Parking problems persist

 Time to go? Grab your wallet and your keys and you’re off, right? Wrong. If you’re a resident of Kea-Guffin, Gough, Hainer or Gallup you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The parking lot for these residence halls is ridiculously crowded all the time.  If you find a spot in this lot, consider yourself extremely lucky. The majority of the time, each and every parking space is filled. People have resorted to parking in handicap spaces, the ten minute parking zone, the unloading zone, the space in front of the dumpsters and different parking lots on campus.

I live in Gallup and most of the time I end up parked at Eagle. I have to drive to my job because I work off-campus, which means I am doing a lot of walking to and from my car. It is just very inconvenient.

I am not the only student who feels this way. “(The parking lot) is always full and (it’s) really hard to find a spot,” said Bryant Burkhart, a sophomore currently living in Guffin. “I just think that it’s immoral that they sell more parking (permits) than there are spots.” He explained that students are forced into commuter parking because there are no other spaces. Burkhart personally knows people that have received parking tickets because they are parked in the commuter spaces. It’s just not right.

“It’s always packed. It’s probably more crowded than last year,” said Kristen Pricskett, a senior who has lived in Gough the past two years. “I have to park at the gym all the time.”

There are also other problems that are caused by the parking lot being packed all the time. For example, because of the shortage of parking many students have to park at different resident halls. This takes the spaces away from people who are actually residing in these buildings.

“People that don’t live here are parking here and taking our spaces,” said Colleen Freeman, a sophomore living in Doane for the second year. Last year there was always parking at Doane, but this year it can be difficult to find a space. “And if you ever want to drive over and park at the Breezeway, good luck!” Freeman said.

Matt Moser, a sophomore living in Doane threw in his two cents by adding, “No freshman should be allowed to park on campus. They need to crack down on that rule.” I agree with Moser. First year students should not be allowed to park on campus. I parked at Valley Forge my first year. It’s only fair that the rule be continued.

Something needs to be done about the Kea-Guffin, Gough, Hainer and Gallup parking lot, whether that means that it needs to be made larger or that certain people should not be allowed to park there. Quite frankly, I just want to be able to park at my own residence hall instead of searching the campus for a space.

[Editor’s Note: According to security, there are technically enough spaces on campus for every permit issued, no matter how inconvenient it is for the student in relation to their residence hall. However, this does not take into account the effects of visitors parking on campus.]