Get in line

Braving sub-freezing temperatures for a chance to see some of Tufts' most distinguished visitors appears to be a thing of the past. In a departure from the long lines of previous years, all 1800 tickets for the 2003 Fares Lecture featuring former president Bush were distributed online through Student Services' WebCenter.

While administrators have expressed concern in the past regarding students missing class while waiting in ticket lines, the traditional way remains the more equitable solution. Last year, hundreds of students stood for hours outside the campus center and Dowling Hall for a chance to see former President Clinton. It is these students, willing to brave the cold and long waits, who deserve the chance to see such high-profile speakers.

Last year's ticketing system also benefited from multiple distribution times. Half of the student tickets for Clinton's lecture were available at noon on a Friday; the rest were given out at 9 a.m. the following Monday. As a result, a class conflict at one distribution time would not necessarily preclude someone from being able to get tickets.

This year, all tickets were available at a single time. At least one engineering class wasn't able to get any tickets due to an exam that began ten minutes prior to the online offering. And they probably couldn't count on their friends outside class to come through for them, either. Unlike previous years, there was only one ticket per customer this time.

All hope was not lost, however. The truly resourceful should have been able to find someone who wasn't trying to get his or her own tickets (a parent, for example) willing to log on at the proper time.

But it shouldn't have to be this way. Many were also upset when the collective student body tried to get Billy Joel tickets online in 2001, leaving the final ticket decisions essentially to chance. Tufts needs to make an attempt to make tickets available to those who really want them, not just people who are in the right place at the right time.

Though it may not be fun to wait in line for hours, it's the easiest way to rank students by their desire to attend. And for the people in line, it can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, rewarded by the chance to see some very famous visitors.