Editor,
I want to congratulate Leung Cheung for her insightful letter on the college’s use of student SSNs as a primary means of identification.
Identity theft is a crime of epidemic proportions in the U.S., and the SSN is perhaps the most critical item of one’s identity. Students are, in effect, held hostage when the college demands SSNs be written on credit card slips or checks.
Go to school, follow the rule. De Anza College should change its policy without any delay, and the DASB should take this issue very seriously. Identity theft will probably happen to you, unless you are cautious, and jotting down your SSN on checks and credit card slips is definitely not an act of caution.
Story continues below advertisement
-James C. Williams
History instructor
