False IDs in Life Fitness Center cause for concern

Students using other student's ID cards to exercise in the Life Fitness Center is no different than using another person's credit card, Ellen O'Connor said, director of City College's state-of-the-art fitness facility.

"It's someone else's identity," O'Connor said. "From our perspective, it's the same as having another student take an exam for you."

It may seem harmless to borrow a roommate or friend's school ID to exercise in the fitness center, but assumptions couldn't be farther from the truth.

"These students should understand the consequences of their actions," Security Supervisor Erik Fricke said. "They probably think they won't get caught."

Fricke broke down this dishonesty into three main violations of the college's Academic Integrity Policy.

Misusing an ID card also violates City College's Standards of Student Conduct.

"Attendance at any session of any class by a student or person who is not officially enrolled in that class, except with the prior permission of the instructor of the class," is prohibited, section T states.

It also violates another section pertaining to misuse of college documents, records, and knowingly furnishing false information to the college.

If someone willingly gives his or her ID to another to use the fitness center, is considered cheating.

Students enrolled in physical education classes receive credit for the hours they put in, and any fabrication of these hours would be cheating, as stated in Section I.

"If you misrepresent yourself, you're going to the dean's," O'Connor said. "If you let someone misrepresent you, you're going to the dean's too."

O'Connor holds both students equally responsible. "It's no different," she said. "We toss them."

O'Connor said that students have rights that come with their ID card, and that these rights belong to the student. There are many unknown risks involved with using another student's identity.

The potential for accidents, such as the possibility of fainting from exhaustion, adds difficulties to this problem.

If a student is using the facility under a different identity, things can quickly worsen, as staff would not have the correct medical information needed to take the next step.

Also, the use of another's ID card can be like using a credit card, as students can put money on them to make purchases at in various places on campus, such as the bookstore and the library.

Not only can a fraudulent student directly suffer from their own actions, but City College suffers as well.

For each student unauthorized to use the fitness center, the school loses money.

For an in-state student that does not register for the class, the school loses out on a $20 per unit tuition fee.

For out-of-state and out-of-country students, City College loses about $200 per unit.

Over time, this costs the college a large amount of money, Fricke said.