Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
Newsroom: (541)346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.0. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon. uoregon.edu
On-line edition: www.dailyemerald.com
There’s nothing worse than standing in line.
But for some Duck football fans, there’s
nothing worse than missing a game at
Autzen stadium.
Camping out like 12-year-old girls waiting for 'N
Sync tickets, the fans probably don’t realize that
the 6,098 football tickets available every home
game for students cannot sell out in one day.
They probably realize the irony of waiting in
line for something they’ve already paid for, but
they also probably know it’s better to compete with
some 17,000 other students than to compete with
everyone in Eugene for football tickets.
Let’s face it: The student ticket system isn’t all
that bad.
But it could get a lot better. Starting from the top,
here are some ideas and suggestions.
1. Those lines are crazy. If the EMU ticket office
only has the capability to use two operators at one
time, then maybe the EMU ticket office shouldn't
be the only place on campus to get tickets. The
Casanova Center is a hike, not to mention out of the
way. But what about McArthur Court? When the
other ticket office is closed or when students don’t
want to go to the EMU, this is a perfect place to sell
athletic tickets. Another idea might be setting up
stations in the dining halls on certain days. The
ASUO does polling booths there at times, so we
know that computers can be hooked up — say,
only on the first few days tickets are available—to
make this spot an alternative to the EMU. Another
place with a lot of computers that’s already hooked
up to the University server is Oregon Hall. We
could pay our bills and get our tickets.
2. Publicity! People who want tickets need to
know the system. Although the Athletic Depart
ment often publicizes when and where and who
can get tickets at the beginning of the year, subse
quent information is necessary. Students are often
confused about what happens if not all tickets are
picked up or don’t know that they have the chance
to pick them up at all. A letter to each student
could clear up the rules and provide a piece of pa
per that students could refer to in the future. Before
each tickets-available date, the AD needs to remind
us students what our ticket rights are. We paid for
them — sort of — so let’s pick them up.
3. What happens if we change our minds? This
is key. If a student who picks up his or her ticket
cannot go to the game, there should be a way to
give that ticket to another student. Well, there al
ready is a way to do this! The Athletic Department
Finance Committee holds a ticket swap in the
ASUO office from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday
before a home game. Students are encouraged to
bring any tickets they won’t use, and students who
want to pick up these tickets should bring their
student identification. This type of exchange is an
excellent way to ensure that every ticket picked up
'J fck
Sold
OUT/
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at the EMU ticket office will mean a person sits in
the stands. But students who know they won’t use
their ticket MUST participate.
4. Even with all the efficiency issues, this is still
the best way. Other schools such as Arizona have
gone from taking money from student fees to cover
tickets to asking students to pay full price for
games they wish to attend. On one hand, this elim
inates the burden on students who never go to
games but still end up paying for tickets out of
their fees. On the other hand, tickets are just one of
the many student-funded programs and groups on
campus that not all students take advantage of. In
the marketplace of ideas, there is room for football
fans. And besides, the “student section” is a formi
dable ally of the Ducks. If we paid for tickets as oth
er fans do, we would not sit together.
5. The lottery system is still the fairest way to im
plement the student-fee paid athletic tickets sys
tem. At the ADFC meeting earlier this week, the
idea of student season tickets came up. In this see
nario, about 500 of the 6,098 student tickets avail
able for each game would be grouped for student
season-ticket holders. Students could apply to get
season tickets, and a lottery would determine the
season-ticket holders. The idea is to give a few stu
dents the chance to go to all the games, but it just
cuts the number of tickets available to the general
student body. And besides, all students should
have equal opportunity to pick up those 6,098 tick
ets.
The bottom line is that sports fans are a great as
set to the University, and we are lucky to be a Uni
versity that tries to keep student tickets an option.
The catch is that students who go to games should
have an efficient and easy to understand system for
picking up their tickets. And for you lucky ones
who do get a seat, be kind to your fellow Ducks —
make each ticket count.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Re
sponses may be sent to ode@oregon. uoregon.edu.
Letters to the editor
Fees vital to support tree speech
On Nov. 6, the U.S. Supreme Court
will hear arguments on Southworth
vs. Grebe, a case that will have a huge
impact on college students and their
right to free speech. Southworth vs.
Grebe challenges the constitutionality
of the student fee system.
On this campus, democratically
elected students allocate student fees
to student programs, campus groups
and resource centers that exist for the
benefit of the student body. South
worth vs. Grebe challenges the right of
universities to use incidental fees to
fund student groups and programs
that advocate particular political ide
ologies. While this may seem like a
harmless and reasonable objection, it
really attempts to limit free speech
and deny students the right to politi
cal involvement on campus. The stu
dent fee system allows the University
to maintain a forum where no student
group is discriminated against based
on its political views, and all students
are empowered to participate in the
dialogues that enhance our education.
Ruling in favor of the plaintiff in
Southworth vs. Grebe would impose
strict censorship on student groups,
newspapers, speakers brought to cam
pus by fee-funded programs, resource
centers and all other student services.
Such censorship would deny college
students exposure to diverse ideas
and would prevent all of us from
learning to communicate effectively
and from being prepared for living
and working in a global society.
Student fees enhance the experi
ence of all students. In the days ahead,
we encourage you to take a look
around our campus and see all the
great things student-fee funded pro
grams do for our campus community.
Celebrate freedom of speech!
Robin Miller
ASUO federal affairs coordinator
Matt Swanson
ASUO state affairs coordinator
Mayor thankful for safe Halloween
Like many other people in the com
munity, I was pleased to learn that the
Halloween weekend passed quietly
and peacefully.
The success of this weekend can be
attributed to a number of factors.
Many people worked hard to get the
word out on how to celebrate without
creating a problem or forcing a police
response. The University, the ASUO
and many other organizations came
together to offer a number of construc
tive alternatives for the weekend. The
Eugene Police Department was also
out in the community talking about
ways to prevent the violence and de
struction we have seen in the past two
years.
For all those who worked on these
efforts, let me publicly offer you my
appreciation. But, there is one more
important factor that we must all rec
ognize and acknowledge.
One of the main reasons we had a
quiet weekend was that many of you
made a decision NOT to encourage,
support or engage in violent behavior.
I am grateful to all of you for your
choice and, speaking for the City of
Eugene, I offer all of you my heartfelt
thanks.
I hope that, as we move into the fu
ture, we can continue to find positive
ways to work together in our efforts to
keep Eugene and the University a
wonderful place to live and learn.
Jim Torrey
city of Eugene mayor
on Violence and
ior have received a
backward
OK, we’re not
sports experts, but
no one is pleased
that the Oregon
Volleyball team has
broken the school
record for consec
utive match losses
with 16. With foot
ball, soccer, men’s
and women’s bas
ketball and other
teams doing so
well, the volleyball
team’s skid is all
the more out of
place.