ECU’s charges for fake IDs are unnecessary

Recently, East Carolina University and the Greenville Police Department (GPD) teamed up to combat the usage of Fake IDs throughout the local community which has upped the consequences students can receive if caught with one in their possession.

The consequences students face when being caught with a fake ID are harsher following the university’s involvement. According to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Virginia Hardy, offenses for the use of fake IDs will require students to go through the conduct violation process through the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (OSSR).

With ECU’s involvement with increasing the potential penalties for fake ID use could impact students’ chances of getting into graduate school or employment opportunities in the future since the offenses will stay on university records.

We, the Editorial Staff of The East Carolinian, believe ECU’s recent involvement with fake IDs is an overstep for the university seeing as though GPD already takes measures to combat students’ using them locally and it puts students’ futures at risk.

Some may say fake ID usage should be combated by both GPD and ECU to make sure those caught with possession of one learn a lesson. However, if every student with a fake ID gets marked with a permanent stain on their record from it, ECU would be dropping enrollment numbers left and right.

The efforts made by GPD and ECU to work against fake ID usage are appreciated by many. But, by making the penalties stricter, some may begin to turn away from Pirate Nation, leaving the university with a larger enrollment deficit than in previous years.