By Laura Baier
baierla@mnstate.edu
Whether attending a movie, concert, or sporting event, one of the first things an attendee needs is a ticket. Whether that means standing in line or ordering it online, a ticket is the one thing that gets a person through the door. MSUM is implementing the same concept with all sporting events, concerts, student activities, and most other events taking place on campus with its new ticketing system, called SRO (Standing Room Only).
In the past, MSUM has utilized a different system, called Etix. Events didn’t require students to get tickets, but instead scanned the barcode on student IDs at the door.
“We use the system to capture demographic data for our events,” said Becky Boyle Jones, assistant director of activities and Greek life. “This data allows us to know who is attending which type of event, target our marketing, draw for prizes, and much more.”
The switch was made because SRO communicates with other software on campus, while Etix does not. The university box office wants to “make it easy to purchase tickets for everything in one spot,” said Elizabeth Evert, managing director for the Center for the Arts.
“We also thought people might attend more events if everything was in one place,” she said.
But with students accustomed to only needing their student ID when attending an event, there can be frustration and confusion with the system.
“We have had issues with the system this semester at our events and students have gotten upset about it, but once it’s working properly it will be a really good thing,” said Alexa Dixson, Dragon Entertainment Group executive director. “Not only for organizations but also for the students because there’s some sweet prizes to win for attending events.”
Evert said MSUM has never had a box office until now, and though it’s something to get used to, it will become the normal routine soon enough.
“I think once we get all of the bugs worked out, SRO will be very effective,” Evert said. “I have already seen numbers increase and I think people will enjoy the convenience of online ticketing.”
Student organizations, activities, athletics, and the university as a whole will benefit from the new system throughout the year, Boyle-Jones said.
“The system will serve to provide a comprehensive understanding of which of our students are active in attending what types of events,” she said.
Along with those collecting the tickets at each event, students who remember to get them are able to earn “Dragon Rewards,” points for each event they get a ticket for and then attend. At the end of the semester, students who attended the most events will be rewarded with prizes.
“The system is incredibly easy to use,” Boyle-Jones said. “The whole thing is simple, and you get to attend events and earn rewards.”
Students registered for fall classes by Aug. 1 already have an SRO account and can log in at mnstate.edu/tickets with their MSUM email address and the password “dragons” to start getting tickets for all campus events they wish to attend.
Students can pick up tickets at the box offices located on campus in the Center for the Arts, print them after getting them online, or save ticket PDFs on their mobile devices.
“It’s different, and attending events has one more step, but it’s easy and I like that you can get them online on your phone and they can scan the ticket off your phone instead of having to print them,” said sophomore Katie Gargulak. “Plus, I’m excited to get prizes.”