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The Rice Thresher
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by Mark Berenson thresher staff Students will be able to use tetra points on their ID cards to buy food at athletic events starting with the Nov. 4 football game. The implementation of the system had been delayed since the beginning of the semester due to technical difficulties. Athletic Department Marketing Assistant Kimberly McDougall said the Nov. 4 homecoming game against Southern Methodist University will be an opportunity to test the system and work out any kinks before basketball season begins. The system will involve a students-only line at the concession stands at each athletic venue. This line will be located behind the student section at Rice Stadium, on the third base line at Reckling Park and upstairs at Autry Court. McDougall (Brown '00) said she thinks this line will move much faster than the other concession lines because the transactions will be limited to swiping a card. The delay occurred because lines that run from the meal card readers all over campus to the central computer suffer a deterioration in quality over distance. According to Jeff Murray, card administrator, the venues' distances are from the central computer were so far that a transaction could not have been completed by just plugging in a card reader. Rice purchased and installed a booster that amplified the signal so that the sporting venues could send and receive signals from the central computer. The system was actually working for the Oct. 21 football game, but the concession stand employees who had been trained to use the equipment were not stationed at the correct stand, McDougall said. McDougall said this happened because they didn't know until game time that the system was working. Currently, concession prices will stay the same for students using tetra points. "We have not discussed a student discount, but if the demand increases, we might discuss it," McDougall said. However, McDougall said she thought the added convenience is a large enough incentive. "It is not convenient to carry around cash to an event," McDougall said. Some students agreed with McDougall's assessment and said they would be more likely to buy concessions at sporting events for several reasons. "I would definitely buy if I could use tetras, but not if it was cash because [tetra points are] my parents' money," Wiess College junior Erin Leach said. Some students even said that being able to use tetra points at the concession stands would make them more likely to attend athletic events. "I would be more likely to go and buy because it makes the whole experience easier with just a single card instead of having to go to an ATM for cash," Baker College senior Robert Sacamano said. Being able to use tetra points at concession stands is the latest attempt by the Athletic Department to boost student attendance at sporting events. Other strategies have included giving away T-shirts and publicizing the events more. "We want the students at the game, and anything that might help that, we are willing to try," McDougall said.
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