Questions over why seniors don’t get priority with Spring Formal tickets

By JESSIE WHITMER

Staff Writer

After spring formal tickets sold out, discussion on whether or not seniors should have priority over the tickets began. Many students, primarily seniors, expressed disappointment over not being able to have bought a ticket this year.  For seniors, this was their last chance to attend, and they shared different views on how the ticket sales take place.

Junior Cara Wissinger did not realize that seniors were not given priority.

“I honestly did not know that seniors did not get priority,” said Wissinger. “I guess it would make more sense in my opinion if they gave seniors priority. I have heard stories of seniors not being able to attend because tickets have been sold out, so that is a bummer.”

Other students had been under impression that seniors had seniority over ticket purchasing.

“I’ve just accepted the fact I’m not going to go to Spring Formal, never gone and probably won’t,” said senior Rachel Dacey. “Everyone tells me that they sell out of tickets every day.  I’ve been told that the line backs up beforehand, and then all of them sell out in 30 minutes. I’m not going to miss class to buy tickets. Personally, I think that the senior should get precedence for Spring Formal tickets but that is because I always thought that’s how it went.  I thought Spring Formal was a senior thing.”

For some, they do not feel that academic year should play a factor in attending Spring Formal.

“I think Spring Formal tickets should be available to everyone, regardless of whether or not they are a senior,” said junior Bailey Lustig. “If someone wants to actively participate in on-campus activities and events, they should be given the priority.”

Another UMW Senior, Shannon Haley focused on the idea that seniors should most definitely be given priority over tickets.

“Seniors should definitely be given priority for tickets for Spring Formal,” said Haley. “Only a few hundred tickets are being sold, so getting in line and purchasing one is very competitive. This is one of the seniors’ last events as a student at UMW, while underclassmen have multiple more changes to attend. If anyone has to miss out on Spring Formal, it should not be the seniors who really want to go.”

Some students feel that the dance should strictly be for upperclassmen.

“Honestly, I believe Spring Formal should strictly for upperclassmen,” said senior Nathan Neri. “Every year the tickets become more difficult to purchase, to the point where most seniors don’t even hear of the selling dates until it’s too late. Another thing is many of us busy upperclassmen don’t have time out of our work, class, and athletic schedule to sit at the UC at 6 a.m. to wait in line for a few hours to purchase tickets, like many of these freshmen do. Though the idea of giving all students the opportunity to go sounds fair, priority should 100 percent be given to those who have given so much to the University over the past few years. The freshmen and sophomores will have their fun once they get through their gen eds and 101 classes.”