Students Frustrated by CAA's Ticket Distribution Mistake

Director of Ticket Distribution Kerry Slatkoff said the new distribution process accomplished its main goal -- to curb cheating. She said the only students who criticized the revamped process are the cheaters. "We gave out a lot ... about 1,000 less bracelets," she said. "I feel there's still a lot of cheating going on, but we cut out a lot."

But a group of students left the distribution frustrated by the handling of a CAA official's mistake in giving out bracelets Thursday morning.

Although Thursday distribution began around 42,000, about 100 students received bracelets with numbers outside of the given range. When alerted of the problem Friday afternoon, CAA officials decided to assign the students new numbers at the end of the number range, beginning at 44,767.

When Shane Parrish, an employee at the Athletic Ticket Distribution Office, used Microsoft Excel to randomly choose a starting number Saturday morning, he entered a range of 39,726 to 44,866. But when 40,708 was announced as the starting number, some students with reassigned numbers approached Slatkoff and CAA President Tee Pruitt, asking that they be placed in line at about the 42,000 mark.

One student, junior Geneva Phillips, told them she called the ticket distribution office Friday when she realized the mistake. She said a CAA official told her that she and the 100 other students with incorrect bracelets would be "compensated."

But Phillips argued that when people who received bracelets later than her were about 2,800 closer to the chosen number, she was not being fairly compensated. "I'm upset by the system that is supposed to be so random and legit," she said.

Graduate student Michael Sasscer said that by refusing to place him in line according to the number he should've received Thursday morning, Pruitt stripped him of a right every student has -- to pair up when getting bracelets. "My friend and I really did not have the same opportunity as other students. It is my right to go down there and get the number I want."

His friend, graduate student Drew Kifner, got a bracelet Wednesday morning so he and Sasscer would have numbers decently spaced out. Sasscer said it is a strategy that many students use but Pruitt refused to acknowledge. "He has to be respectful of any strategy a student employs," he said.

Pruitt said he sympathized with Sasscer but could not consider his strategy. "I understand your concern," he said Saturday. "But what I always have to be concerned about is the overarching thing."

Kifner, who was assigned a legitimate bracelet, said CAA officials' first response should have been to donate their own tickets to the students. "I think that if the CAA makes a mistake that jeopardizes others' getting tickets, then they should forfeit their own tickets," he said.

And although those with reassigned numbers who stayed received tickets because about 5,300 were available, the students were disappointed that CAA officials listened without taking better steps.

Slatkoff sincerely apologized for the mix-up and said she was encouraged that the students stayed to get tickets despite their frustration. "It was an unfortunate incident, but in the end pretty much everyone was happy with it."

But Charles Phaneuf, a sophomore business major, said the process still is not the ideal situation. "I don't think (the CAA) accomplished what they wanted to," he said. "I think it's less fair to people who are going to get gypped -- the people who are last in line."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.