5;11tmmy r weekiy FMonday, August 9, 1999 *A# VA I a I I 19%301 One hundred eight years of editorialfreedom httfp:// 'www michigandailycom iket omcials to combat ounterfeiting University Ticket Operations will introduce a new scratch- off feature for athletic tickets By Jon Zemke Daily Staff Reporter The University Athletic Department is try- ing a new method this fall to scratch out coun- terfeit ticket sales. This upcoming football season, University Ticket Operations will intro- duce a rub-off feature on the back of tick- ets, similar to the scratch-off lottery tickets said Marty Bodnar, University director of Ticket Operations. Bruce Madej, associate athletic director for media relations, said the new method will help to make any counterfeiting easier to spot. "What we do is we try to make the tick- ets as difficult as we can to reproduce," Madej said. "You're not going to be able to just reproduce them. You're going to have to go through some effort to do it," Madej said. The Athletic Department is also recom- mending "buyers beware" advice to stu- dents and fans who purchase tickets from anywhere other than their office. "We do warn everybody purchasing tick- ets outside of the University of Michigan Athletic Department that if they do pur- chase them (from scalpers) we're not responsible for them," Madej said. Scalpers have furnished an alternate route for students and fans to purchase tickets to major University athletic events like football games for years. Often inhabiting the South State Street sidewalk outside the Michigan Union and surrounding areas, scalpers have sold tick- ets for less than face value or sometimes even higher than the University price. But selling tickets for more than the face value is illegal and can be penalized with up to a 90 day prison sentence, said Associate Director of Public Safety Jim Smiley. Smiley said undercover officers are also being used to cut down on opportunistic sellers. "We will have plain clothes police offi- cers out on the street, at the gates and in the surrounding areas trying to discourage people from selling on University proper- ty," Smiley said. If caught scalping, tickets and money could be confiscated as evidence and the suspect may be arrested. Stolen tickets have also created headaches for fans and the Athletic Department alike. If someone reports stolen tickets, those ticket holders are given a pass to let them into Michigan Stadium. The seat number can then be recorded on a list, which stadium ushers can use to identify any person who tries to enter the stadium with those tickets. Once that person has been identified See TICKETS, Page 2 . DANA LINNANE/Daily A scalper near the Michigan Union tries to sell football tickets last fail. The Athletic Department and Department of Public Safety will continue to improve ticket security. AAPD to contin sue campus party patrols- y Seva Gunltskiy Daily Staff Reporter Hunting for free beer at fraternity parties during Welcome Week has become as much a part of first-year tra- dition as avoiding the "M" on the Diag. Yet this is a tradition that many University and city officials said they ould like to see come to a halt. WTo ensure that this happens, the Ann Arbor Police Department has been con- ducting undercover operations over the past year to find and punish underage drinking. AAPD Lieutenant Michael Zsenyuk said the goal of the operations are to not only to curb underage alcohol consumption, but to also raise aware- ness of the issue. "The operations have made people more aware that there's a problem with underage drinking, not just in Ann Arbor, but in campuses across the country," Zsenyuk said. In standard decoy operations, under- age volunteers have entered open-invi- tation parties to see if they are served alcohol. If so, the police enter the party and issue minor in possession citations to anyone caught drinking illegally. Some fraternities have attempted to prevent underage drinking at their par- ties by making guest lists and checking students' identification at the door. The Michigan Student Assembly is currently working on a "know-your- rights" poster to help students deal with possible problems that can arise from See UNDERCOVER, Page 7 Harper stays true to her pnmna7f6ocus By Michael Grass Daily Staff Reporter Compassion. Although it is a quality that many people have, very few live and breath the essence of the word. In her service to the University, E. Royster Harper, former dean of stu- dents and now interim vice president for student affairs has demonstrated the virtues of compassion. "She has reached hundreds, if not thousands of students who have passed through this University. yet she has made it her mission to reach every single one," said LSA senior Jason Taylor, Residence Hall Association president. Taking over for Maureen Hartford as Interim Vice. President E. Royster Harper, formerly the dean of students assumed the leadership of the division of Student Affairs this summer and said she is ready to return this fall to strengthen the University student community. DANA uNNANE/Daoy "She really does believe that the stu- dent is the primary focus," said Hartford, now the president of Raleigh, N.C.'s Meredith College. Through her past positions in Student Affairs, Harper said that her focus has never changed and the stu- dents and staff that know her best said they believe she is not the typical administrator. "I can't say that I have ever seen an administrator so willing to go out of her way to ensure that students are put See HARPER, Page 2 the vice president for student affairs in June, Harper said she has already enjoyed the challenge. "I'm working for Our common goal - the student," Harper said. Coming to the University in 1978 as an academic counselor, Harper has held a number of positions, becoming the dean of students in 1991. Now in charge of Student Affairs, she said her main focus is to build communities within the University to strengthen student life. A new Website to provide easy access 'Bowfinger'c to contact 'U' student organizations. Martin dese Page 3. Page 10. 77777'' ,,e -- - - - - i) mommemmassa starring Eddie Murphy and Steve rves a thumb's up. Michigan will enter the football season No. 7. in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. Page 13. ) The Michigan Daily Student Pubications Building 420 Maynard St. News: 76-DAILY classifieds: 764-0557 Display: 764-0554 r.ap.w . ..-. .... 'uCIXMt # i C" 4 p~+^y .u . a v e , .. > nv«.m ..nuw. m.«.2m. . .. ..h . . .,