The social media reaction to Apple's announcement about Duke Student IDs

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Fuqua ’88, announced last week that Duke would be one of six schools hosting its pilot for using the Apple Wallet App for major features of student IDs, such as payments and facilities access.

“With a raise of the wrist, students can gain access to places including the library, dorms and events, and pay for snacks, laundry and dinners around campus simply by adding their ID cards to Wallet on Apple Watch,” stated Apple’s description of the feature for Apple Watches.

Duke, the University of Alabama and the University of Oklahoma will be the first to launch the program this fall, with Johns Hopkins University, Santa Clara University and Temple University joining the program by the end of the year. 

The University and students discussed the announcement on social media.

Duke celebrated the revelation on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts June 4, and it pinned the tweet to the top of its profile as of Wednesday evening.

Some students took to Facebook to react. 

Other students took note of the Duke ties of Cook—who, in addition to being a Fuqua alumnus, recently spoke at commencement.

Melissa White, Trinity ’21, joked on Twitter about Cook’s connection. 

“I also think it’s pretty cool that Duke is able to participate in such an innovative tool, and that Tim Cook loves us enough to include us!” she wrote in a message.

Jake Chasan, Trinity ’20, wrote in an email that it is always great to see Duke in the media, and that the announcement shows Duke “remains on the cutting edge of technology by forming partnerships and participating in pilot programs.”

“I have been waiting for these features since I arrived at Duke. The program should streamline the multiple systems currently in use,” he wrote. “If fully implemented, this has the potential to replace dormitory keys and physical student IDs, both of which can be lost fairly easily by college students.”

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