AU will celebrate its history once again with the Founder’s Day Ball later this month. While the ticket acquisition process has changed for the better, several issues still remain apparent and should be adjusted in the future.
Founder’s Day tickets in years past were distributed in one day on a first-come, first-serve basis. This year things are different as 100 more tickets are available, but similar to last year’s distribution in which students can get tickets on 12 separate days.
The Eagle is pleased with this adjustment. It shows a conscious effort by Student Government to listen to students’ grievances and make the process as fair as possible for all undergraduates.
But problems with ticket acquisition to one of the University’s most popular events linger. All tickets have students’ names on them, making it impossible to exchange tickets with anyone who cannot attend at the last minute. Also, the lines for getting a ticket are still very long, which gives students an incentive to skip class and leaves busy students (typically juniors and seniors) at a disadvantage.
The Eagle’s editorial board unanimously agrees that student names should be removed from Founder’s Day tickets. There’s always a handful of students who can’t attend the event last minute, and an easy solution to redistribute these unused tickets should be implemented.
Overall, long lines for getting a ticket remain a prevalent issue. The Eagle suggested three possible solutions for this problem:
1. The ticket acquisition process could be handled online, similar to the way Anderson Cooper tickets were distributed. Students should not have to set aside class and study time to stand in line, nor should they be forced to miss out on the event due to a busy schedule.
2. The event could be held exclusively for juniors and seniors, giving upperclassmen (who typically have the busiest schedule) a chance to attend the event. Underclassmen would miss out in the short term, but everyone would eventually have a shot at attending.
3. Student Government could combine both options, creating a ticket distribution system in which only juniors and seniors would be able to obtain tickets online at a certain time.
Founder’s Day Ball is one of the rare events in which AU students show some kind of school spirit. It’s an exciting, friendly gathering of the AU community that only happens once a year. And while we applaud SG’s effort to make Founder’s Day Ball attendance fair and democratic, we believe it could be better. -E
