Ohio State fan Steve Kramer, 19, leads his freinds as they party in the parking lot of Tropicana Field, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Their group traveled 16 hours, from Ohio, to be at the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament, for which they have no tickets.

Ohio State fan Steve Kramer, 19, leads his freinds as they party in the parking lot of Tropicana Field, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Their group traveled 16 hours, from Ohio, to be at the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament, for which they have no tickets. Credit: Courtesy of MCT

Letter to the editor:

 

It seems as though a hot topic among students lately has been the controversy centered around the reselling of student tickets for a variety of school-sanctioned sporting events, and other miscellaneous student discounted tickets.

As an outraged student myself, I believe this is an issue that needs to be further brought to light, and moreover, needs to be addressed by the university. No, this is not me whining about not wanting to pay for a ticket, or wanting things to be handed to me. This is also not about my non-understanding of the fundamental economic concept of supply and demand either, or any other ridiculous rebuttal that has been made via social media, but rather about addressing a serious issue that has only become increasingly more important on our campus.

Many students may argue that it is “a good business move” to resell tickets at an increased rate, or that “it is a free market.” The truth however, is that no, it is not a free market, and no, it is not a good business move. To begin, it is not a business. It is, however, students taking advantage of their fellow classmates. It is also important to point out that the way in which student tickets are sold, is in fact in a closed, private market manor.

These tickets, football, basketball and other D-tix tickets alike, are sold specifically to Ohio State students only, at student rates. I would also like to acknowledge the gross misuse of the discounted ticketing services provided to students. This year, basketball tickets sold out within minutes, with students literally seconds after purchasing season tickets, selling them online for abhorrently inflated prices.

Naturally, many students have raised questions about the potential regulation of reselling student tickets. Many have questioned why students didn’t just purchase the tickets when they went on sale. To answer this, it is because not everyone was either financially or physically able to purchase the tickets at the time they went on sale. This is made even harder to do, when hundreds of students purchase tickets for the sole purpose of flipping the tickets to make an astronomical profit.

Others have argued that some games are worth more than others and so it is OK to sell a ticket to the football game again FAMU for $10, but a Penn State ticket for $170. The issue with this is that the idea of one ticket being worth more than another, is merely an assigned value perpetuated by emotional or personal stakes in the games. The true value of the ticket remains the same: $34 as designated by OSU for home games. I understand in the given example, Penn State is the far better team, and that it is a conference game, but the fact remains that the branding and socially assigned value of the game, along with students looking to make an easy profit, is what is driving up the price, not the actual OSU designated value of the ticket. This is not the definition of supply and demand, as many students have argued.

Additionally, some students have argued it is the buyer’s fault for buying such an expensive ticket. To those students, I would just like to point out that if the cheapest ticket being sold is $130, it seems much cheaper in comparison to the one being sold for $170, does it not?

The power is in the hands of the seller. The seller dictates the prices, and if a student is looking or a ticket, they will look for the lowest price for that ticket, even if it is severely inflated. The buyer is at the mercy of the seller, not the other way around.

Another key point I would like to bring up is the reaction many students have had via social media in response to a petition that was created by another student for ticket resale reform. Many have said that this impedes on their rights, and limits their freedom. Please note that freedom of speech and the right to petition are both innate rights granted to all American citizens. Everyone is allowed to speak their mind and have their own opinions, despite what your own may be. Some have argued via social media this form of thinking is self-centered, and does not take into account the financial situation of the other student. To those who argue this point, I would just like to point out how very easily that same argument can be made from the opposing point of view, and thus is very weak reasoning on their end. Additionally, any reform would not be aimed toward restricting the sale and resale of student tickets, but rather at regulating the inflation of resale ticket prices for students.

Disagreement, social issues and change are natural occurrences in everyday society. They are seen on personal levels, community levels and even national and international levels as well. To think otherwise would be foolish and extremely close-minded. Change comes as a result of dissatisfaction, with reform being a natural process of any society.

In closing, I would just like to say that not everyone will agree with my opinion, and that is OK. The fact still remains there is a present controversy in the way tickets are sold and resold among students. It is something that is quickly becoming volatile, and most importantly, it is something that needs to be addressed in one form or another by the university.

 

Camila Moreno
Second-year in international relations and diplomacy
[email protected]