This is part two of the Emerald’s two-part series on the University’s ticket distribution program. Part one appeared in Monday’s edition of the paper.
Lines, tents and memories
Before the online distribution system, students at the University stood at the ticketing office on a first-come, first-serve basis and waited to get their tickets@@Oh yes – best student-ticket experience ever@@. It was believed to be a rich experience for students.
“You would go wait in line with some buddies and blankets and tents and have fun out there,” University alumnus Sawyer Christianson@@http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sawyer-christianson/27/556/582@@ said, smiling. He said the experience was a whole different beast separate from the football game@@damn straight!@@; people just wanted to hang out and meet each other as they waited for the opportunity to see the Ducks play.
“We weren’t the team that we are today, but we were still a good team,” Christianson said. “I couldn’t imagine what you guys are going through now.”
For those of you who have been to the ESPN GameDay events that have been hosted in Eugene, think of it as something similar to that: a bunch of sleep-deprived students waiting in the cold for hours just to see their team play. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and it gets the students pumped up. Christianson described a similar atmosphere as he retold a story about standing in line for student tickets.
But, every system has its Achilles’ heel. First off, the Internet is cheap@@Eh.@@. Without the hassle of hiring security@@There was no security at these lines, even overnight. I have been here since 2006 — went to all the basketball and football games and stood in line for those tickets— and never saw them@@, ticket distributors, clean-up crews@@only on the over-night stays did things get pretty messy. Not all the time, especially with the lesser in-demand tickets and games@@ and whatever else, the athletic department can save a buck or two@@Bing, bing, bing.@@. Also, safety was an issue@@What? How? I never saw any fights or heard of stolen stuff. Nothing was ever reported in the paper@@. So in 2008@@was it 2009?@@, the athletic department and the ASUO decided to make a change that they thought was for the best@@for them@@.
What else is there?
At Oregon State University, students are still standing in lines and waiting for their tickets.
“Waiting in line for a whole night sucks, to be honest,” said Sam Karpeles@@http://directory.oregonstate.edu/?cn=Karpeles&x=36&y=9&type=search@@, an Oregon State student@@And this is indicative of the student population as a whole?@@. “Especially if you have homework or a test coming up, it is just a hassle.” @@The best thing UO did was doing the distribution on Sunday afternoons instead of during the week.@@
Although there are limits as to how long the campers can wait in line, it’s still very much based on a first-come, first-serve basis — a smart move for a university that is trying to keep students happy and attending games. Even if the team isn’t successful, a student can decide 10 minutes before a game that he or she wants to go, and walk right through.
At the University of Utah, 6,000 student season tickets@@https://www.alumni.utah.edu/membership-forms/?display=Sustaining-Life-Member.php@@ are being sold online for the cheap price of $25, which includes admission to the student section and a T-shirt@@Where do you get this info?@@. And that’s only the season tickets. Students can also pass on the season tickets and go wait on game day for one of 1,000 student standing-room tickets.
“We have great demand for student tickets, and we have pretty much sold out every game as far as student tickets,” said Hunter Hughes, a Utah student@@I was able to find this person, but he is listed under “employee” and not “student” in the directory — http://people.utah.edu/uofu/misc/uWho/basic.hml?eid=44805357@@. “But everybody who really wants to go gets that chance.”
Students and departments at an impasse
“Students who attend athletic events later tend to also be very productive alumni – want to give back to their university – not only in athletics but the entire university in many different ways,” ASUO President Ben Eckstein said@@This is a first reference to Eckstein, so I have no idea how to check this person@@. Although Eckstein hasn’t been able to make it to many Oregon games recently@@which school?@@, he has heard about the frustration that students are having with the system and understands the importance of Duck football to the student body.
Changing the student ticket distribution is possible, but not easy by any means@@According to whom? The athletic department? @@. There are loops, hurdles and tight-ropes to cross before any drastic changes can be made. But if the student body wants a change to happen, both the athletic department and the ASUO would be more than happy to help@@Says who?@@. The student government@@“They” being…?@@ acknowledges how important athletic events are to students, and that with a clear, decisive argument, the system can be tweaked and changed. The ASUO is a good place to start, and with enough support the problem will be taken to Garrett Klassy@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Garrett+Klassy@@ and the rest of the athletic department for consideration@@“for consideration”? As in, “Thanks! But we want to keep making the money with the cheapest system, so tough stuff regardless of what you do.”?@@.
Until then, keep logging on with your fingers crossed. According to Klassy, there are no tips or tricks for getting in. He couldn’t say for sure, but as far as he knew, there is no loophole for getting tickets.
“The best way is to log on right at your time to log on,” Klassy said. “Hopefully your computer gets in@@I like the “hopefully” part.@@. But, if there’s 10,000 students trying to get 1,000 tickets, unfortunately there is going to be 9,000 students who don’t get tickets.”
Understanding the unclear: The swamp of University of Oregon student ticketing, Pt. 2
Daily Emerald
October 2, 2011
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