Some students don’t know it, even though it can be seen on posters throughout campus – students pay half price for most tickets to Season at Stephens events.

This means one can score tickets to most of the touring plays, international orchestras and famous dance troupes packing the Season at Stephens schedule for between $7 and $22. The highest price is for the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on March 4.

“When I went to school here I didn’t know that much about it myself,” says Sarah Barr, director of marketing for the Iowa State Center. “I was disappointed I didn’t take advantage of it.”

Barr says that, though many other venues have lowered prices, she thinks half-price tickets are somewhat unique to Iowa State.

The only shows that aren’t as heavily discounted for students are ones where deals made with the acts don’t allow it, such as last year’s production of “Rent,” Barr says.

The ticket prices are lower for students because of an allotment of funds by the Government of the Student Body.

“It started when GSB thought there was some value in giving students a greater ticket value at a lower price,” says Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance. “To the best of my knowledge there hasn’t been any debate over it.”

Madden, who chairs the special student fee committee, says the agreement has been in place for about as long as he can remember.

“This has been going on, I would guess for ten or fifteen years. Maybe even fifteen or twenty,” he says.

If it weren’t for the ticket bargains, Cindy Rullan, senior in environmental science, says she probably wouldn’t go to the Stephens events.

“I probably wouldn’t go just because the M-Shop is so reasonably priced and is such an intimate environment that I might not want to pay full price at Stephens,” Rullan says.

Students are not only involved in the ticket pricing process, but also in the selection of acts for the Season at Stephens calendar.

“Some of the selections of our events are based on the student interests on campus,” Barr says. “We try to bring in diverse events that would enhance their education. Groups like the Tango Buenos Aires bring in different cultures to Ames.”

Other groups, she says, like the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, cater to the strong music program on campus.

“It’s a win-win for students. they are getting a national act for a good ticket price and we get to keep bringing acts in,” she says. “If we didn’t have that support from GSB, I don’t there is any way we could underwrite those tickets.”