No Oprah tickets for you
FREE PRESS REPORT
MUNCIE, IN - The overnight camp out for Oprah tickets was reminiscent of one of those Grateful Dead concerts where people would wait for days just to see the famed group.
This time, it was hundreds of Ball State University students who formed more than a 2,000 plus line to take every ticket for Oprah's talk with media king David Letterman on Nov. 26.
Blankets, tents, pizza boxes and empty water bottles littered the grounds around Emens Auditorium as the media queen obviously attracted more of a crowd than BSU officials anticipated.
BSU President Jo Ann Gora wandered among the crowd Saturday as the tactical decision was made to serve students before BSU hired help and the public. Several hundred more seats are available staff and others in Pruis Hall for a simulcast, although a ticket window attendant said Sunday afternoon that only 100 tickets were available to the public for the simulcast.
University mouthpiece Tony Proudfoot could only say officials had no experience with such a turnout. No explanation was offered about why university decided to use Emens instead of a larger venue like Worthen Arena for the event.
Sierra, a magazine major at BSU, was excited to get a ticket and said other students felt it was a once in a lifetime event to see Oprah in person. Orpah had that wildly popular television show and then faded to cable with her own network. She still gives out millions to everyone from poverty stricken women and children in Africa to those in needed in the United States.
Besides denying the public access to the event, the university also changed times for the ticket distribution twice so classes would not be disrupted. And the constant change reduced both staff and public interest in the media event
Kenny Davenport was
Kenny Davenport was delighted to get his tickets to see Oprah Winfrey after waiting for days to just get that chance.
Davenport, who has ran more times for public office than most Delaware County politicians, was in line Monday with about 25 people who had hoped to bee Oprah live in Emens Auditorium, but had to settle on a simulcast in nearby Pruis Hall.
Dina Byrnes, event manager, blared out the rules for tickets as Davenport joked that he could watch Oprah on television in his living room.He later thought BSU could be more accommodating to the public, especially since they pay the taxes to fund higher education along with many alumni donating money and having children graduate from the university.
The public and BSU staff was left out of tickets for the live performance with Oprah and late night talk king David Letterman who funds the lecture series that brings big names like Oprah to Ball State. University folks were caught off guard after visits from news talking head Rachel Maddow and Twitter guy Biz Stone did not turn out overnight campers for the tickets. The the kids first policy is what BSU President Jo Ann Gora is all about.