Whatever the policy on the punk that wouldn’t give his name, the writer should have gotten the name/badge of the officer. I’m nearly positive an officer cannot withhold their badge number if requested, no matter what the reason.

Well said Kathryn. I hope Lori B. also takes a look at this and realizes that she has a role in this situation. This could easily be blown back up in her face and Chancellor W’s. Throwing large sums of money into the ‘Rolling Out the Red Carpet’ program really bothers me, and I am sure many more, given that our SOBER stadium staff cannot even control their behavior.

“We are the next doctors, lawyers, businessmen and politicians of Wisconsin.”

May God help us all.

To be treated like a moron by morons is also unacceptable. I’ve had the same type of experience with these rent-a-cops and campus police before.

quit being so whiny and do something about it!

Having worked security at section JK before, what happened to you was for three main reasons: (1) essentially no students sit (stand?) in their assigned seats, (2) students come very late to section JK making that section the last to fill up (about halftime), and (3) you didn't get out of the way when the section started to jam.

You say: "My boyfriend was caught in a crowd of students trying to get back to their seats," and "our section was overcrowded." What likely happened was that the aisles and portals were jammed, more students were trying to get in while others were trying to get out, and there was no room to move in or out. It was unsafe to let more students in until the aisles and portals already jammed, so entry was temporarily blocked while students exited. While you stood and questioned security, you blocked the flow out, making a bad situation worse, and that was unsafe to others. You were asked to get out of the portal exit way and refused, a security problem was made worse, and the police were called in.

Security tries to get students to stand on their assigned seats, but other than checking ticket stubs on entry and re-entry to be certain students are in the right section, there is not enough staff to stop thousands of cheaters who sneak through the aisles. Students enter the correct portal (say it's L) and then slide through the aisles (say into section K) where their friends are standing.

Security tries hard to keep students safe. It helps if students cooperate. Almost all the students do. They are nearly all very understanding, and great kids. It's very rare that we get a complainer.

the permar assholes suck, and the stadium police force get hard-ons by playing bad cop.

well said kathryn.

Wow, what a trivial letter, if that (seems more fitting for a personal journal entry). Newsflash: You don’t have a right to be in your assigned seats. They can revoke your ticket for whatever reason, at any time.

Of all injustices in this world, you chose this about which to complain? You really need to get some perspective on life.

You MUST respect their AUTHORATA!

Or they’ll hit you with a stick.

This happened to some of my friends as well, and I also feel the situation was managed poorly by event staff.

I would like to hear the University’s response for those that were entirely denied access to enter for the sole reason that they couldn’t keep the crowd down.

And to 10:31am: Yes, actually, you do. “The original purchaser… is entitled to the use of the assigned seat for the game shown on the reverse side” as long as they you engage in “disruptive behavior”, which, I wouldn’t define trying to watch the football game disruptive…

You give the athletic department money, with the contractual agreement that they give you a seat, which is yours for the duration of the game, as long as you don’t break the rules.

dont blame security, blame the assholes who dont sit where they are assigned to.

What kind of reaction did you expect?? These people were dealing with disrespectful students all day, then another student (you) starts to question them while they already have their hands full, after probably talking crap about them to your boyfriend loud enough for them to overhear you.

The next time you are super-busy doing something the best you can, call me and let me come and question your every action and let me see your attitude.

Amazing. Why are we giving event staff a pass? Disallowing students who have paid for their tickets re-entrance is egregious. Students could stand to behave themselves far more respectfully with event staff, but annoyingly unruly students is no excuse for denying someone’s right to enter a game they paid to enter. If event staff is unwilling to fix the true problem—students not sitting where they are supposed to—, I fail to see how denying entrance is a more agreeable alternative. Further, taking your game-day inspired frustration out on a respectfully inquisitive student reveals a startling inability to handle your responsibilities. Event staff who are unable to perform their tasks amdist college students should not be working at Camp Randall.

I second a sentiment already express. Lori B should be looking into this.

She has every right to complain about this. Per Mar staff are getting paid to do a job, which most fail MISERABLY at every football game.

I was sitting in J and witnessed this. Kathryn describes it accurately and the poster at 10:01 who claims to have worked security there before gives a very likely explanation of why it was happening.

Apart from the rudeness an uncivility of the police officers and security, I don’t know how the officials at that gate could have reacted differently.

The real question, is what can the Athletic Dept do to prevent this from happening in the future? How do so many students “leak” from section to section until the cascade overwhelms section K? Why isn’t security doing a better job of keeping students in their assigned sections, STARTING at section P?

We need some Japanese-style sumo subway-wranglers to push students into their assigned rows starting an hour before the game, to prevent them from spreading out early on which forces successive fans up into higher-numbered rows.

12:38pm. Again, you don’t have “right” to an assigned seat. It is an entitlement, in other words, a privilege. Read the agreement carefully (it ain’t a contract).

The officer has sole discretion about what is disruptive behavior. If you are blocking the flow trying to get your assigned seats, that’s disruptive in their eyes. It really doesn’t matter. If you were walking along the public streets, that’s a different story. But this is a university venue. You don’t have a right to be there.

If we had another trampling episode ala 1993, I am sure Ms. Nix would be first in line to bitch about about the slow response of the police…

With that said, the police are being given unprecedented authority and power over the populace. Tasers, warrantless searches, wiretapping, profiling, harassment, the list goes on. Ms. Nix’s complaing about her perceived lost of respect ain’t at the top of the list of priorities for fighting police abuse. In fact, it makes her look like a shrill at best.

I was part of this BS too - Some x-heavy weight wrestling woman cop thought she was a bad ass - Those cops and “security” are just uneducated homeless that cant find a job. Lets get some real security so people don’t just go on power trips….

1:27pm, are you trying to say that the character flaws of the worker in question justify his bullying students?

10:01 It’s very rare that we get a complainer.

Not according to the athletic office. I too have written a letter regarding my complete disgust and anger in the way Per Mar staff “do” their jobs. I was told that there have been SEVERAL complaints lately. We are paying money for a service and it is not happening. Plain and simple.

Okay, as the poster at 10:01, I say the poster at 2:28 has a good point.

How to stop 5,000 students from “leaking” from section to section with only a hand full of event staff? How to stop so many students from sitting (standing?) in the wrong seat?

I once tried to help two students get their assigned seat. When I checked tickets in that row, not one student was in their assigned seat! One student wisely said: “if you want everyone to sit in their assigned seat man, then you are going to have to re-seat the entire section.” I looked up at 5,000 faces and realized that he was right. It was impossible. I gave up.

to the person saying it was unsafe to let the students back in—-dont you think crowding an the nearest exit for 100s of students is unsafe? my friend said she saw some students fall down 3 or 4 rows. accidents happen, and crowing 50+ people into the nearest exit is probably the most UNSAFE thing you could do. these cops created a mob scene and a hazard.

hey guys, so i wrote this article and i just want to make a point to those who called me whiny and told me to find something better to complain about. i agree that cops abuse their powers in a lot of ways that are way worse that what i witnessed. however i havent personally witnessed any of that, and i am guessing you havent either, because if you had you could’ve written a letter about that, and most likely the newspaper space would have gone to you and not me. i dont think it really matters if students sit in their assigned seat, as long as they are in their assigned section. all they need to do is have a few people standing between each section to keep everyones buddies from trying to sneak over to meet them. if you want to go to the game with your friend, walk in with them. stay in your section. problem solved. is there anyway we could also hire people who actually dont HATE us to do these jobs?

in 1,2,3 or 4 years we will all be making more money then the cops, rent-a-cops and security. they love the power becasue they know they screwed up earlier in their lives.

I was not let back into the stadium after leaving to go to the bathroom. The situation was indeed handled very poorly. I spoke to the police officers repeadetly as i was stuck at the top of the stairs. They kept saying that the isles were blocked and they couldn’t let anyone in until they were cleared. I stood there for about 15 minutes and watched hundreds of people leave the section, but they still never let one person back in. The reason this situation was also so poorly handled is that after the 15 minutes i stood there i thought, let me check the other entrance. And at the other side of section J there was one officer and one permar worker. They hardly even looked at my ticket and i proceeded to go back to my seat. I also didn’t see anyone in the isles that was supposedly there blocking them. Very nice letter Kathryn.

You say you don’t want be “treated like animals.” So, what exactly do you expect should happen at a football game? Whine and h’orderves? You’re a spectator in a roman-style coliseum. Think about it.

Are we so self-absorbed with petty experiences that “subpar security” gets us all hot and bothered? There’s a lot of shit coming down the pipe, and you’re too busy missing the forrst for the trees.

all this from a person who can’t spell…a lot of us dont go out looking for things to complain about. i am not seeking out problems. the ones that find me, ill complain about. i am sure thats how this writer felt too. and what is your cause? your not out complaining about bigger issues. your complaining about her complaining about a minor one.

“Whine” is a play on words. Have some sense.

To 11:20am— For the generation destined to be the “next doctors, lawyers, businessmen and politicians,” we’ve in for a whole mess of trouble. We’ve got no perspective on life, save how to satisfy our cravings for Big-macs, beers, and ball games.

Would you say that Fahrenheit 451 is all about petty issues like TV, sports cars, porn, etc? We’ve got to wake up from this coma!

i really don’t think that from one measly article, you can claim to know anything about the author. she saw a problem and took a small step to fix it. that does not mean she doesn’t do anything significant with her life. this article took maybe one hour to write. you know nothing about the rest, so back off! and if your life still revolves around fahrenheit 451, i think YOU need to wake up and read a new book. fixing the problems present in society today is not going to be accomplished by grass roots attempts shooting for the top. for us normal folk,starting out small is the way to initiate real change-bitching about huge issues does nothing. but this is something many students dont seem to understand these days. to be honest, 12:37, i am having trouble finding anything sensical in your rant. instead, all i see is a cynical doomsaying replica who is incapable of acknowledging anything good in his/her surroundings, and that is sad. what’s so wrong about demanding a little respect? what’s so wrong with upholding expectations associated with the responsibilities of paid employees? if we neglect these small and yet vitally important standards, those many horrible issues that rarely affect our daily lives will cease to be important in comparison to the monsters than could be created by neglecting small problems in lieu of bigger ones.

Some 10 additional cops were dispatched to this site to deal with a problem that some are portraying as not existing. It took 30 min to an hour to sort through the overcrowding issue even with these additional personnel. Kathryn’s slighting the situation as unwarranted of the security measures undertaken strikes me as less than credible.

If you are engaged in behavior for which you can be kicked out of the stadium, it’s called a warning — so that you can adjust your behavior. Sounds like Kathryn was pretty persistent in interfering.

There’s no indication here that the Badger Herald took on the journalistic responsibility of checking into any of these ‘facts’ Kathryn cites. Poor marks to the Badger Herald.

Let’s remind ourselves that this piece is an open letter to John Wiley. The author can claim the police are a bunch of flying spaghetti monsters. However, since this is an “open letter,” the author should make her letter open to criticism, instead of calling in her boyfriend to make everyone “shut up!”