Wait a minute...I Thought I Had a Parking Permit?

Okay, so the parking at SMU has seriously gotten out of control. Just this past week, they took away seven parking spaces in front of my dorm. As if taking away four in the beginning of the semester wasn’t enough. However, they didn’t just take these spots away for nothing, they turned them into staff spots. This blog won’t be a rant, but rather I’m going to present my argument on this issue.

This past summer I paid about $300 for my parking pass. I was told that because I was a freshman girl I would be able to park near my dorm. However, I have been able to do anything but that. I am a resident on campus, and I think that entitles me to some parking in front of my dorm- especially when I’m out at night. The staff commutes to school, they don’t live here. I think it’s a fair argument to have them walk five extra minutes in the morning. I know people who walk an hour to work- such as my brother in New York.

I wouldn’t be complaining about this if the new staff spots were being filled. Every time I pass a designated staff parking area, there are at least five open spots. I think that the staff parking areas surrounding the dorms should be strictly student parking. Because there are so many open spots on a regular basis, students are parking in them anyways, and receiving tickets, or being booted. I haven’t been booted yet, but I’m probably not too far from it.

I personally don’t mind walking from the garage during the day, but at night I’m terrified. I purposefully won’t leave campus at night because I know I’m going to have to walk back in the dark. It’s not a problem on the weekends because I will just call a giddy up, but during the week, they aren’t running. If this school is going to create a parking problem where we are forced to park in the garage late at night, the least they can do is have the giddy-up working 24/7.

Anyone else have a problem with the newly created staff parking spots?