A line of over 1,000 restless students snaked throughout the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium Wednesday night in hopes of receiving a ticket to hear former President Jimmy Carter speak today about his controversial book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. With schoolwork, laptops and snacks in hand, students waited for hours in a line that extended far beyond the building into the freezing night. The earliest students began lining up around 4 p.m., though Student Life officials didn't begin handing out the free tickets until 7 p.m.

------After the Atrium filled up, about 300 students were asked to wait in the Campus Center's theater, Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett said. By about 6 p.m., the line extended out the door.

Of the 1,550 tickets available to the Brandeis community, 950 were distributed that night to undergraduates, Stephanie Grimes, director of Student Activities, said. Three hundred were given to graduate students Thursday afternoon, and a lottery was held for 150 staff members and 100 faculty members this week, Senior Vice President for Communications Lorna Miles said.

The Gosman Sports and Convocation Center will be filled to capacity this afternoon not only by people from Brandeis, but also by a sizeable team of security officials and members of the media, Miles said.

Allie Morse '10 said she spent about an hour-and-a-half waiting outside the Campus Center just 10 feet from the door.

"I'm from Georgia too [like Carter], so it was about the coldest I've ever been in my entire life," Morse said.

A Justice editor saw one student who was waiting outside pass out, apparently from the cold, and BEMCo was dispatched.

Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett said students who waited in line, but didn't receive a ticket, were placed on a wait list.

"Everyone who waited in line ended up getting tickets," Bennett said, adding that it was made possible by the students, professors and staff members who have returned their tickets this week after realizing they have schedule conflicts.

For Leila Alciere '09, the line was too intimidating to bother. Upon seeing the line after getting out of class at 6:30 p.m., she assumed "there was essentially no chance I could possibly get a ticket."

That was especially disappointing for Alciere as she was one of the students who signed the petition supporting Carter's visit.

Bennett said she is continuing to work on getting tickets for students who didn't wait in line, but would like to attend.



-Michael Grillo and Justin Sulsky contributed reporting from the Shapiro Campus Center.