Individuals who purchased public tickets to the Spring Fling concert were informed on April 11 that their tickets would no longer be honored due to "contractual stipulations." The notification from the Social Planning and Events Committee, which came three days before the April 14 concert, added that these individuals would receive refunds of their purchases.
The Penn Athletics website, which hosts the sale of the concert tickets, no longer allows buyers to purchase 'Penn Guest General Admission' tickets, which were originally priced at $50. It still includes the option for purchasing student tickets at $38, which includes both the $35 ticket and a $3 service fee.
SPEC organizes the annual Spring Fling concert. Every year in recent history, it has allowed the public to purchase tickets to the concert.
Director of SPEC Concerts and Wharton junior Elizabeth Goran declined to address questions about the sudden policy change regarding the sale of public tickets. She added that individuals with questions about their refunds should direct them to SPEC Concerts.
Josh Forbes, a sophomore at Georgia Institute of Technology, purchased a public ticket to Spring Fling, which he intended to attend with his friend, who is a Penn student. Forbes received an email from SPEC notifying him of the refund, and said the reasons behind the decision made by SPEC is unclear.
"There was no underlying reasoning or rationale behind the decision made," Forbes said. "I mean I understand it's because of contractual stipulations but that's extremely vague."
"That [announcement] was something very out of the blue and seeing that was something I built my weekend around, was kind of a big let down," he added.
Wharton senior Joseph Mitrani also expressed disappointment about the email. Mitrani purchased a ticket for the concert for a friend visiting from Indiana.
"I was a little surprised," he said. "I've never heard anything like this during my three years at Penn."
Mitrani contacted the ticket office in hopes of receiving a refund for his own student ticket, as he believes his friend will not be able to attend.
"It sucks and I was a little upset, but I'm sure we'll find something else to do," he added.
The 2018 Spring Fling concert on April 14 will include four artist performances from CupcakKe, Sage the Gemini, JoJo, and The All-American Rejects. It will also be longer than in past years.
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