My name is Rae Tull. My fellow students and I experienced an incredibly sour experience from the football game on September 11, 2021. Myself, my husband, and hundreds of others went to attend tonight’s game. We knew going into the game that if we exited Lubbers stadium we could not re-enter. Which is totally fine! However there were security guards standing underneath the exits from the stands that went directly to concessions. If we left our seat to get water, we were not allowed to go back to our seat. Specifically, they were blocking the underpass that is in the middle of the student section that goes under the bleachers. On top of this, they weren’t telling students until after they had “left” that they couldn’t re-enter.

Upon my exit (because my husband got stuck out from the stands) I heard two security guards being incredibly disrespectful to two students. They were (reasonably) upset, but still courteous and had asked “we can’t even get water” and the disrespect they were met with from the security staff was astronomical. Their response was “you can do whatever you want but you can’t get back in” with eye rolls and scoffs littered within their sentences. Their body language was aggressive.

They did not convey this expectation to students. We are not being permitted to access concessions (which are within Lubbers stadium), but also being treated disrespectfully and not being given information until it is too late. Again, we knew that if we left Lubbers stadium we would not be allowed to re-enter. We understand and agree with this for safety concerns. But not being able to access concessions or bathrooms and not being allowed back to our seats is unacceptable.

If I had not been there, and my husband left and gotten up as happened tonight, he would not have been able to grab his hoodie that was holding his seat.

Above all else, this raises an even higher security concern. Students were flooding around exits from the field, next to the sides of the student section seating and still within Lubbers Stadium. In the event of an emergency that would be horrendous trying to exit.

I am, along with countless others, incredibly disappointed and this has me rethinking even attending other football games this season. Not being able to access bathrooms, water, and concessions not only impacts students desire to go to games, but also the income the school receives from concessions.

Warm regards,

Rae Tull

GVSU Student