Sunday, February 21, 2010

Convenience Or Privacy?


The Hatchet recently had an article on a new breed of student cards with built in SmarTrip capabilities. Students and staff at American University have been testing the system, but GW has announced that technology is not currently an option for our University. How disappointing?

Such a system would be fantastically convenient for GW students, especially if the mandatory Colonial Cash could be used on the Metro. However the issue of lost or stolen cards would become more significant. It's tap and travel ability could be easily exploited by those who had 'acquired' a card. And also there is a question of personal liberty. At what point do we start to worry about all our info being in one place; our name, our address, our money and now our movements. I find that a little scary. I'm torn between a world of convenience and a world without privacy!