The college experience is about both learning and making meaningful memories. This includes the opportunity to watch Billy Joel perform at the BankUnited Center in March.
So why is it that when we have a worthwhile musician come to campus, we’re forced to lose valuable sleep and study hours, or even miss class?
When I heard that Billy Joel was coming to UM, my immediate reaction was excitement.
I was glad I had the opportunity to see an artist a bit more legendary than Ludacris. I didn’t think about the long line that would grace the walkway like the one before Homecoming last semester when tickets for the hip-hop star were made available.
Reality hit me Wednesday morning when I bumped into several friends in line who’d been standing for an hour and were only halfway through.
Most students don’t have time to wait for a concert ticket in a two-hour line that runs from the UC Ticketmaster window to the end of the farmers market. Students also shouldn’t have to wait in such lines when there seem to be other logical options.
We live in the age of the Internet. I think it’s time we take advantage of it.
Why not start a ticket distribution system online?
Students can reserve their free ticket on a website like EventBrite, print out a receipt, and use their Cane Cards and receipts to pick up the actual ticket at the ticket window.
With the Billy Joel event still a few weeks away, students would have had enough time to pick up their tickets within the next week, perhaps, with no ridiculous lines or interruptions of our daily lives involved.
It’s fair. It’s easy. I hope to see changes in ticketing happen for the next big on-campus event.
Lyssa Goldberg is a freshman majoring in journalism and political science.