Boston University recently took a look at different universities allowing students to use their campus cards to pay for tanning services. They found Ohio State University in Columbus, OH allows their students to use their student ID cards to pay for tanning at six different tanning locations surrounding the campus.

David Anthony, OSU Buck ID, Card Services Director, stated, “We’re dealing with adults who can decide on their own.” OSU allows students to use their ID cards with a number of local businesses other than the tanning salons.

Students at Wright State University in Dayton, OH allow their students to use ID cards to pay for tanning services at their on-campus tanning salon. Steve Adams, Wright vending manager, stated, “the university is not condoning tanning and that students ultimately have the decision of whether or not to use the salons’ services.”

Several studies have been done linking indoor tanning to skin cancer and melanoma, and many argue that by allowing students to pay for tanning with their ID cards, the universities are condoning indoor tanning. The studies linking tanning to cancer were conducted by the Melanoma Foundation of New England. The Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) released their own study results stating “UV light provides vitamin D which helps the body ward off many types of diseases; the rewards that come from moderate and responsible exposure to UV light far outweigh the consequences of not getting enough of it.”

The University of Missouri in Columbia is currently being sued for terminating their contract with an on-campus tanning salon after protest by the Dermatology Department faculty.

Should a university put constraints on how students spend their money?