Student ID’s spark controversy

The+person+in+the+ID+photo+is+not+a+40-year-old+man%2C+rather+staff+writer+Nikolai+Gentes%2C+a+high+school+junior.+

The person in the ID photo is not a 40-year-old man, rather staff writer Nikolai Gentes, a high school junior.

Nikolai Gentes, Staff

This year’s school IDs for PA students were recently distributed and left many people confused and dissatisfied.

“They touched up the photos way too much,” said junior James Valotto. “I was orange, and the shading was terrible.”

Senior Abigail Smart was also disappointed.

“The lighting was really bad,” she said. “There were white marks on my face. It looked like I was oily.”

Junior Lillian Corbitt also had a dismal appraisal of her photo. “I looked dead,” she said.

According to headmaster Dr. Morris, the photos displayed on the IDs will not look the same when they appear in the yearbook. 

“The photos themselves, when they are printed—-either on paper or in the yearbook—- are going to be fine,” said Dr. Morris. “It’s the production of the IDs themselves where some weird thing happened with the photo. It happened with staff IDs, too.”

Dr. Morris said that he considered sending the IDs back to the company to be changed, but ultimately decided against it.

“I did feel like it was important for the company to understand the level of dissatisfaction with the ID product so that they could try to fix it in the future,” he said.

This year’s IDs are red, as opposed to green, which was formerly the standard color for PA IDs. 

“The Department of Homeland Security suggests that we always change the primary color of the IDs,” said Dr. Morris. “It’s important to have a different color every year, so you have the right people with the right credentials.” 

Recently, students had the opportunity to request reprints of their IDs, though it is unknown when these reprints will be completed and released. 

Photo retakes will also be held on Nov. 17. 

Due to a contractual obligation, the same photography company that was used for the ID photos will also be used for retakes.