SG, Athletics, SAA and police make changes to the student lines over the summer. 
Students will see changes to the student gate at football games when the Tigers kick off against Sam Houston State on Sept. 6.
Student Government, LSU Athletics Event Management, LSU Student Advocacy and Accountability Office, and law enforcement have worked together through the summer to improve the student gate at home football games.
Student Government President Clay Tufts, said the biggest issue at the student gate for football games is the bottlenecking effect, caused when students get bunched up and congested where the barricades start.
During their campaign, Tufts and vice president Taylor Lambert’s initiative was to revamp the lines for the student gate. Their initiative calls for three separate lines depending on bags, guests and one for a single student line.
The new changes to the gate include extended barricades past the locker room along with alternating large and small lanes to break up heavy bottlenecking.
Tufts said the changes came from major music concert ticket lines and will be implemented for the home opener against Sam Houston State.
“We know it’s going to be an issue” Tufts said. “The first game is always a mess.”
David Taylor, Director of Game and Event Management said that space limits on what they are able to change and alter.
Taylor urges students to travel lightly and arrive early.
“If you don’t need to bring it, don’t bring it,” Taylor said.
Taylor and Tufts are encouraging students to arrive to the gate earlier. Tufts even hopes to develop a prize system for the students who arrive early for this year.
Athletics has equipment, scanners and personnel to open eight gates at any given time on game day, Taylor said.
Digital arts junior Evan Hartmann said the student gate is crowded but it’s understandable.
“That’s LSU.” he said.
Hartmann said that opening another gate for students won’t fix the problem because the students are such a small fraction of the stadium attendance., but aditional lanes will open for big games or if an onsite game day decision warrants more, according to Taylor.
Taylor and his team timed how long students are in the line before the game.
“The longest time from the back of the line to the gate is 10-12 minutes,” he said.
A trial run of the new student gate setup is scheduled for Wednesday and will be left up until Thursday. Officials from Student Government, LSU Athletics and various police agencies will be present to test the effectiveness of the new system.
There will be no major changes to law enforcement agencies presence at the student gate. Festival and Event Staffing and Security Services (FESS) will continue to do pat downs and frisks at the student line.
“From an athletic department standpoint we want the games to be fun, enjoyable and safe,” Taylor said.