Because of the continuous efforts on the part of Eastern’s

Social Security Number Task Force, students, staff and

faculty’s social security numbers will no longer be printed on

the Panther Card ID, beginning this May.

The task force’s purpose is to look for ways in which it can

better protect the privacy of individuals of the university,

said Clay Hopkins, director of telecommunications and member of

Social Security Number Task Force.

“There has been an effort on campus to eliminate the social

security number from the cards,” Hopkins said.

The university determined it would not be too laborious to

eliminate the number from the cards, he said.

Hopkins said the task force has debated the topic of

discontinuing the printing of the number on cards in various

committee meetings held by the force.

However, because the extreme expense it would cost the

university to distribute brand new cards to all who currently

have their social security number on the card, only new members

to the university will benefit.

“There are no plans to replace existing cards,” Hopkins said.

“It is going to take three or four years before all cards are

replaced.”

Students, faculty and staff members do have the opportunity to

obtain a new Panther Card without their social security number

on it if they pay for a new card, he said.

“If someone does not want the number on their card, they

must pay $10 to purchase a new one,” Hopkins said.

The Social Security Task Force also has been re-emphasizing to

faculty members that students’ social security numbers are not

to be posted next to their grades.

“This is something we want to make certain faculty members are

not doing,” he said. “We do everything we can to protect rights

of privacy.”

Hopkins said eliminating the social security numbers from

Panther Cards is just a first step in this directions.