Lamont To Require Student ID Cards

In an attempt to improve security, Lamont Library will no longer allow students without their Harvard IDs to enter the library.

Currently the only library that permits forgetful students to sign in, Lamont will adopt the stricter policy of all the other libraries across campus starting March 30.

Students who have lost or forgotten their IDs will be directed to the Library Privileges Office at Widener Library to obtain a non-renewable, one-day pass, according to Beth Brainard, spokeswoman for the Harvard College Library.

Admission will not be possible without an ID or this pass, even if a student has a class inside Lamont, Brainard added.

Brainard said that the primary goal of this change is the protection of students.

“The policy is necessary in light of tragic events at universities across the country,” she said, referring to the campus shootings at Virginia Tech and other colleges in the past year.

“It’s another layer of security so we know that people in the building are members of the Harvard community.

Although the policy will not go into effect for another two weeks, some students have already expressed concerns.

“I fully do not support it,” Taylor M. Owings ’08 said of the change.

Owings added that causing students to miss class would be “rather silly.”

“I frequently leave my ID in my room,” she said.

Mariel L. Wolfson, a second-year graduate student, said that the library should look up photos of students instead of turning them away.

“Everybody’s going to misplace their ID at some point,” she said.

In an attempt to minimize the disruption to students, Brainard said the library made the announcement well before the new policy goes into effect.

Signs have been posted on the doors of the library and e-mails were sent out to all instructors and students of classes that take place inside Lamont, according to Brainard.

“The idea was to give people enough time to prepare,” she said.

Brainard’s advice for those who rely on signing in?

“The easiest thing to do is to remember your ID.”