The College Fix

Students cite privacy concerns, ‘risk of collecting biometric information’

New biometric palm recognition scanners in a Dartmouth College dining hall have prompted privacy concerns among some students.

The “biometric recognition technology” recently was installed in all but one entrance gate to the Ivy League school’s Class of 1953 Commons dining hall ahead of the winter term, The Dartmouth reports.

Instead of scanning or swiping an ID, students can use the new technology to scan the unique palm of their hand to record their entry into the dining hall and purchase a meal.

One remaining gate allows students “to swipe in with their physical ID cards” instead, according to the report.

While some students described the technology as “cool” and easy to use, others expressed concerns about the “risk” of their personal biometric data being collected and misused or stolen.

According to the student newspaper:

On Jan. 7, messages reading “Resist hand scan” and “Resist the hand” appeared on the public blackboard in ’53 Commons.

Bradyn Quintard ’25 said he believes the change to palm biometric technology was “completely unnecessary.” …

“Some people I talked to thought [hand scanning] was mandatory,” Quintard said.

Other students expressed concerns about the collection of biometric data needed to use the scanners. Dara Casey ’25 said she does not like sharing personal forensic information. Quintard added that there is “no reason to introduce the risk of collecting biometric information” because the physical ID system worked “fine.”

“I understand that they’re using … a proprietary algorithm with mathematical numbers, whatever that means,” Quintard said. “We have no reason to trust it as secure. We have no reason to trust their management of it.”

However, Dartmouth Dining director Jon Plodzik told the student newspaper the system is secure.

“The system has been vetted by the College’s IT group and is used by lots of colleges, businesses, government offices and sensitive restricted labs,” Plodzik said.

These include Boston University, Florida State, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt, according to the report.

Plodzik told The Dartmouth the system software does not store any “fingerprints or impressions.”

Computer science professor Tim Tregubov also told the student newspaper that he believes the technology is “fairly safe” due to encryption and other security measures.

So far, about 2,000 students have signed up to use the palm scanner, according to the dining director. The college decided to install the scanner to decrease waiting lines for the dining hall, Plodzik said.

Plodzik said he does not “see a downside” to the system, and students who decide not to participate “are destined to stand in a line waiting for entry.”

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