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In preparation for the Yankees game on March 18, I feel that I must bring up the subject of scalping, specifically among students.
This is a moral issue that has always bothered me, and I hope I can convince a few of you to rethink your plan for your unwanted ticket. I am aware that regular season football tickets and some basketball tickets are scalped. Students who are allotted free tickets through the lottery turn around and sell those tickets for profit. I have looked the other way from the scalping of these tickets because it is inevitable and an unfortunately expected occurrence at sporting events. I am proud to say, though, that I have never sold a free ticket to anyone, much less to another student, nor have I purchased one. There is no need to perpetuate this act.
I think taking advantage of your peers to make a few bucks is abhorrent, but it never bothered me as much as it did last September. The scalping of tickets for the Concert for Virginia Tech really disgusted me. Students who were rewarded with free tickets to the concert flooded Facebook groups with messages, asking for $40 in exchange for a general admission ticket. I did not quite understand how anyone could justify selling his or her free ticket for a 100 percent profit to another student and still be able to sleep at night. Given the circumstances of the concert, I felt that scalping was entirely inappropriate. That concert was a gift to the student body and the Virginia Tech community at large as a means of celebrating the Tech spirit and as thanks to all of those who helped us through the rough times last April. Some students who were enrolled last April were forced to purchase a ticket from a fellow student to see the once-in-a-lifetime concert dedicated to them. There was definitely something wrong with this.
With the exhibition game in sight, I am afraid that history will repeat itself and ticket holders will take advantage of the Yankees' generosity and humanitarian gesture and profit from it. Since the tickets available in the lottery were extremely limited, each person who signed up made the chances of being rewarded a ticket a little bit smaller for the entire group. I have known students to sign up for big football game lotteries with no intention of attending the game purely because there was a chance that they could sell that ticket for a good price. They have nothing to lose and a great possibility for gain.
I am sure this lottery was no different. I am not complaining about the lottery system - I think it is a convenient system and completely fair in the distribution of tickets. I am only concerned that many people who legitimately wanted a ticket were cheated out of one because of "enterprising" students or faculty. Unfortunately, there is no way to sift the scalpers out from the other lottery participants. I wish that those students would realize how inappropriate they are being. Capitalizing off a university tragedy is disgusting, and I would like to think that the student body and faculty are above that. Unfortunately, I am sure there will be a few who will misrepresent the rest of the student body.
The tickets will indeed be hard to come by and, naturally, there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of people looking to get a ticket. A student or faculty member with a ticket knows that if they choose to sell it, someone will absolutely buy it from them.
Please continue the pattern of generosity demonstrated by the Yankees administration as well as the musicians from last September: If you wish to make your ticket available to others, do not ask for money.
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I say VT brings back the first come first serve policy for sporting events. They switched systems back around 2001 or 2002. This allows students that really want tickets to get tickets. For one of the years they had an in-person lottery. Same as today’s lottery, but you had to get up at 6am to sign up for it at Cassell Coliseum. But for the old system, I remember taking turns waiting in a line for over a week. It was actually fun sometimes. No one sold student tickets back then, and if they did it was for a case of beer that the seller would probably end up sharing with you (mostly retribution for waiting in the line). I think it is a shame that some students abuse the lottery and take advantage of their fellow students for money. As for selling tickets for the April 16 concert, I just feel sorry for you.
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When I was a student we had to wait in line for tickets and it was definitely a better way to go. As I understand it, with the current lottery system a person who couldn't tell a football from a basketball has the same chance as someone who could tell you every starting quarterback the Hokies have had for the last decade. The waiting in line deal gave real fans a better chance of getting tickets and Bob is right - I don't remember even hearing of students selling their tickets.
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Here, here! I find it a rather disturbing trend myself. I have also never sold a free ticket for money. I signed up for the Yankees lottery not knowing if I'd really want/be able to go, but knowing that if I won I could GIVE the ticket to any number of friends who would love the opportunity.
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I don't think the methodology of assigning tickets is to blame. The "real fans" such as myself have no problem shelling out a measly $70 or so for season football tickets, for example. However, I'll leave it to others to debate the pros and cons of the lottery system. The fact is that these tickets are valuable items being given away for free. Supply and demand dictate that the price should be higher than $0, and so long as this is the case, ticket scalping will occur. Ultimately, we all must acknowledge this fundamental maxim of economics: no exchange will occur unless it is for the benefit of both parties involved.
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I'm glad there are altruistic people such as Taikara who are so willing to give away a free ticket to friends. However, suppose I'm in a position where neither I nor any of my friends has a ticket and I desperately want to go. I could ask Taikara for her ticket, since she seems the generous type. But she doesn't know me, would probably say no, and give it to one of her friends that she does know. Alternatively, I can go online, find one of these unscrupulous scalpers, and buy a ticket. Yay! I was quite willing to pay the money, so there's no coercion involved. Both the scalper and I are now happy. Had I relied on someone else's supposed generosity I would not have been able to go. I'd say the scalper has the moral high ground here, since I was able to get what I wanted.
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But there is an easy way to avoid the scalping problem: simply print the tickets with the name of the lottery winners. At the gate, check each ticket against the ID: no match, no admittance. The tickets can only be used by those who actually win them. A scalped ticket is worthless, so nobody will sign up for the lottery without intending to attend.
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