This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For months I have been anticipating the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I cleared hours off my work calendar, planned where best to park, wore good walking shoes and left my water bottle at home since the tickets stated no beverages would be allowed.
Arriving at 12:55 p.m., I found only four building entrance lines. They were wrapped part way around the building. One went out to the street and back. Another snaked across the lawn.
Thousands of people moved at a snail's pace. After more than one hour in line, I got to the front of the line dehydrated, with tired feet and a good sunburn! I could not believe that for this crowd, not an unexpected number, there were two people scanning tickets, two people checking bags, and only one metal detector.
Talking to other attendees later, I found out this was the case at all four doors!
What poor planning the university did in preparation for this event. My friend and I missed one-third of the Dalai Lama's presentation. On top of that, upon returning to my car, parked in a legal parking space I had a $20 ticket. So much for the Golden Rule at the U. of U.
Linda Hilton
Holladay