The photo isn't too flattering. Digging in backpacks and searching in wallets is a nuisance. And don't even mention the lines that form to swipe the pieces of plastic.
Until a few days ago that was the extent of the PennCard blues.
But now the PennCard concerns have climaxed after Penn students heard about a Division of Public Safety policy that, if approved, will ask the Penn community to voluntarily wear their Penn IDs all day, every day to enter academic buildings.
"It's a terrible idea," Wharton sophomore Monica Ea said. "Obviously it restricts personal freedom. It's like putting a serial number on everyone."
The current University policy requires Penn IDs to be worn from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. in campus buildings, while the proposed policy would be in effect 24 hours a day.
Many students said yesterday that they did not know much about the proposed policy, which is now being examined by a University committee, though officials have not yet disclosed which committee is currently evaluating the proposal.
As soon as students heard the facts, however, they reacted with anger, disgust and mockery, calling the policy an unnecessary measure that was a huge inconvenience.
"It's just a pain," Wharton sophomore Elizabeth Esrov said. "It's another thing to remember."
The policy is intended to curb on-campus theft, Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said at an Undergraduate Assembly meeting on Sunday night. Rush defined on-campus theft as the stealing of personal property such as laptops and Palm Pilots, but declined to comment yesterday on details of the proposal.
Students, however, are asking for evidence to support that these thefts are being perpetrated by those without PennCards.
"Is there proof that this on-campus theft is not coming from members of the Penn community?" College sophomore Samantha Simon asked.
On Sunday, Rush said statistics show the majority of the crimes on campus are committed by non-Penn community members, but did not provide these statistics at the meeting -- one of several reasons the UA decided to postpone taking an official stance.
She also repeatedly denied that the proposal is in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
But many community members instinctively based their opinions on the assumption that the policy is a direct effect of America's new terrorist threat.
Elizabeth Fitzgerald, a resident at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, said the ID policy would not make her feel any safer.
Her reason? The proposal would be useless in deterring a terrorist.
Dozens of students called the policy absurd and idiotic, perceiving it as ineffective.
"It's stupid," College sophomore Peter Woodford said. "People forget their PennCards even now. They're never going to get people to wear their PennCards all the time."
Concern that the University couldn't enforce a voluntary policy is at the root of some students' frustration.
"How are they going to enforce it?" College sophomore Andy Bollhoefer asked. "What happens if you forget your PennCard? Are they not going to let you go to class?"
Despite an overwhelming outcry against the proposal, a minority of Penn students view the policy as a powerful first step on the road to increased campus security.
"The small invasion of privacy is a small price to pay for the safety," Wharton junior Carolyn Choi said.
But for others, the proposal threatens what they most love about Penn -- an open atmosphere that is welcoming to all who visit campus.
"If I were a prospective student walking around campus and saw everyone wearing ID cards, I wouldn't want to come here," College senior Kathryn Whitfield said.
