Give Me Some Space

The choice to attend college after high school for many students is a great one. This choice is followed by many others such as what classes to take, organizations to join or even more influential whether to live on campus or commute from off campus housing. As well as students who live in dorms are supplied with adequate housing students who live off campus should be supplied with adequate parking spots, particularly speaking of the University of Indianapolis. Parking spaces should be readdressed and zoned differently, police should be more relaxed on citations issued, and parking passes should be given more discriminatively.

With 64% of all undergraduates living off campus, parking is a necessity. As a commuter myself I find not only having a near parking spot impossible but finding any place to park my car proves difficult altogether. The obstacle of finding a parking spot everyday hinders the ability for me and other students to attend class on time or use the facilities we pay for regularly. I believe freshman, who make up approximately 75% of the residential students should be required to park across Shelby Street and in the further parking lots allowing the commuters to access the closer spots to the classroom buildings. I also believe that more of recourses and acreage the school possesses should be used for parking. All of the open grassland north of the softball and baseball fields could be used to build a parking garage with an entrance off of National or Capitol roads. This garage would benefit residential student since they may not leave campus as often as the commuters and it would allow more accessible parking for sporting events such as football and basketball games. By placing a small fee for residents and visitors the school would make a profit over time for this.

The usual fine addressed by campus police for parking is ten dollars. While minimum, the price adds up when the police cite hundreds of them a day. I have seven citations on my record from this year alone, not because I was doing anything illegally but because I was parking in "non designated" lots and by trying to make parking spots out of whatever spaces are available whether it means parking on the lines or not. Everyday I walk by many cars that have the wonderful white parking tickets in the windshields just because the students are trying to make it to class on time or to attend class at all. One of my teachers has a rule that if you are late for class you are considered absent, I have had many absent marks this semester just because I couldn't find a parking spot on time. This class is scheduled on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, on these days classes get out at ten minutes until the hour and leaves only ten min to fight for a spot and get to class, I had more time than that to get to class in high school without having to park a car and walk a distance. Police should be more