The university charges $10 each to replace an ID that has been lost, stolen or damaged.
Hannah Czaruk has lost her student ID so many times, she no longer tries to retrace her steps to find it.
The sophomore studying engineering has spent about $150 on what she estimates to be 15 misplaced Ohio University student IDs in the past two years.
“Sometimes I lose them in my room, sometimes I just drop things and forgot to pick them up,” Czaruk said. “Sometimes I leave them on the trays at the dining hall, sometimes I’ll lose my whole wallet and I need to get a new one.”
OU student IDs that have been lost, stolen or damaged can be replaced for $10 at the Bobcat Depot on the first floor of Baker Center, according to the university's website.
In fiscal year 2015, OU collected $55,000 from students replacing their IDs and $54,000 in fiscal year 2014, Josh Bodnar, OU director of access, transaction and video services, said in an email.
Czaruk said she no longer tries searching for misplaced IDs because she feels the process to get a new one is quicker and more convenient.
The money the university collects for replacing student IDs goes toward supply costs for the cards, labor and staffing costs for Bobcat Depot and equipment costs, among other aspects, Bodnar said.
Emily Witte, a junior studying education, said she has lost four IDs while at OU.
“I was holding on to that old design,” Witte said, referring to the old ID cards that featured a picture of Cutler Hall. The new design, which features the “it’s
y{ }u" marketing campaign, started at the beginning of the 2014-15 academic year.
She said she has lost her ID on the catwalk by Ewing House, the laundry room in Dougan House, in Nelson Dining Hall and in West 82.
“The fourth time I lost it, I really freaked out,” Witte said. “I’m tearing apart my room, I’m tearing apart the laundry room, I’m asking everyone there if they’ve seen it."
The Bobcat Cash on her lost IDs has been used by other people on more than one occasion, Witte said.
Someone spent about $40 in Bobcat Cash off one of her lost IDs the first time, and about $30 the second time, she said.
Witte said she noticed her account balance was lower than expected when she went to print something at the library, so she pulled up her statement and surmised it was due to her lost ID.
Witte called Bobcat Depot to try to get a refund for the money before going to the Ohio University Police Department, where she learned it was considered fraud to use someone else’s student ID.
She also discovered she could only get her Bobcat Cash refunded if more than $100 was spent.
“If you are going to steal someone’s Bobcat Cash, spend over $100,” Witte said. “You’ll get more stuff, they get their money back.”
On one occasion, Witte said she checked her Bobcat Cash balance and saw someone had used her ID on a dryer in Dougan House. She attempted to “stakeout” the laundry room and called OUPD to have an officer stay with her.
Her, a friend and an OU police officer staked out the laundry room for about an hour, but no one showed up to get their laundry load, Witte said.
“It was really anticlimactic,” she said, noting she never found out who used her Bobcat Cash.
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Through losing her student ID, Witte said she has learned to protect it more like a credit card.
Czaruk has also been better about keeping track of her ID, and has had her current one for about a month.
“I haven’t lost anything in a while, knock on wood,” Czaruk said, adding that her mom bought her a wallet to help her keep better track of her ID. “Wallets changed the game."
@megankhenry
