Published: March 12, 2009

U2’s March 6 concert at Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) incited a bustle of activity throughout the university. While some students were excitedly planning early-morning trips to the Bronx, others were attempting to make some cash by selling or renting their Fordham IDs to U2 fans willing to pay.

One Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’09 student said that he had posted an ad for his ID on Craigslist “as a joke” at first. “The highest offer I got was for $250, after receiving like five or so offers,” he said. He said he used his Gmail account, rather than his Fordham e-mail, to make the posting in an attempt to avoid identification by the administration.

Despite his efforts, he said that soon after he posted his advertisement, he received an e-mail to his Gmail account from Christopher Rodgers, dean of students at FCRH with the subject “Sale of a Fordham ID is a Serious Violation.” The e-mail went on to state, “Your offer to sell the identification card assigned to you as a member of the Fordham University community is a serious violation of the University Code of Conduct, exposes your University and your fellow members of the community to crime and is also illegal. Should you put the University community at risk and actually conduct a sale, you risk suspension, expulsion from the University or other administrative action.” The e-mail also implored students to remove listings immediately.

Although the student in question said that he had initially hoped to “make a little bank” on the deal, he said that he is “really over it because it’s totally not worth the risk now that there is a legit investigation.”

A few students posted on Craigslist offers to sell or rent their IDs for the concert, but these listings were taken down soon after they were posted. One student, who posted on Facebook that he or she worked in the ID office and was willing to make copies of Fordham IDs, wrote, “I would like to charge $50 per Fordham ID.” Another post read, “Fordham ID for the highest bidder to get into the U2 concert this Friday.”

Keith Eldredge, dean of students at FCLC, said that he learned of the potential ID sales through an anonymous e-mail that alerted him of the Craigslist postings. He and Rodgers soon got in contact and decided to e-mail any address connected to such a posting.

“We didn’t anticipate this at all,” he said. Eldredge and Rodgers contacted Craigslist administrators, explained to them the nature of the postings and asked them if they would remove any advertisements for Fordham IDs. Eldredge said that Craigslist sent a short e-mail back expressing concurrence and promptly took down the postings.

The Facebook post of the student who allegedly works in the ID office caught the attention of the blog “Brooklyn Vegan.” Although the student’s offer was taken off of Facebook rather quickly, “Brooklyn Vegan” posted the note, introducing it by saying, “Now you can get yourself a fakey straight from the source.”

“I’m transferring after this semester anyway… so I’m taking advantage of the opportunity and offering to sell a few Fordham IDs. I really need the money, and nobody would ever notice,” the offer states. “Obviously I can’t print very many, and I can’t get caught doing it or else I will get fired and probably expelled, but I know how not to get caught.” The student said that he or she planned to sell 20 IDs at $50 apiece, but would consider increasing the price if the demand for the IDs was very high.

The “Brooklyn Vegan’s” post received many comments, including one from “Tom,” who said that “random people are contacting students through their Fordham University e-mails and offering them cash to rent their IDs.”

Dan Kiely, supervisor for Security Services at FCRH, said that no extra security measures were enacted in response to the Craigslist postings. He said that the week prior to the concert, many students were coming into the ID office for replacements, but it was very possible that they had misplaced their IDs prior to learning about the concert and the event motivated them to finally get a new one. He did not imply that these students had sold their IDs.

Kiely said that security at the concert was increased because of the large crowd, “as it is in any big event.” “Security encountered no problems of people coming in with phony IDs,” he said.

Eldredge said that any student who is identified as one who tried to sell his or her ID would be put through the judicial process in order to determine if any further sanctions are necessary. As of Fri., March 6, Eldredge was not aware of any students being caught.