The University's new ticket policy requires current students to buy their tickets before May 3 of this year. This policy ignores the financial realities of many current students and should be changed. The ticket office needs to realize that students who are not supported by their parents do not have very much money. Many, like myself, rely on summer jobs for their entire year's funds, and budget accordingly. That fixed amount of money has to make it through the year. Clearly not everyone keeps to a budget strictly, but we spend according to what we have left, and try to extend it until the end of the year, when the summer to starts again. Many of us cannot sustain a $220 hit at this point in the semester, and the University's decision to change the policy without warning makes it impossible to buy tickets for next year. The University should also consider the fact that this will disparately impact those who are unable to turn to their parents for financial support. There are some questionable aspects to the University ticket policy more generally. The price of tickets has gone up 100 percent since my freshman year (2001), and demanding that students make a commitment this far in advance could create considerable confusion. While I think these are important issues, I recognize the University could have good reasons for dealing with the process in advance, and I confine my objection to the deadline. I merely propose that the deadline be extended to the fall for this first year, so that students who are low on money can still buy tickets, and in the future they can plan on the expense when budgeting for the semester.
Mike Roaldi
law student
South Bend, Ind.
April 12
