COLUMN: Sunday, October 25, 6:00 a.m.

From Josh Callahan's, "A View from the Porch," Fall '98 There, I said it -- and anyone looking at the calendar closely would come to the exact same conclusion. It's not as if this year it could be a secret. With fall break arriving this weekend, Homecoming landing Oct. 31 and the first hoops game two weeks later, there really isn't another available weekend. The tradition of waiting in line for men's basketball tickets has been around for at least 30 years, according to published accounts. That is not to say, however, that changes have not been made to the process during that time. It's time for another. Forfeiting the secrecy of the date for the ticket line will have some hoops fans upset over the potential of not being first in line. But that is not the issue. They can still be first, they just have to get there earlier. Revealing the date of the ticket line well in advance should allow more students to find time to wait in line. The reality is that most students cannot spontaneously drop everything for a weekend and live at the Palestra for two or more nights. By giving everyone fair warning, more students will be able to participate in what is one of this school's best sports traditions. And for those who still complain about changing tradition, they should be reminded that the free food they will enjoy next weekend is also a recent invention. "It was brutal. No food or coffee. No rules." The extremity of the line has been toned down in the five years that Athletic Director Steve Bilsky has been on campus. For starters, brutal outdoor weather has been replaced by free food and indoor accommodations. There is more security, and a sign-up system with numbered bracelets has prevented a recurrence of the riot which broke out among students when tickets went on sale in 1993. Peggy Kowalski, associate director of athletic operations, said that she still wants the "pain" of staying in line for days, but prefers students to have a "social atmosphere as opposed to shivering to death." "We try to make it fun and a place to gather," Kowalski, a veteran of 16 ticket sales, said. With the first game a month from Saturday against Kansas, Kowalski also said this year's line will have the added benefit of a great home schedule. Games that are almost assured of being sellouts include Big 5 battles against Temple and St. Joseph's, plus the full slate of Ivy games. With regard to the veil of secrecy that annually shrouds the announcement of the line, Kowalski said that it "seems to be the best plan." Her goal, she said, is for all students to get news of the line's formation at the same time. Well, all students are getting the information at the same time. If anything, this early notice makes it more fair, as there were always people, especially a few students with ties to the Athletic Department, who knew about the line ahead of time and made sure their friends knew, too. Now everyone -- die-hards or average fans, connected to the Athletic Department or not, seniors or freshmen -- has an equal chance to be first in line. So get in line. But if you want to be first, get there early, 'cause I know a few people who are pulling their sleeping bags out of the closet right now.