Published: March 12, 2009

College students in New York have access to some of the best and most famous of New York City’s cultural venues. One of these venues is Lincoln Center, which Fordham students have the opportunity to take full advantage of since it is so close by. Lincoln Center has many programs that offer student discounts, including the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Lincoln Center Theatre and Jazz at Lincoln Center. At Alice Tully Hall, which just opened, full-time students under the age of 30 who present their IDs may buy two discounted tickets for a total of $20.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center is located at the Walter Reade Theatre on  West 65th Street, just five blocks from Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC). Although they don’t play the latest box-office hits, the Film Society of Lincoln Center offers a great range of international and independent films. I personally love international films but never really see them in  theaters since it’s so hard to find out where they are playing. Now I know where to go, but most of these films show for one night only, so you should purchase the tickets in advance. The tickets are also cheaper than mainstream theatre tickets: $7 for students with ID.

The Lincoln Center Theatre is one of New York’s most popular theatres. They play host to a variety of musicals and plays every year, including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” this year. The theatre prides itself on the notion that it makes its tickets affordable for everyone, but they’re even cheaper for students. Members of StudentTix, a program through which students receive $20 tickets and news about upcoming shows, may purchase one ticket per production in advance. StudentTix is now closed, but you may sign up on their waiting list if you would like to join. Twenty-dollar tickets may be purchased two hours before the show by students who  are not members of StudentTix.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is also located one block from FCLC and offers great jazz concerts and music festivals. They offer $10 student rush tickets, which can be purchased at the box office one hour before the show. Discounts are also available at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, a mini-jazz club which features live jazz every night and dinner and drinks. Discounts for this club are $15 for 9:30 p.m. performances on Sundays and 11:30 p.m. performances Tuesdays through Thursdays.

Another close-by venue is the Metropolitan Opera, which celebrates its 125-year anniversary this year. This season, the Met debuted John Adams’s “Doctor Atomic” and Puccini’s “Le Rondine.” Discount tickets for students are available for some performances throughout the year. Students must be registered full-time and under the age of 30 to get tickets. The prices are $25 for weekday performances and $35 for  Friday and Saturday performances.

Lincoln Center may seem like it’s just for the culturally and financially rich intellectuals, but we, as students at FCLC, should take advantage of all it has to offer. With all of these venues just being a five-minute walk away, it would be a shame if we didn’t. We don’t have to  just hang out at bars and concerts—we have a unique opportunity to make use of our prime location and student status.