I assume we all know about the tragic Astroworld story that resulted in at my last count, nine deaths that one could only term, inexplicable, along with quite obviously, tragic. But last night while waiting in line for a UCLA/Villanova basketball game outside of Pauley Pavilion, a similar scene unfolded, and a similar outcome was narrowly averted.
Senior political science and history major Tobias Sunshine said he and his girlfriend were forced into an enormous crowd that overran Bruinwalk on campus, with lines of fans converging into one mob. “It turned into mayhem,” Sunshine told The Times. “As soon as people started to move, the whole crowd would move in waves. ... People were getting pushed and crushed, yelling out, 'Stop moving!'
So apparently there is this ridiculous practice where students wait for hours and hours for a wristband that lets them into the game for free. So the students get there super early hoping to get one of the wristbands. Well, many just cut and denied students who were there early their spot. In the process of cutting, and pushing from behind, the students were crushing the students in the front.
I do not know why humans have now decided that their desires for instant gratification override their fellow event patrons right to breathe, but apparently this is the conclusion they have drawn. I know that these events have featured mostly the younger demographic, but I do not buy for a second that this behavior is exclusive to any one age cohort. We continue..
Junior applied math major Hayden Epinette said he was unable to attend the game after waiting about seven hours after his group of friends got in line around 11:45 a.m. A UCLA staffer told the group that it was roughly No. 250 in line but as game time approached, someone in the group was told that more than 1,000 wristbands to get into the game had already been distributed as a result of others who had cut in line.
“It was simply ridiculous,” said Epinette, who was forced to watch the game with friends at one of their apartments. “It was very frustrating to see students enjoying themselves at such a big game who we knew didn’t belong there. It was especially irritating that the Den told us to line up by 12 and that no spots in line could be saved, when clearly neither of those things ended up being relevant.”
This was the scene for a line waiting to get in. I remind you, we are still in a pandemic.
Now I take no issue with going to a basketball game if one is taking proper precautions. To UCLA’s credit they do have a proof of vaccination or negative test requirement. But I still find it wholly irreponsible for UCLA to foster this kind of atmosphere in the first place, much less have no crowd control to prevent what could have been another tragedy.
For his part UCLA Athletic Department spokesperson Scott Markley acknowledged that they were not adequately staffed, despite the anticipated challenges.
To which I say, in other breaking news, Southern California gets a lot of sun. Going forward this sort of unecessary scene could be solved through student lotteries for tickets, or perhaps even in combination with rewarding those students who excel academically. This habit developing where humans are being increasingly asked to “compete” to see an event, is disturbing.
And yet, I can’t help but wonder if much of this impatience is fed by technology, if not social media. But in the case of the Astroworld calamity it likely comes down to, you guessed it, cold hard cash. How many paying customers a promoter can fit standing, versus sitting.
Six square feet per person is a good rule of thumb for a standing crowd. If you are planning a cocktail hour for 100 people who will all be standing, you will multiply 100 by 6 to determine you need a venue with 600 square feet of available and workable space for the event.
For a mixed seated and standing crowd—such as reception-style seating—increase the per-person rule of thumb to eight square feet: Your 100-person event will now need 800 square feet of usable space.
And for reception-style seating with a dance floor, estimate nine square feet per person.
So simply put, in a scenario where in 800 square feet patrons are standing instead of sitting, a promoter can fit about 133 people vs. 100. Also a crush of people willing to stand creates buzz. We see this with political rallies when candidates routinely post photos of massive crowds. But in the Covid era, UCLA should know better, and while we can’t expect Texas to do anything remotely responsible when it comes to the pandemic, there does clearly need to be a reassessment of crowd control codes nationwide.
But none of that matters if the person behind you determines that their right to see a show or ballgame is more important than your right to live.
That is a societal problem that goes far beyond promoter greed.
That is toxic narcissism, and it seems to be getting worse among all demographics and all across the world.
There is a good chance the person next to you is more concerned with their view of an event than your actual life.
I think we all need to be less concerned with the event.
-ROC
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Love,
-ROC