AS THE leaves begin to change color and the weather gets colder, one realizes that fall is unmistakably rolling in. For the college football fan, this is one of the best times of the year, when teams begin to prove their mettle by moving into what is usually the toughest part of their schedule. Unfortunately for fans of the University's team, this revered time has been shaken by the revelation that some students have been scalping their student guest tickets to complete strangers on the online auction website eBay. Measures must be taken to ensure that students who scalp tickets will be punished in order to prevent online ticket sales of student guest tickets.
One of the greatest traditions in Virginia football is the annual rivalry game against Virginia Tech. The game usually draws huge numbers of fans from both schools, and fans that cannot get tickets are willing to pay big bucks to make sure they have a spot -- a fact that has not eluded some enterprising members of the University's student body.
Selling student guest tickets, however, is unethical. These tickets are intended for friends and family of a student who may drive up and want to see a football game with that student. Although there is no sort of restriction to buying student-guest tickets regarding who they are bought for, these tickets are not meant for total strangers, and there is only a limited supply. Students who scalp their tickets to make extra money may deprive other students of buying these tickets for their intended recipients.
Scalping student guest tickets is also detrimental to our team. There is no way to determine who will buy auctioned items on eBay. The tickets could ultimately be bought by a Virginia Tech fan, who will come to our stadium to root against our team. A team plays better on its home field with a friendly crowd supporting it. If enough Virginia Tech fans show up, it could reduce our home field advantage. Although students who sell their tickets on eBay may not care about the performance of our team, there are many other students and alumni who do. It is not fair that the actions of these students could possibly influence the outcome of the game for those who wish the best for our team.
However, student-guest tickets should be given to friends of students who root for rival schools. These tickets should still be sold because they are being used for their intended purpose -- tickets for guests of students.
Unfortunately, student guest tickets are not the only tickets being sold to strangers on eBay. Tickets from season ticket holders have also appeared on the Web site. Although one hopes that a Virginia fan would sell his ticket to another Virginia fan, the resale of season ticket holder tickets should not be regarded as negatively as the online sale of student guest tickets. Season tickets are bought a season at a time, and the owner of that clump of tickets owns a seat at the game which he can either fill by himself or allow to be empty unless he finds someone to take his place. Student guest tickets, on the other hand, do not belong to anyone until they go on sale before an individual game. Unsold tickets are sold directly before the game, and a student does not lose any value by not selling them, as a season-ticket holder would.
Students who have scalped tickets are abusing a system set in place to make it easy for those close to a student to attend a game, and the loophole must be shut off for future games. The University Judiciary Committee is currently reinterpreting the University's Standards of Conduct to see if scalping in this fashion may constitute a violation.
Online scalping of student guest tickets must not continue. Students who scalp tickets can be located through the ticket code on the scalped item, as these tickets have to be bought with a student ID. Students found to scalp tickets online should be subject to fines or a revocation of student privileges, such as entrance to sporting events should be curtailed. With commensurate penalties, students will most likely be dissuaded from scalping. Student scalpers should be punished for abusing a system that has been set up for the benefit of the entire student body.
(Alex Rosemblat's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at arosemblat@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
KURTZWEIL: A defense of the Batten Curve
By Paul Kurtzweil | 3 days agoStandardization is an important idea in a school to make grading as fair as possible — all inconsistencies in teaching assistants or exam writing are ironed out.
KAVITHA: U.Va. must strengthen efforts to combat opioid overdose in the community
By Gayathri Kavitha | December 23, 2024Addiction crises should be understood as communal, rather than individual.
EDITORIAL: Signing off from the 135th term
By Editorial Board | December 20, 2024At the end of our term, we thought it fitting to share with you which of our 28 editorials have been our favorites.
