We ended last semester with an editorial predicting the difficulties facing student ticketing for the new year. Since then, USC administration has been constructing a new ticketing process aimed at addressing student concerns once and for all. The planning and debates have now come to an end, as today will see the unveiling of USC’s new ticketing system for the coming fall.
Of course, the official line is that administrators are always open to more student input. But recent activity, or lack thereof, proves this kind of statement a little hollow. Attendance to ticketing forums has been notoriously low, and an email informing students about today’s announcement will be sent only after the rollout event is finished. And any bystander can easily tell you that spending one afternoon on Greene Street — even around lunchtime — to ask students their opinions on ticketing is a wasted effort. It’s tough enough to get students to take a flier, let alone stop them and explain the details of a ticketing overhaul.
When it comes to ticketing, the lack of promotion for events soliciting students’ opinions has been painfully absent since Day 1. While this aspect of the issue discourages us, we must still push students to let their opinions be known — whether it be at today’s announcement, on Greene Street or in personal contact with administrators. Several details of the new plan — mainly, the switch to season passes — we know will be met with frustration and negativity from students. Administrators need to hear that dissent; they need students to voice their opinions and help mold the system into one that’s effective and easy to use.