At the UVa vs. Duke football game tomorrow, UVa will become the 47th school in the “Power 5” – ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC – to adopt a clear bag security procedure at football games.
This policy will be implemented at all home football games in Scott Stadium and at all men’s and women’s basketball games in the John Paul Jones Arena.
Some students were surprised when they received an email on September 28 from the UVa Athletic Department announcing the new policy. First year student Holli Foster has attended every home football game this season. She says that the policy seems to be a response to the violence on August 12 in Charlottesville.
“I think it’s a little extreme,” Foster explains, but she says that she understands why the policy is being instituted. “They’re taking extra precautions to make sure everything’s safe.”
Under the new policy, fans are only permitted to bring in either a clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags that cannot exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12” or a clear one-gallon plastic freezer bag, such as a Ziploc bag. The policy does not affect the items that fans may bring inside the bags.
Seat backs are still permitted, although they cannot have pockets or be in a bag.
In addition to the new bag policy, UVa is joining ten other college football stadiums that use metal detectors at the stadium entrances.
The University says that these changes in policy are at the recommendation of its security consultant.
But some fans – Foster included – believe that this development could cause confusion for people who are unaware of the change in policy. Tomorrow, any belongings in a prohibited bag will have to be left in the Virginia football fan’s car or place of residency, as the stadium will not offer storage.
Exceptions to this policy will be made for any necessary medical items after proper inspection.
