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Some dormitory card readers have not accepted new PennCards, but security guards have admitted students anyway. As hundreds of students endured long lines outside of the new PennCard Center at 38th and Walnut streets yesterday, some who have already received the new cards worried that the new IDs may threaten on-campus security. Many of the new PennCards have not been running cleanly through dormitories' card readers -- causing long lines as students wait for attendants to swipe each card. Some Spectaguard security officers have resorted to waving students through the line without swiping the cards, making it easier for unauthorized people to get into buildings. At one point yesterday, a Daily Pennsylvanian reporter in the middle of a backed-up line walked through the turnstile in High Rise North without anyone checking her PennCard or the cards of several other students in line. The same reporter has also been waved through after a cursory inspection of her photograph. Spectaguard officials are supposed to check a person's appearance against the photograph on a PennCard, as well as swipe the card through the security readers. Spectaguard Assistant Vice President Gesi McAllister said she reprimanded one guard for not checking students' appearances against their cards, and stressed that she was prepared to respond quickly to student complaints of security lapses. Another potential problem arose when students kept their old PennCards after receiving new ones. Center for University of Pennsylvania Identification workers -- who distributed more than 1,000 cards in four days over the weekend -- did not confiscate every old PennCard when they issued the new ones. The extra cards mean students can provide guests access to dorms and facilities without having to go through normal security channels. But University officials played down the significance of the complaints and defended the current security system. Activating the new cards should deactivate students' old cards, said Laurie Cousart, the telecommunications director who oversees the PennCard. Cousart noted that the University had a "strong preference" to keep old cards after students activate their new ones, but that workers will let students keep old PennCards as souvenirs if they want. Regardless, activation of a new PennCard automatically cancels all accounts and access attached to an old University identification, so only the true owner can enjoy the ID's benefits, Cousart said. Despite her insistence, many students are still using both cards in The Book Store, dining halls and residences. College junior Tova Rosman -- who uses both her old and new PennCards -- noted that many students prefer to swipe old PennCards because they clear through security machines faster than the new ones. While that would resolve the problems involving backed-up lines, students would still have two active PennCards. Cousart said she was unaware of the problems students have reported with card swiping in residences. She said she is not sure why the new PennCards would not run through card readers, because the magnetic strips on the back of both kinds of cards is made of the same material.

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