Free Spring Weekend tickets will no longer be offered to residents of Hope College and Slater Hall starting this semester, according to an announcement in Morning Mail in February. The Brown Concert Agency has also changed the way students will purchase tickets, said Emma Ramadan ’13, BCA booking chair.
Ramadan listed several reasons for eliminating the free ticket policy, including that it is unfair for certain students to arbitrarily receive tickets when the concerts do not inconvenience them, she said. She added that students will still be able to access their residence halls during the concerts without any real changes and said there was “no real reason for the policy originally.”
There is a significant loss in revenue when Hope and Slater residents don’t have to purchase their tickets, she said.
More than 100 students live in both Hope and Slater combined, according to the Residential Council website.
The free tickets previously offered to Main Green residents were outdoor-only, said Raillan Brooks ’13, BCA publicity chair. Brooks added that BCA has recommended every year that those students buy non-refundable tickets to be guaranteed admission in case the concerts are moved indoors due to inclement weather.
There was mixed feedback from Main Green residents.
“I didn’t think of the tickets as a condition of my housing,” said Mike Burns ’15, who lives in Hope. But because the concerts are loud and inconvenient, free tickets seemed like a fair consolation, Burns added.
Ben Ahn ’14.5 said he was “stoked about Kendrick (Lamar) coming” but disappointed he would not be getting free tickets.
Karoliina Kase ’15, said she could “see both sides” — why BCA might want her to pay and how some residents may not be interested in the concert and deserve to be compensated.
“Everything we did this year was to benefit Brown students,” Ramadan said. This year, there is a new system for purchasing tickets, which requires a Brown login and only allows students to purchase one ticket on the first day the sale opens, she said. The next day, students can purchase an additional guest ticket, Ramadan said, adding that on Wednesday, after the rain call has been made, ticket sales either close entirely or open for students to purchase two additional guest tickets.
The only reason students would be prevented from attending the concerts is if they are not quick enough to purchase tickets, she said, adding that RISD students will be able to purchase tickets at the door on the day of the concert, if it is held outside.
Selling out will be a problem if the concerts are held indoors, Ramadan said, as only 3,000 people are guaranteed entrance to the indoor venue.
The ticketing system change is unfortunate, but it needed to happen, Ramadan said, and this year the concert lineup has a wide enough appeal that students will purchase tickets regardless. Ultimately, “the pros outweigh the cons,” she said.
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