Written by Blake Matthews
At midnight Monday Sept. 28, Arkansas sold its first lottery ticket. More than 1,500 vendors across the state helped Arkansans welcome the lottery to their state, including several located in Searcy.
But the question of whether or not Harding students and faculty would be allowed to participate was not announced as the kickoff date approached.
Dean of Student Life David Collins said Monday afternoon that Harding students, faculty and staff would not be barred from buying lottery tickets.
The decision was reached after the university chose not to label the state lottery as a form of gambling. The current version of Harding’s Student Handbook considers “gambling or wagering on or off campus” to be “in conflict with [Harding’s] mission, and therefore prohibited.”
Collins said the lottery escaped prohibition largely because of what it was designed to do: Raise money for college scholarships in Arkansas.
“It’s highly likely that a good portion of our students will benefit from the lottery in Arkansas with regard to their scholarship funding,” Collins said.
Managed by the recently formed Arkansas Lottery Commission, the revenue from lottery tickets will fund scholarships for Arkansas residents attending two- or four-year colleges in the state. ALC commissioner Joe White said in an interview with the Log Cabin Democrat that about $300,000 had been raised for scholarships in the lottery’s first day.
But Collins also attributed the university’s decision to a “need to respect those who feel like [the lottery] is not a form of gambling and it’s something that is positive.” Many students and faculty would consider buying a lottery ticket to be a gamble, he said, but the decision took into account the “wide range of beliefs” at Harding on the subject.
Collins said he personally would not be participating.
Ultimately, the choice of whether or not to participate in the lottery rests with individuals.
Whether or not lottery tickets will be sold on campus has not been officially decided, though Collins said he doubted students would see any scratch-off games in the HU Mini Mart. Promoting the lottery on campus could appear disrespectful to those who have made “a strong decision not to participate.”
According to the lottery’s Web site, there are 12 ticket vendors located within two miles of Harding. Students wishing to play can use any of those off-campus locations, Collins said.
However, students who agreed to be interviewed showed only slight interest, if any, in the idea of buying a lottery ticket.
“Maybe I’ll buy one on my birthday just because they’re there,” senior Daniel Morrissey said. “I’ve got a Jeep that I’ve got to pay off.”
The odds of winning the grand prize are overwhelmingly against the buyer, which Morrissey said most lottery players already know. On the back of each level of ticket are printed the top prize amounts and the odds of winning them: a one in 788,571 chance of winning $3,000 on a $1 scratch-off, a one in 632,727 chance of winning $25,000 on a $2 scratch-off and a one in 880,000 chance of winning $100,000 on a $5 scratch-off.
“I think it’s a thrill,” Morrissey said about why people still play the lottery in the face of such odds. “[It’s] more like the anticipation of seeing what numbers they’re going to scratch off.”
Freshman Scott Tucker said he does not identify with the thrill and will not be playing the lottery.
“I think it’s a waste of my time,” Tucker said. “What’s the point? I’ve got better things to spend money on.”
Senior Katy Bills also said she would not be buying any lottery tickets, echoing Tucker’s sentiment that it was not an “economical” decision.
“I’m not going to take a chance and see if I get more money than what I spend,” Bills said.
A 2008 study from Carnegie Mellon University may explain why students at a private university hold little stock in a lottery, even if the proceeds stand to affect them. The results of the study showed that a person’s actual income level has little to do with his or her own happiness. What matters is one’s “relative income,” or how wealthy or poor one feels as compared to others.
“Lottery ticket purchases are driven in part by the perception of low relative income,” the study said. “Lotteries are more alluring for poor people because they provide an opportunity to correct for low-income status.”
As students at a private university generally have little reason to see themselves as “poor,” the attraction of the lottery would be less.
Kathy Capshaw, an Aramark employee at Harding, said she considers herself to be “lower-middle class.” She has only bought two lottery tickets since Monday, saying she believes in “keeping the lottery in its place.”
“You spend a couple bucks a payday,” Capshaw said, adding that she has bought lottery tickets in small amounts for years.
Not all share her moderation, though. The data in the Carnegie Mellon study indicates that people with low relative income are more likely to buy lottery tickets in bulk. Capshaw called the idea of spending more than $30 of one paycheck on tickets “ridiculous.”
“You don’t want to spend your grocery money [or] your rent playing the lottery in hopes that you’ll win the big prize,” she said. “If people have that kind of money to spend on the lottery, they should invest.”
Currently, Arkansas has no programs in place to help people with addictions to gambling. Collins said that, although the lottery is not considered gambling here, counseling will be available to students who believe they are addicted to buying lottery tickets.
