Ticket Line "disassembles"

[dodger916]

Probably because that would extend the process another day.  Students would still be lining up Friday or Thursday, and the university would feel obliged to protect them from weather, themselves, etc..  Students lining up at 5pm tonight will need to wait until line number assignments at 1pm Saturday - that's 20 hours.  If they are not fortumate enough to have someone take their place in line, they will be there for another 10 hrs until 11pm.  That's 30 hours!  I assume these kids have homework, tests, papers??  Having line assignments on Sunday without a break would seem unduly harsh and could put those who don't have stand-ins at a disadvantage.

It's doubtful any process would be perfect.  This year it seems an effort has been made to accommodate better the needs of students and administrators while keeping fairness at the heart of it.  Actually, some kids were grateful that the line was being dispersed as they had academic commitments they needed to keep.  That's why they're here in the first place!

[jtwcornell91]

... is the University cracking down on traying the slope?  And are the students glad to be thus protected?  After all, they should probably be home studying anyway...  ::nut::

[Beeeej]

[Q]To be fair, "kids these days" are no worse than kids in any age. I've seen "kids these days" complaints dating back to impassioned speeches to the SPQR, and they're all bunk. As one of the most decrepit elders on the forum, I can tell you that during my generation's student days of artificially-extended adolescence, we were every bit as impolite, crude, and stupid as today's undergrads. It's nothing fifteen years, two kids and a mortgage won't fix.[/Q]

"The Earth is degenerating these days.  Bribery and corruption abound.  Children no longer mind their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching."
          - Assyrian stone tablet, c. 2800 BCE

Beeeej

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]So, how do they propose to prevent a mad scramble at 6pm sharp when the line will be allowed to form? How far away can you be standing at 5:59 and not be dispersed? It seems to me like the easiest way to prevent chaos at the front of a line is to allow the first person to line up earlier than anyone else is willing to.[/Q]
How many people are going to be there at 6? 20? 30? Who cares. The probably last year was being cut by 100+ people

[Q]Also, doesn't dispersing lines that form before 6pm Friday count as a part of the procedure which was not announced ahead of time, and wasn't that the biggest complaint people had? I seem to have accidentally voted for "bumblefuck" in this poll, but it sounds like that's not far off...[/Q]
Yes, I had that thought myself, but at least they're positive changes.

[Beeeej]

I think John's point is that these are supposedly reasonable, intelligent people who are making the rules, and after several years in a row of screwing things up, they really should have a pretty good idea by now of where the problems are going to be.  Unannounced change in the rules are unannounced changes in the rules, and someone is going to get screwed by them.

You only have to go back to 1991 and remember the actual serious injuries that several Faithful suffered due to a rush against the fence behind the Schoellkopf Crescent to imagine what might be the consequences of saying "You must all hang out outside the building until exactly 6pm, at which point you will have to trample your enemies in order to get a reasonably good position on line even if you were here before anybody else" - which is what, if I'm interpreting this correctly, the Athletics Department is saying.  It really doesn't seem that outlandish a question to me to ask "What exactly is the point of having people try to demonstrate their loyalty by being first on line, when everybody in the universe knows exactly what time they have to be there to be tied for first?"

Incidentally, the official week of classes at Cornell doesn't end until 1:10pm on Saturday.  If they really wanted to avoid having any students missing classes, that's when they'd let you start lining up.

Beeeej

[ugarte]

[Q] "The Earth is degenerating these days. . . . the end of the world is fast approaching."
- Assyrian stone tablet, c. 2800 BCE
 [/Q]  

Move over Nostradamus.  There's a new guy in town, and he's got plenty of apocalypse to go around.

[DeltaOne81]

My departing remarks before I leave for the line-

I'm sort of disappointed at all the grumbling. The ticket office had a few goals: make sure the most dedicated fans get the best tickets, make sure people don't massively cut, make sure the procedure is more organized.

The first mandates that there is some waiting time - like 1 to 11 pm Saturday - when you have to be there and it's regulated. That's a given now. They have to do a period like that to guarantee that no one can just show up and get tickets and leave, putting in no time committment. They've succeeded in that. There are going to be people who will be there well in advance of that time. There's nothing wrong with that, it's their choice, and they should be given the opportunity to show their committment by giving the extra time.

They claim to be monitoring the line this year therefore meeting part 2, which could have been done via self-policing. Sadly, this hasn't been happening and the Athletic Department has done a decent job doing what they have to.

Three has hopefully been accomplished,but if they follow through on everything - the pre-pay, etc,it should be.

I think they've done what they needed to. They'llalways be people who will bitch bc they don't want to committ 10 hours on Saturday. Well, screw 'em, they don't deserve Section B. I'm off to the line.

-Fred

[Greg Berge]

I rushed a girl to the hospital in '92.  She cracked the back of her head wide open traying Libe.  She wound up with a plate in her head.  Fun, fun, fun.

[Josh '99]

big red apple wrote:

Move over Nostradamus.  There's a new guy in town, and he's got plenty of apocalypse to go around.

Nostradamus?  You mean Quasimodo?


(Please tell me someone watched The Sopranos last Sunday.)

[dodger916]

I was there yesterday (Friday) at 3:30 and everything went very well. CU Police ensured that students entered the line in an orderly fashion.  I heard mostly compliments from students who expressed satisfaction that things were going smoothly.  Sure, there were some grumblings about groups being split up; but is it realistic to think this can be completely eliminated?  When administrators are responsible for 100's of "kids" many of whom who are probably used to getting things their way, is it realistic to think there won't be some disappointments?   All-in-all I believe definite progress has been made.

I also understand there is a schedule of events for the day.  Athletics may be suspending line checks during the women's soccer game so students can get some relief and fresh air.  Entertainment is planned including projection TV showing of last year's hockey games.  They are also selling a cool t-shirt that has "Lynah Faithful" printed on the front and "I did my time in the Line" on the back for $5 (cost).  Oops, there they go again making "unannounced changes"!

They're making a real effort to improve the whole event above the base requirements they set forth.   Those who stop to really pay attention will see positive results from those "working stiffs" who also sacrifice their weekends to ensure the students get the service they deserve.

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]When administrators are responsible for 100's of "kids"[/Q]
I'm on a break from the line, and since it apparently hasn't been mentioned yet... yes, hundreds. I got there at 7 pm, and by my informal count, I was mid to upper 400s on the line. By the time we got line numbers (which they handed out last night, bc you can't deal with an unregulated crowd of HUNDREDS of people) I was 530, not a bad 'cutting' rate - which of course is inevitable that it will happen some, but they were definitely actively protecting against it.

A friend of mine got there at about 1 or 2 am, and he's 722.

Man, that was nuts. I have no idea why so many people came so early - I never expected it. Good for the team, but... shocking.

Nap time now,

-Fred

:: Plea for lost possession deleted - was turned into Lost & Found nearby and I recovered it ::

[Jordan 04]

I too am on a shift break, so I'll chime in.

I don't know who's voting in the poll but to have twice as many "bumblef*ck" votes as "better" votes is ridiculous.

How one could view this year's process as anything but better than last year is beyond me.  The key ingredient is here this year -- "official" supervision.  Sure, maybe a couple kids managed to sneak in here and there, but there was nothing to the tune of the mob rush and pushing that occured when the doors opened at 7 am last year and there was 1 75-year-old man to handle everything.

Maybe some will complain because they didn't get the line number they expected if they showed up early this morning, but that's no reason to knock the system.

The one complaint I can see is that they handed out numbers last night, well before the stated time of Saturday at 1.  However, I don't see this as much of an issue, being that it still is a first-come, first-serve process for handing out numbers.  Maybe a few people had the advantage of being called by friends that line numbers were being given out, and I can understand complaints from those who didn't know they were being handed out last night, but I don't see that as a major flaw in the system.

I think Athletics did a far superior job this year as compared to last.

Disclaimer: I hereby attribute any typos to lack of sleep

[dodger916]

I just received a call from somebody waiting.  An Ithaca a capella group, the "Sons of Pitches", is performing in the Ramin Room.  Evidently, the t-shirts are pretty nice too.  Also, the mood of the place seems pretty low-key.  Hopefully we'll get some students to the soccer game vs. Penn.

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]The one complaint I can see is that they handed out numbers last night[/Q]

Yes, I could see that too, but I really don't think they had a choice to make and it was by far the best decision. By my estimate, 25 to 50 people cut us in a 5 hour period (or somewhere near 1 cut for every 10 people that were already ahead of us). Had they not given out line numbers, that surely would have gotten worse. They simply didn't have the staff to do any decent job of preventing cutting in a line of 600 people. Where they would have been able to patrol much better in a line of 50 to 100 overnighters.

Faced with such a crowd, they had to choose between risking massive cutting in a line bigger then they were prepared to handle, or just making everything official a bit earlier. It was still first come-first serve, so it was still fair.

Oh, and I'll make every effort to current this polling injustice at any computer I can get my hands on ;-).

-Fred

Btw, why do I get the feeling the ones voting for "bumblefuck" aren't involved in the process? ;-)

[dodger916]

It's true there was cutting.  However, accoding to ticket office officials, when students came forward to complain, the line cutters were promptly expelled.  I think I heard about a dozen such line cutters were ousted much to the satisfaction of the ones who played fairly.

The line number process is over (about 20 minutes early), and most everyone has already paid.  So far, so good......