Answer from SG insufficient

Re: Letters to the Editor “SG will change method for future ticket sales,” by Frank Kearney, Sept. 18.

Frank Kearny needs to stop diverting the blame to the student body. In Monday’s letter to the editor, he asked the question “When did people become this selfish?”

Frankly, I’m wondering the same thing myself.

When did people become so selfish that buying 25 percent of the initial tickets sold wasn’t enough for them? When did people become so selfish that they had to claim one-third of the total tickets sold by Student Government?

Kearny needs to make up his mind and choose a stance.

He tries to come across as caring about supporting the team when he says: “There were 1,250 students … to cheer for the Bulls. That is what counts.”

He isn’t fooling anybody. His only concern was SG’s bottom line, a concern he hinted at repeatedly in his letter.

He said: “SG’s worst fear was spending thousands on the tickets and not selling them all,” and that “getting rid of (the tickets) was a priority,” among other things.

But Frank, I thought the important thing was getting as many fans as possible to Orlando to cheer for the Bulls; isn’t that what counts?

We have more than 40,000 students at this university, and SG provided only 1,250 discounted tickets, not even enough for five percent of the student body.

He claims he had no idea how many tickets he would need. Prior to Monday, I completely understand. But when tickets sold so fast on Monday, didn’t that give a clue?

If 500 sold in an hour, doesn’t he think two, five, or ten thousand would have sold over the course of the entire week? Moreover, who cares if there were some leftover tickets that went unsold? The important thing is getting as many Bulls fans to the game as possible, right?

Tuesday’s 750 tickets for sale was a joke, and clearly demonstrated that SG had the budget as their primary concern, not the students.

For someone who claims that getting students to the games should be the “No. 1 goal,” Frank and his group did a terrible job.

I hope SG has learned from this experience, and I hope that in the future they make decisions based on what is best for the student body, not the bottom line.

Brian Johnson is a junior majoring in accounting

A few players don’t make a team

Re: “Down to the wire,” by Mike Camunas, Sept. 19.

I would like to start out by commending the Oracle for its article regarding the USF vs. UCF match up last weekend. As a spectator of that event, it was clear how much emotion and excitement flowed through the Citrus Bowl while cheering the Bulls onto victory.

I enjoyed reading this article for several different reasons. The points made about the Orlando newspaper bashing the South Florida team by were dead on. I completely agree with you on how unfair it is to degrade a team based on the poor judgments of a few players.

The interview with coach Jim Leavitt allowed the readers to gain an insight into what a prominent figure on the Bulls team personally thought about these remarks and how the team decided to handle the situation. From reading the article, it seems as if the negative criticism actually energized the players and helped them to victory.

As we all know, the most important people in the stadium on Saturday were the players, and of course, all the fans want to know their opinions on the game and what keyed the victory. Picking out a couple of star players and gaining an insight of the game from their point of view produces more interest throughout the article and does not make the reader feel they are only reading the thoughts and opinions of the columnist.

Interviewing both Ean Randolph and quarterback Matt Grothe fuels the reader throughout the article, since both of these players put on dazzling performances. Hearing what each player had to say about the victory gives a sense of the tension and emotion that flowed throughout this entire game. This article is both well-written and allows someone who was not at the event a sense of the atmosphere that surrounded Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Talner is a freshman majoring in criminology

Tickets show SG, Greeks as corrupt

Re: Letters to the Editor, “SG will change method for future ticket sales,” by Frank Kearny, Sept. 18.

Has anyone wondered how Charlie Aguirre was so prepared to buy tickets with 400 University ID numbers when the announcement that tickets were going on sale wasn’t made until a day or two beforehand? Could there be fraternity members in Student Government giving information to the organizations way before anyone else knows? Absolutely.

Yesterday, a letter from Frank Kearny, an SG member, which basically praised the Greeks and especially Aguirre for being so organized and making the best out of the situation. Funny he didn’t mention that he was also a member of a fraternity.

There are many Greek members in SG, which proves that SG favors Greeks over any other student organization. Everyone in line who did not get a ticket has every reason to be upset. They only learned about the ticket sales the day before, while Charlie has probably known for months. Not only is that unfairly giving a group of students an advantage in getting tickets first, but that’s also a big punch in the face for everyone who is not a Greek.

Everybody in Greek organizations are always hounding people to join their fraternity or sorority and saying that they unite the student body. Why in the world would students want to be a part of such a horrible organization that only favors Greeks and will do anything to get what they want?

Just as the Greek organization as a whole is corrupt, I’ve always believed SG to be corrupt as well, and this is proof.

Lindsey Norris is a junior majoring in mass communications.