Graduate Student HUIDs Will Work as CharlieCards Starting July 1

Harvard IDs belonging to students at any of Harvard’s 12 graduate schools will function as MBTA CharlieCards starting on July 1, according to Brett Monson, president of the Harvard Graduate Council.

Curneisha Williams, the HGC’s chair of advocacy, said that the body — which represents graudate students across the University — proposed the resolution out of concern for graduate students without access to public transportation.

“Students were wanting Harvard ID cards to be MBTA cards, which is something that other colleges offer and specifically Harvard College offers to their students and it is just a disservice for graduate students not to have that,” said Williams.

Williams pointed out that of the more than 20,000 Harvard graduate students, a majority live off campus. Easy access to transportation would likely save students money, in addition to relieving other financial stresses, according to Williams.

“I know my classmates and associates come here and the budgets are tight. They’re facing food insecurity, housing insecurity. And so to alleviate this one worry was very important for us,” said Williams.

Kody Christiansen, a former student at the Harvard Extension School, first proposed the initiative after experiencing MIT’s CharlieCard system.

“Last year, I cross-registered for a course at MIT and was surprised to see how easy and quickly they were able to provide students with an ID using a card vending machine. I was very happy to see that my MIT ID was also a Charlie Card. All IDs at MIT are Charlie Cards. I figured if MIT could do it, so could we,” Christiansen wrote in a statement to The Crimson.

“Many Harvard graduate students live off campus, and the ones who do live on campus often have to travel to Harvard’s Medical School in Longwood and to other work-related locations via the MBTA,” Christiansen added. “It only made sense that grad students at Harvard were afforded the same opportunity to have Charlie Card IDs because they frequently used the MBTA.”

According to Christiansen, the HGC unanimously backed his proposal to add MBTA functionality to HUIDs.

“I spoke with Harvard’s transit department and the Harvard ID office, and, along with fellow HGC members, we got the ball rolling,” Christiansen wrote.

After Christiansen’s resolution was approved by the HGC, Williams met with the Harvard ID office to solidify the functionality of the HUIDs for all graduate students.

“This is something that would serve graduate students well, and so starting in the fall, all incoming graduate students of schools who are in this process will be having MTBA cards,” Williams said.

“I’m incredibly proud to see that HGC continues to fight for grad students every day,” Christiansen wrote.

—Staff writer Adina R. Lippman can be reached at adina.lippman@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Angelina J. Parker can be reached at angelina.parker@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @angelinajparker.