he used a student ID to get into a football game and would do it again.
“I got an ID from a student who was at a tailgate and decided he was too drunk to go into the game,” Curtis said. “It was really easy; I wasn’t worried about being caught at all. I just held the ID up in a big group of people and walked right in. Honesty I could have been holding up my hand, and I do not think they would have noticed.”
