The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, June 13, 1978-Page 11
By Th
Who are you
How do you k
How would y
Silly questio
think. What wo
In today's c
are, largely,t
and symbols. V
birth certifica
bered deathc
there are nu
bered bank a
mits and num
them.
ONCE UPOT
behind bars w
numbers; toua
outside.
The identity
circumscribed
that let you ca
you buy on cr
take money fi
day or night.
Spencer N
newsletter
estimates that
million credit-
the United Sta
DO YOU h
dholders toda3
pieces of plas
1985, the aver
cardholder.
If you doubt
pocketful of 1
about losing3
who you arev
or a credit car
A federal
requiring eve
national ident
in some other
dropped, how
concern over i
Who do you think yoi
e AssociatedrsAmerican identity made
now?
ou prove it? of numbersymbolS
as, you say. But stop and -
ns-osa.Btsoanp o uld your answers be? T HE NE ED to identify ourselves
omputerized society, we remains, however. In some cases, iden- celebrities, like former U.S. Sen. Sar
a collection of numbers remains however om ces, idn- Ervin and tennis champ Virginia Wad
Ne start with a numbered tification is a matter of personal con- whose names are known, but whos
te and end with a num- venience - cashing a check, for exam- faces are not.
certificate. In between plie. In others, it is a matter of public Some worry about the growt]
mbered licenses, num- policy - the photographing and finger- Legislation is pending in Congress, fc
ccounts, numbered per- pouisiana because of worries over example, to protect people who u
bered cards. Millions of debit cards to withdraw money froi
crime. their bankaccounts via machine.
The most common card -is probably There are 14 million debit cards, bi
the Social Security card. More than 190 they represent only a tiny fraction
N a time it was the people million people have them. You can't use the pst ony in ration
ho were known by their a Social Security number to identify the plastic money in circulation. Ai
ay, it is the people on the oref u h oenetue tt cording to Nilson, there are 298 millic
yie yourself,hut the government uses it to retail store cards; 133 million oil con
of many Americans is identify you for everything from taxes pany cards, almost 93 million bank ca
by plastic cards. Cards to Medicare. ds like Visa and Master Charge,
Is by ptch crd. Cards a e Drivers licenses are nearly as million check cashing cards and 10
sh a check. Cards that let prevalent. The American Automobile million 'rel an etrtanden
edit. Cards that let you Association estimates that by the end of million traveland entertainment
rom your bank account, 1977, 135 million people - 80 per cent of cars l b American Express a
those eligible - had them. Diner'a Club.
ilson, publisher of a
about credit cards, THE GREAT proliferation of iden- "THE TREND is to more cards, n
there are more than 588 A o iet oie less," said Nilson. "People want a lot
type cards outstanding in tificat on accompanied the explosive cards," he said, adding that they don
tes today. The card companies even advertise it, wantto be limited to a single line{
making the holder "somebody." One cNisM
ave your share? Car- card gives you "clout," the ads say. Nilson, of Santa Monica, Calif.,
y carry an average of 5.2 Another boasts that it helps identify trying to start a club for credit ca
S wile"i iRV Aoh bossttiide if
u are?
collectors. One candidate for member-
ship might be Walter Cavanagt, a drug
store manager from Santa Clara,
Calif., who has made the Guinness Book
of World Records with his collection of
897 cards. His total credit limit on all
the cards is $1 million.
m Who are you? By the time you've
e' counted all your cards, noted all your
se numbers and listed all your licenses,
;h you might consider the answer offered
. by Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the Fren-
or ch chef "Tell me what you eat," he
se wrote, "and I'll tell you what you are."
)m
ut Approximately 80 per cent of the U.S.
of population does not have easy access to
c- mass transportation, says National
ion Geographic.
m-
ar-
14
0.3
t
nd
ot
of
n't
of
is
rd
tic eacn, iNnson sai . y
age will be up to 8.4 per
your identity belongs to a
plastic and paper, think
your wallet. Try proving
without a driver's license
d.
task force considered
ry American to carry a
ity card similar to those
countries. The idea was
ever, partly because of
ndividual privacy.
Frosh learn 'U' ways
(Continuedfrom Page 1)
and north campuses and then gather to
watch a film called Them Changes
about the first year on campus before
an alleged midnight quiet hour descen-
ds.
The tests given the next morning are
in reading, writing, mathematics,
chemistry, and foreign languages. Af-
ter lunch those who plan to live in a
Area restaurants keep
burger riees stable
consumers indicated they would still
(ContinuedfromPage3) buy hamburgers and ether meat
Americans consume nearly 16 billion products even if prices begin to in-
pounds of beef annually and the crease.
President's plan would only amount to "Right now, if prices were to go up by
an additional 1.3 or 1.5 billion pounds. a nickel or a dime per hamburger, I
He said that Burger King has upped its would continue to buy them because it
price of Whoppers from 95 cents to 99 would only mean an extra 15 cents or 20
cents but discounted rising beef prices cents to spend during the week," said
as the only reason for the increase. Saad Kemerrnu.
"The rise in beef prices has an effect bu "But if they go up by 15 or 20 cents
other factors are involved, such as in- each, then I might have to buy less," he
flation and the efficiency of the par- added.
ticular place," said Reinhard. Other consumers agreed, claiming
small prices increases would not deter
The regional director of operations them from continuing to buy meat at
for McDonalds, Larry Zimmerman, local restaurants.
said the fast food chain has not raised
its meat prices since early January. He
maintains there are no official plans to
raise any prices.
A LOCAL Burger Chef owner said'
prices have been increased by 4.7 per LongI
godde
cent in the last two months. He saidyar
hamburgers have been increased from riche
35 cents to 39 cents..so
While meat prices in fast food chains guara
Send
continue to remain relatively stable, Amneri
dorm froom in the fall can take a tour of
their future home. Late in the afternoon
of the second day is group counseling by
school or college. The quiet hour is
shoved back to 12:30 the second night,
presumably in the interest of new-found
friendship.
Of the compressed introduction to the
University, LSA student Philip Rubin,
wearing a Newport Jazz t-shirt from his
native New York, said, "Everyone's
pretty friendly and they try to help
you."
RUBIN WAS looking over a pamphlt
from a new program for first year
students in 1978 called "Freshman
Seminar," which offers full-term cour-
ses with titles like "Great Books of the
Ancient Near East" and "Methods of
Thinking."
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