Multiple students fainted from heat exhaustion Thursday while waiting in line for Florida A&M University’s highly anticipated homecoming concert tickets outside the Al Lawson Center.
The Student Government Association announced that tickets would be sold in person at the box office for $65, significantly lower than the online student ticket, which totaled $94.45 on Ticketmaster.com with fees last week. The concert lineup includes mainstream artists BossMan Dlow, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Latto, G Herbo, and Boosie, drawing hundreds of students to the venue in hopes of securing a cheaper ticket.
Students began lining up early in the day, many standing or sitting in the heat for up to four hours with little shade or hydration available. As temperatures rose, several began showing signs of dehydration and fatigue. Emergency services were called to the scene, and multiple students were treated after fainting from heat exhaustion.
Following the medical incidents, university staff began distributing water and set up fans at the entrance of the Al Lawson Center to help cool the crowd.
Representatives at the Student Government Association have not yet responded to a request for interview. But students in line expressed mixed feelings about the situation. Some criticized the lack of planning, while others said the opportunity to see their favorite artists makes the experience worth it.
“It’s giving it’s kind of not worth it,” said Jailynn Sparrow, a first-year pre-physical therapy student. “I’ve been here for almost four hours. … I feel like they should have done a better job organizing it, especially if they knew that it was going to be a long line in the heat. Like, I don’t know why it took for two people to pass out for them to bring water, like it’s crazy.”
Another student, Isaac Louis, is a fourth-year agricultural science student and said obtaining a homecoming concert ticket was an easier process the past two years.
“I’m not surprised, because this is honestly the biggest homecoming concert that I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” he said. “I’ve been here for three years, and I’ve been to the last two, and it was like a walk in the park to get them the last time. This time this is like … I don’t know like, you’re going to a festival.”
Despite students fainting, some students felt bearing the heat for the concert was worth the wait in line.
Pre-pharmacy student Karis Harper is excited to see one certain artist in the homecoming lineup.
“I really want to see PND and his tickets off rip are crazy, especially after that album with Drake,” Harper said.
FAMU’s homecoming concert is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Al Lawson Center at 7 p.m.