Budging. We learned at a young age that it was wrong. If you wanted a good spot in line, you hustled to get there first. When we tried to budge, it usually ended in a fight with us or a classmate being shoved to the ground crying, or the teacher scolding and dragging us to the back of the line.

Now as young adults, some of us have seemed to forget this simple rule. This is extremely evident when students are lining up eagerly anticipating the doors of Hilton coliseum to open for the Iowa State men’s basketball games.

The day of the Iowa State vs. Kansas Universty game, my two friends and I made strategic plans to make sure we were in line by 11 a.m. and at least one of us was in line at all times throughout the day. This way if one or two of us had to go to class, we all still had our place in line. This is what many students do, because it’s not always possible for everyone to stand in line the entire day.

As I made my way up the line carrying my bag full of bottled water, extra gloves and socks to survive the five-hour wait outside of Hilton coliseum, I caught the security guard’s eye. When I finally made it up to my friend who had been holding our spot, the crowd manager immediately got my attention, making sure I had been there before and was coming from class. I didn’t blame him. It’s part of his job to prevent budging.

For the next couple of hours, the crowd managers continued to monitor line cutting, sometimes sending people to the back of the line. But as the day went on, I noticed that the crowd manager became more and more lenient, especially toward the girls standing right in front of me.

The girls would come up, makeup freshly done, barely wearing enough clothing to stay warm and proceed to stand in line with their friends. The crowd manager questioned the first two, but pretty soon he just calmly watched them join the line. So two turned into four, four turned into eight and pretty soon there were 15 girls standing in line in front of my friends and me. I became very infuriated, not just for myself, but for all the people standing in line behind me.

These girls would stand in line for only an hour or two, and get better seats than all the people behind them who had been there since 11 a.m. This just didn’t seem fair to me. The most frustrating part was that the girls thought they had done nothing wrong.

After entering the game, I talked to friends who had joined the line later in the afternoon. They had gotten there before most of the girls in front of me, and got seats nowhere near as close as them.

ISU men’s basketball has some pretty dedicated fans. There are the die-hard fans— the fans that will camp out all night in the frigid, winter night to get the first spot in line. Then there are the not so extreme, but still committed, fans that stand outside Hilton for hours upon hours to assure they get a good seat in Cyclone Alley. These fans’ dedication should be rewarded, not ruined by other students—students that cut in line just a couple hours before the doors open.

At this seasons’ Cy-Hawk game, ISU students were turned away for the first time at Hilton. The student section and the space around the lower bowl filled up. Iowa State started overselling their student tickets for men’s basketball a couple years ago, due to lack of attendance. With student attendance rising, it is possible for this incident to happen again. If people continue to cut in line in large quantities, those toward the back of the line could be wrongly turned away.

You may not even think twice about cutting in line for basketball games, but five or six people cutting every now and then can add up. It sets those who make the dedication to stand in line all day for a great seat back. It also pushes those in the back of line even farther behind. If you aren’t going to take the time and sacrifice to stand in line all day and withstand the cold and wind, you have no right to take the seats of those who have. These people that are standing in line all day probably also have a lot of things they need to get done, but instead of going to class, work, running errands or doing homework, they are standing in line, all day. They are sacrificing to experience Hilton Magic to its fullest, and are really not going to appreciate six people pushing their way in front of them two hours before the doors open. Therefore, cutting in line because you have other obligations is not a valid excuse.

The crowd managers should continue to monitor line cutting as well and not discriminate on whom they choose to send to the back. Girls should not be treated more fairly than guys, and as the day gets longer, these managers should become stricter, not more lenient. Although the monitoring and crowd control was much more efficient at the KU game than the Iowa game, there is still room for improvement.

There are students sacrificing hours upon hours of precious time waiting in line for basketball games, but if people continue to cut in line, what are these students really gaining? Nothing. So, next time you think you want to hold a spot in line for five or 14 of your friends, or join your friends in line a couple hours before the doors open to Hilton, think again. Don’t be so selfish and have some respect for the die-hard Cyclone basketball fans.