As a new Pitt student, there’s one tradition you can’t escape: receiving your first Panther… As a new Pitt student, there’s one tradition you can’t escape: receiving your first Panther Card. To get your hands on this shiny new piece of plastic, you will likely wait in line before having a regrettable picture taken then emblazoned on your card for all the world to see. But despite your unflattering mug shot, this card will be your best friend for the next four years. And if it isn’t, that’s only because you’ve lost it – believe me, you will – and had to replace it.

So why is your student ID so valuable? What exactly can you use it for? Well, new students, the answer is plenty, and it all starts here on campus.

Of course, there are many obvious things your ID does for you. It gets you food at the dining halls, gets you into your dorm and lets you check out library books. Your ID swipes you into the doctor’s office at Student Health on Fifth Avenue. You can even get cheaper prescriptions and ultra-discounted necessities like toothbrushes and non-prescription medication with your ID. As thrilling as all these practical benefits are, surely you can use that new ID for something that’s actually fun, right? Of course you can.

As you know, your Panther Card is your ticket to eating in the dining halls, but did you know that you can use it at local restaurants, too? Plenty of restaurants in Oakland let you use Panther Funds, which are essentially a bank account wired to your Pitt ID. You can make deposits into your account right at Panther Central in the Towers lobby or online, and then you’re good to go. This way, your ID works almost like a bank card, and since your campus livelihood depends on this little plastic rectangle, you’ll make sure to always have it with you.

The only question left is: Where to go? You can find hearty Italian at Joe Mama’s, fire-grilled specialties at Fuel ‘ Fuddle or the city’s wildest dogs at The Original Hot Dog Shop, known to natives as “the O.” Where you spend your Panther Funds is up to you, but you can find more advice on local eateries elsewhere in this issue.

So let’s say you’re completely and hopelessly broke. “What can I use this card for, hotshot?” you ask. Well, you’re not nearly out of options yet. That ID is your free ticket into any of the city’s four Carnegie museums, and there is plenty to see there.

Here in Oakland you can go to the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History, both of which are right across from Hillman Library. Spend a day in these museums and you’ll see dinosaur skeletons, Roman sculptures, exotic animals and artwork of all kinds.

Your taste in art is a little more pop? Trek on out to Fifth Avenue and hop on a 500 bus to go to the North Side (near the stadiums) and check out the Andy Warhol museum. The Andy Warhol features floor after floor of silk-screens, films and installations by Pittsburgh’s very own pop artist.

If that’s still not enough museum for you, try the Carnegie Science Center, where you can walk through a wind tunnel, tour a submarine or catch a movie in the eye-popping IMAX theater. This, though, is not free with your Pitt ID.

Once you’re done at the Science Center, maybe you feel like catching a ball game, and you’re in luck. Right next door is Heinz Field, the home of the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers. Use your student ID to get some cheap seats in the student section of a Panthers game and get a fan experience you won’t soon forget. Don’t forget to paint yourself blue and gold first.

If you prefer a leather glove over a pigskin, walk a little further down the river to PNC park and check out the Pittsburgh Pirates. Throughout the summer and fall the Pirates have designated college nights, and for a cool 20 dollars you’ll get a ticket, a shirt and vouchers for food and drinks. What’s more, these special nights sometimes include merchandise giveaways, where you can score hats and bobble-heads right at the door.

So I’ve used my ID for stuff on campus and Downtown, surely that’s all, right? Wrong. Now, as you now know, you can use your ID as a free bus pass anywhere in the city, and there are plenty of places to go beside museums. Catch a bus on Forbes Avenue that’s headed for Squirrel Hill – it will say on the front of the bus – and get off at Murray Avenue. Here you’ll find movie theaters, restaurants and shopping. If you’re feeling ambitious, though, take a 59U or a 61C right down to the Waterfront, an enormous shopping center that’s home to the glamorous Loews Theater and more shopping than you could hope for. You can read more about Squirrel Hill and the Waterfront elsewhere in this issue.

By now, that unassuming little card has helped you see a lot of the city, but you can even use it to see the whole thing all at once: Check out the Duquesne Incline at Station Square. There are two ways to get to Station Square. The first is to take a bus Downtown and then catch a train, or a “T,” from there. Like the bus, the train is free with your Pitt ID. Take that bus Downtown, then take a quick walk across the Smithfield Street Bridge and you’re at Station Square.

Now that you’re across the Monongahela, head for the only vertical train tracks you see; it’s the Duquesne Incline. This May the incline turns 130 years old, and yes, you guessed it, it’s free with your Pitt ID. When you hit the top you’ll see observations decks right away, and from there you’ve got a view of the golden triangle that you’ll never forget. That’s it right in front of you, the city you’ve been exploring. Your ID just got you across campus, took you downtown and into some serious shopping districts, and you can see all of it from the incline. But this is just the beginning of all there is to see and do in Pittsburgh, and your ID is your ticket to it all. On campus and off, there’s more for you out there than we can begin to write about, so flash that beautiful piece of plastic to the bus driver and go find some adventure.