School networks tend to emphasize MAC addresses as an identifier, simply as a historical consequence of when those networks developed. A MAC address used to be

School networks tend to emphasize MAC addresses as an identifier, simply as a historical consequence of when those networks developed. A MAC address used to be more meaningful than it is now. For example, at my boarding school around 2008, the internet shut off at 11pm, unless you set your MAC address to the same as a library computer... Point is, I can easily imagine a grumpy and misinformed IT person placing an unrealistic amount of confidence in a piece of evidence drawn from a MAC address.