ID cards make 'guest' appearance

For the last three days, Nursing junior Diane Machens has borne the mark of an outsider. In the meantime, Machens was given a yellow "Guest Pass" so that she could enter residences and eat at Dining Service. Penncard Coordinator Lucilla Maurer said Machens is one of many University students who have had to carry yellow guest passes or slips of paper identifying them as University students since Monday, when materials for the Penncards ran out. New materials arrived yesterday morning. Maurer said the run on new Penncards was partially caused by new card readers that could not read many students' cards. She said that supplies were reordered in August, but that the company did not send them on time. She added that the problem had never occurred before, and that it "shouldn't have happened this time." Students said last night that the substitute Penncards were almost as good as the real thing, although they caused a few problems. Wharton freshman Dev Chodry said that he lost his pass and was given a slip of paper to show to Dining Service officials when he wanted to eat meals. But, he said, he had to sign in almost every time he wanted to enter a residences. Chodry got a new Penncard yesterday. Nursing junior Machens said her substitute card worked fine, and went through the dining card reader properly. "That's what I was worried about, that I wouldn't get my lunches," she said. Machens added that there was one advantage to the pass shortage. When she paid the $10 fee for a new Penncard, they took her picture for the guest pass, and will take a new picture when she goes back for the Penncard. "It was a really bad picture, and I'm glad I'm getting a new one," Machens said.

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