Charged twice

Students are upset about the possibility of paying $30 for athletic game ticketsbecause they say it is already taken out of their tuition.

“I feel like if you are a student some things should be included, as much as wepay for tuition,” said Charita King, a 22-year-old junior English student fromGainesville.

In each student’s tuition, $8.75 per credit hour is taken out and given to theathletic department.  A student who enrolls for 15 credit hours pays $131.25 persemester for his or her athletic fee.

There have been 6,000 tickets allotted to accommodate 13,014 students currentlyregistered at FAMU for Saturday’s homecoming game. That means that student No.6,001 will be turned away.

“I think its ridiculous for students to have to pay $30,” said Edwin Bell, 22, asenior electrical engineering student from Pensacola. “It seems as if they areforcing students to pay (again).”

“The athletic fee does include tickets to all athletic sporting events,” saidJohn Crutchfield, assistant FAMU comptroller.

Richard Matthews, assistant athletic director, said each year 6,000 free studentseats are set aside. Matthew said the limit comes from the state fire marshal tomake sure there are enough seats to accommodate students and paying customers.Last year, 9,000 students attended the Homecoming game.

Some students purchased tickets for $30, the general admission price forHomecoming game, just in case they don’t make the cut.

“The early bird gets the worm,” said Interim Athletic Director J.R.E. Lee III.Students are concerned with the idea of paying so much for their homecomingfootball tickets.

The $30 for a student ticket and tuition fees will be used for the footballstadium renovations, weight room equipment and athletic equipment, Matthewssaid. Crutchfield also said the money is used to pay for band and footballtravel.

President Fred Gainous chose not to comment on the situation because he said hehad no idea it was a concern among the student body. He said he walks around thecampus often and makes himself accessible to students but no one has mentionedthis problem to him.

And like previous years, there isn’t a discount for students who are purchasingtickets for the football game. For most Homecoming events, there is a studentdiscount, such as the Homecoming concert.

“Students should not have to pay full price for a ticket even if they are goingto be charged,” said National Alumni President Carolyn Hepburn Collins.

“The number of people who can afford to pay for a game ticket should pay beforewe ask the students to pay. Reduce some of the press passes and have them pay$30 instead of students.”

Matthews said,” This will not be an issue anymore. Next year, the 40,000 seatstadium will have plenty of space.”

Akaylia Futcher can be reached at akayliaf@yahoo.com.