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news
Patrol's aim to
reward students
By Michael Watanabe
On-line Forty-Niner
The Beach Patrol
program, which will award students prizes for attending sporting
events in The Pyramid and eventually student discounts on
services, will officially launch next fall.
"We just want
to reward students for being a fan," said Associated
Students Inc. President Robert Garcia.
For every game
that is attended, students will receive one point, and prizes
will tentatively be awarded for every five points. Prizes
have not been confirmed yet, though Garcia mentioned a compact
disc player to the first student with 49 points.
"I think it's
a good idea to reward students who do show their support,"
said A.S.I. Treasurer Danny Vivian.
Garcia hopes attendance
will improve by next year but said student pride was more
of an issue. By wearing shirts, and waving props, Garcia hopes
students become more involved and being active.
The program will
be implemented in two parts. The first part is meant to develop
a database before the official launch in the fall. The second
part is meant to develop a campus community around the city
of Long Beach.
A.S.I. started
signing people up at this year's Homecoming game. Free shirts
and foam pick axes were given to the first 300 people.
"It's gratifying
to know on our very first attempt at Beach Patrol, we turned
out more students than there have ever been to a Long Beach
athletic game in The Pyramid ever," Garcia said. "That's
exactly the type of excitement we want to generate."
Two other games
slated to help launch the program include a men's basketball
game Friday [pending upon a win Thursday in the Big West tournament]
and a baseball game against UCLA on Apr. 24.
Beach Patrol will
start with Pyramid games, but will eventually apply to all
games, eventually moving to Blair Field and the track.
Some students,
however, had not heard of Beach Patrol and did not share Garcia's
enthusiasm.
"I think if
somebody's going to go to the game, they're not going to go
for a prize," said Ashley Verb, a business junior.
Others do not even
go to athletic games.
"I don't go
watch the games as much," said Tony Semann, a biology
and computer sciences senior. "It's a good idea to encourage
people to watch home games, but for me it doesn't matter as
much because I don't have time."
The second portion
will give students discounts within the campus area, by letting
members of the business community become part of the program.
"We're going
to try and create more of a college-town atmosphere with the
program," Garcia said.
This past year,
Garcia has been doing lots of research on the program. He
has been looking at programs in other schools, gauging which
are successful and which are not. He also hopes to get applications
available online by the end of the semester at www.beachpride.com.
"I'm certain
that a couple of years from now, the Beach Patrol program
will be a huge part of the campus," Garcia said.
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