More than 150 lucky students won the lottery for tickets to the Oct. 17 debate.
By Jessica Roberts
When Washington University made presidential debate tickets available only to students, the response was enthusiastic. Some 6,600, or more than half the University's current student population, applied for tickets. Those who registered did so with optimism, considering no one knew how many tickets the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) would make available.
More than 150 lucky students won the lottery for tickets to the Oct. 17 debate. |
A high-tech lottery determined which registered students would receive tickets. Sue Hosack, director of the Office of Student Records, explained that students submitted their names electronically to the debate Web site. The application process closed at noon Friday, Oct. 13. A computer then randomly assigned numbers to all the applicants, and the top 300 received notification e-mails. During the lottery, there was still no information about the number of tickets available for the debate.
Stephanie N. Kurtzman, coordinator of Women's Programs and Community Service, presided over the next stage of the process. On Monday, the CPD made 100 tickets available to students for distribution. After Kurtzman notified the first 100 students from the lottery, a second group of 150 students was selected as alternates. This standby group received e-mail asking them to wait in a "holding area" outside of the security perimeter in case of no-shows in the first group. In the end, more than 150 students received tickets.
Students chosen through the lottery were excited about watching the presidential debate from inside the hall.
"I was honored to be selected in the debate lottery, especially knowing what the odds were," said Ryan Hillenbrand, a University College in Arts & Sciences student from St. Louis. "This was the closest I've ever been to the political process. The cameras, celebrities and Secret Service agents made for a very exciting time. I was proud to be part of Washington University as it was put in the national spotlight."
Paul Jacobson, a senior history and Spanish major in Arts & Sciences from Marlboro, N.J., was equally enthusiastic. "I got in as an alternate," he explained, excited at the chance to hear the debate and support Al Gore.
