It seems like enjoying football games at Spartan Stadium is becoming more of a hassle, especially for students.

As MSU kicked off against the Rice Owls on Saturday, many students were stranded in line on the ramp to the upper deck, while ushers tried to maintain order and ensure people were going to their assigned seats. The iron fist-like rule of the section’s gatekeepers caused many fans to miss the better part of the first quarter as they waited in line.

Some students, weary of waiting, made their way to the stadium’s west side upper deck - opposite the student section - where they easily found seats. It’s a sad state of affairs when students can’t get into the stadium to see their college team play.

MSU athletics officials had hoped a change in 1999 to the student ticket-voucher system would stop problems in the student section. In previous years, students would sit anywhere they chose, regardless of the seat number on their ticket. In changing the system, officials understood students wanted the chance to sit near their friends.

But it seems the system is being poorly executed.

It should not take any longer to seat students - who often end up among the stadium’s first entrants - than it does to seat other ticket holders. But the long lines at Saturday’s game tells a different story.

It’s important to recognize some problems are caused by students who don’t follow the ticket rules, but Spartan Stadium’s ushers also are to blame. While some ushers try to put students where their tickets say, others try to herd them into whatever open space there is. Something has to change.

Students are not hard to please. They want to be in the student section with their friends and watch football, very few care if they do that in their assigned seat.

If MSU’s ticket-voucher system continues to lead to further hassles for the student section, it might be time for athletics officials to abandon the program in favor of general admission seating.