Cornell Athletics and the Student Assembly are working together to solve the myriad of problems created by the Friday, Sept. 28 hockey ticket sale outside and inside of Bartels Hall.
This last sale began with students camping out and led to injury when some rushed the crowds for the earliest line numbers.
Those who slept on the ground outside Bartels Hall from that Thursday into the morning may appreciate the creation of a committee whose main goal is to blend the athletic department and students’ input into a new hockey ticket sale plan for next year.
This committee will work to allow everyone the fair and safe opportunity to purchase hockey season tickets.
The committee will be chaired by Frank Araneo, an athletics and physical education administrator with additional advice from other athletic administrators including John Andrew Noel Jr., director of athletics.
“It’s good to work together. It’s great that athletics wants to work with us,” said Michael Moschella ’02, vice president of finance for the S.A.
“We need to establish a set program so that the people who really want to be there would be there. That’s part of the goal,” Moschella said.
Moschella noted that because each University student pays for Cornell athletics through subsidies from the student activity fee, he feels that student representation is necessary.
“It’s appropriate and helpful to have students represented [in these proceedings],” he said.
S.A. President Uzo Asonye ’02 named Mark Greenbaum ’02, S.A. executive vice president and Josh Bronstein ’05, new student representative to be the student delegates on the committee to help bring students’ concerns to the ticket sale debate.
They both said that reform of this year’s sales system would be beneficial to all who want to enjoy Cornell hockey.
“I’m extremely excited to work on the committee,” Bronstein said.
Greenbaum concurred. “[I will] really like to be involved in this,” he said. “I know that athletics is extremely open to change. I really believe there’s room for compromise: there is room for compromise.”
Greenbaum finds compromise in the creation of a seniority system for upperclassmen as well as allowing those who show continued interest in hockey the ability to fill the stands as well.
“Loyalty should be something that is rewarded. I really think seniority is also fair,” Greenbaum said.
Bronstein notes that for all students, not just freshmen, that all should be allowed a fair chance for a ticket no matter the age, location or demographic.
“I don’t think seniority should play into [the sale]. Seniors are not always the most loyal fans. It doesn’t seem faithful to reward those [who are older over those] who really want to go,” Bronstein noted.
This discourse should provide the newly formed committee much discussion about how best to allocate tickets while being fair and loyal to long-time fans. However athletic administrators note that while the sale was successful they also want to end the chaos that this year’s sale brought them.
“We’re obviously hoping to get the students incorporated with any ideas they have,” said Gene Nighman, director of the hockey ticket office. “[This year] we had a problem with the line. I was disappointed with the students that acted like drunken rock concert fans. I didn’t expect that from Cornell students.”
Greenbaum agreed, “It was silly, people pushing each other over. With students giving input there must be balance between [these extremes].”
The behavior of a few also may have dampened the experience for those who camped out according to Jill Schleifer-Schneggenburger grad, who camped out for an extended period of time outside Bartels and witnessed people rushing the doors at 5:30 a.m.
“Last year they had a set of rules and there were people there to enforce them. This year, there was a total absence of rules. The mass chaos was quite detrimental to people who waited in line,” she said. Schleifer-Schneggenburger found that the programs enacted last year worked much better in controlling crowds and problems. “Last year’s system worked much better,” she said.
This dissatisfaction with an unofficial Cornell tradition is something that Bronstein hopes can be relieved by next year with the creation of this committee.
“Many students wasted their time [camping outside]. Many people look forward to the experience,” Bronstein said.
Archived article by Carlos Perkins