Once again the university administration has decided to put its time and efforts into addressing problems that do not exist. The current football voucher exchange system does not need to be changed, especially not with one of the two new plans the university wants to implement.
Having been a student and football season ticket holder for going on seven years now, I have seen the UW attempt to make many policy blunders.
They tried to eliminate drink specials at our favorite bars and tried to stop playing \Jump Around"" at football games. Both times, there was a cry of outrage from the students and now ""Jump Around"" is here to stay, and I can still get my $2 pitchers at FAC. The university is now once again royally screwing the students, and once again the students need to make some noise to keep tradition alive.
The new football ticket policies cause far more problems than the current system. Plan A would cause many problems.
First, people will start getting in line weeks or possibly months ahead of time to secure a good seat for the season. I am sure the university and the campus police are going to enjoy hundreds to thousands of fans sitting in line the months of July and August.
Secondly, what of those students who do not spend their summers in Madison and come back in late August, only to find that there are already a few thousand students in line, which could force them to sit out their season in row 60 of Section L.? Additionally, how is someone supposed to get that extra ticket for their friends or family who come into town for the occasional game. Seriously, what was the athletic department smoking when they came up with this idea?
Plan B reeks of trying to eliminate the game day festivity of tailgating. Part of what makes Camp Randall such a tough place to play is the energy that the student section produces, and the energy that a student with a belly full of beer and brats is going to be exponentially larger than that of the student who has been waiting in line for their ticket for three hours being bored.
What time will you and the 30 people you want to sit by have to arrive at Camp Randall to sit in Section P or O? 7 a.m.?, 6 a.m.? The night before? If you do get in early you may have to sit in an empty stadium for four hours waiting for the game to start.The idea of handing out tickets on game day is just not feasible.
It is true, the current exchange is not perfect. People cut in line and skip class. But these problems are minor.
I urge Badger fans to keep the traditions of the Wednesday ticket exchange and game day tailgating alive to keep Camp Randall one of the rowdiest places to play football. Do not vote on the new plan, and take the time to urge the athletic department and the univeristy administration not to implement these worthless alternatives.
