Monday's lottery for the Penn State vs. Alabama game left some students both empty-handed and frustrated by the university.
About 40 students waited in line outside the Bryce Jordan Center were denied football tickets, including the first 16 students in line, leaving those who had been there longest angered at the situation.
A lottery system is the fairest way to distribute hot ticket items like seats to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Alabama. But when only 5 percent of the university's allotted tickets are set aside for students, an impartial and consistent way to distribute tickets should be applied to all games.
In order to uphold Penn State's goal of deterring students from waiting in line, we believe the lottery should take place online. Instead of pulling a random number to cut the line, as was done on Monday, a randomly selected web lottery process would have been a better method.
The university should also implement a consistent lottery system for allocating away-game tickets. Having one system and applying it to all occasions would leave the students feeling less confused and better prepared.
Those 40 students who woke up at 5 a.m. to ensure themselves a ticket to the Crimson Tide vs. Nittany Lions showdown were not only some of Penn State's biggest fans, but are now the most disappointed, while an online ticketing system would have just left them feeling unlucky. A randomly selected process seems like a fair process.
