The Hilltop is rife with competition. What else is to be expected when 7,000 Type-A overachievers converge on a 104-acre plot of land? Students compete with each other, sizing each other up on everything ranging from looks and fitness to grades and internship opportunities. In “caring for the whole person,” the university should discourage the idea that each student’s success depends on the failure of his or her peers. Instead, it seems to support this survival-of-the-fittest mentality.
Obvious examples include grade distribution curves and the process of housing selection. But the competition engendered by the way tickets were issued for President Obama’s speech on Wednesday crossed the line from sensible and motivational to hysterical and potentially harmful.
Rumor has it that only 800 tickets were given out in total: 500 were reserved for faculty, staff and select students, while 300 were distributed on Tuesday afternoon to GoCard-presenting individuals. By 5 p.m., there were easily 1,000 people in line in the Leavey Center — one full hour before the announced time of distribution. At one point, the line stretched from the Athletic Hall of Fame through Hoya Court, up to Cosi and back through Hoya Court, snaking a few times across the lobby of the Leavey Center and finally ending by Vital Vittles.
Apart from being a fire hazard, the chaos of waiting for tickets took students away from their classes. Numerous students skipped their afternoon classes in hopes of scoring tickets and several planned on skipping classes the next morning to see Obama speak in person. Those who were bold enough to miss more classes — or lucky enough to not have classes after 11 a.m. — were rewarded for their risk-taking. Those who dutifully attended class were not rewarded for their admirable behavior. What exactly did the university hope to accomplish by handing out tickets this way?
When Obama last spoke at Georgetown in April 2009, the tickets were given out by an online lottery system — a fair and pragmatic method. This time, the speech appears to have been a last-minute affair since students were only informed of the event 24 hours in advance. Despite suspicions that the White House and university must have known about the president’s plans much farther in advance, it is reasonable to accept the explanation that there was simply no time to organize an online lottery. What is unacceptable is how the university faculty and staff who led the distribution of tickets allowed the hordes in Leavey to spend hours upon hours in line when they knew there were a very limited number of tickets.
Professor Marilyn McMarrow — who took the time to update those in line about the ticket distribution process — claimed that she did not know how many tickets were available. While it is understandable that the White House would not want to release exact numbers for security reasons, I am certain that the ticket distributors knew there were not enough tickets for everyone waiting anxiously throughout Leavey.
Many students assumed the university chose McDonough Arena at least partially for its size. Its capacity is 4,000 for basketball events and 5,500 for general events. Obviously, the gym was not going to be filled to capacity with the president of the United States present, but it was not ludicrous to imagine that a couple thousand tickets would be available. When I arrived at Leavey at 4 p.m., I estimated I was in the first 1,000 in line — and therefore likely to receive a ticket if following the above logic. I was wrong; but more importantly, my misconception was not corrected in a timely manner.
Ticket distribution began around 4:30 p.m. By that point, the individuals giving out tickets must have known that not all of those in line would be satisfied. They should have informed the crowd of that fact in a timely fashion, but they did not. By 7 p.m., when they had already started distributing waitlist tickets to the more than 100 people still ahead of me, I had not yet been told to go home. I left, but only after hearing about the lack of tickets from students who had received waitlist tickets. Many of my peers shared my disgust at the lack of transparency and communication from the university.
As a prestigious university located in the nation’s capital, Georgetown is lucky to receive such high-profile speakers as Obama, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But if the university continues its method of allowing access to these speakers — first come, first serve — it will alienate a vast majority of its best and brightest students. Students should not have to sacrifice class time nor stand in line for hours and hours in order to reap the benefits of attending this university. The administration needs to stop encouraging competition when it is paired with disorderly behavior and delinquency.
Kavya Devarakonda is a sophomore in the College and the current copy chief of The Hoya.
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