Selling, buying student tickets for Duke game violates Honor Code

Students looking to sell their Duke tickets to the highest bidder before Saturday’s game might get more than they bargained for.

Tim Sabo, assistant director of ticket operations, said the ticket office has caught students selling tickets — an Honor Code violation — in the past by, among other methods, acting as the prospective buyer. Students caught have in some cases lost their lottery privileges.

Campus has been abuzz with offers since tickets were sent to students by email Monday. Many have said they are willing to give almost anything for a chance to be at the game — including money, or their firstborn child.

Sophomore Ahmad Saad posted on Facebook that he would be willing to give his firstborn child to whoever gave him a Duke ticket.

“I basically just laid out what I was willing to do for a ticket,” he said. “All of which are definitely reasonable, apart from jumping off the top of Davis Library — I don’t think I’d actually go through with that,” he said.

“But I’d definitely give my firstborn child to a person who gave me a ticket. Let’s be real, children are pretty easy to come by.”

But bartering basketball tickets comes with a possible price. Senior Henry Ross, deputy student attorney general, said students selling their tickets for profit could face charges such as misuse of resources, or falsification or misuse of University-issued documents. Students buying tickets could face a charge of aiding another in engaging in prohibited conduct.

Ross said the punishments for these charges could include a letter of warning or the loss of lottery privileges.

Sabo said the ticket office hasn’t received any reports of students bartering tickets this year, but it has had a few cases in the past.

But Saad said he doesn’t believe the honor system can stop people from buying or selling their tickets.

“I think the fact that it’s a violation is understandable, but I don’t think that necessarily deters people from trying to obtain those tickets,” he said.

Ross added that giving away a ticket to another UNC student without making a profit is permissible.

Senior Sarah Velten said she is planning to give her ticket away through a poetry contest. She said she would give away the ticket for free to whoever sends her the best poem explaining why they want to go to the game.

“I knew a lot of people were going to want it so I decided to have a little fun with it and decided to make it into a contest,” she said.

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