Photo by Hannah Plishtin.
As a sophomore, I was excited at the prospect of bringing my car to campus this year, though I was disgruntled at the prospect of paying $150, double the price of two years ago. Students may not want to pay, but if they’re like me, they’re going to reluctantly fork over the cash in exchange for having a personal method of transportation all year. Or, if they’re more inclined to break the rules, they’re going to forfeit registering their cars and instead park illegally on campus, probably until they get caught by Campus Safety officers, and sometimes, even after.
I know that many new parking regulations have been implemented this year after proposals set forth by SGA in past years, and I can’t say that I’m happy with all of the changes. Since many members of SGA who worked to install this plan have graduated, the current students are left to deal with the implications and frustrations that have resulted from this new parking system.
While the decision to prevent freshmen from registering their cars on campus doesn’t affect me, and thus doesn’t really bother me, but I know if I was a freshman this year, I would be disappointed at having to wait another year to have a car on campus when freshmen were allowed to register their cars in previous years.
“It’s almost impossible to get off campus as a freshman without a car. I understand that there are parking issues and we’re trying to be green, but it creates a feeling of intense claustrophobia for us when we’re stuck on campus,” said one freshman.
Though it’s against the new parking regulations, some freshmen still have their cars on campus. “I have a car on campus because I need to get off campus sometimes and remind myself that life exists outside [of Conn]. I feel like the car restriction for freshmen was a big mistake on Conn’s part,” said the freshman.
Not only are freshmen not allowed to have their cars, but parking spots have been reallocated for the remaining three classes. There is a sophomore parking lottery system: some sophomores are delegated to park in lower campus— by the Athletic Center, Abbey House, Winchester and the Ridge— which used to be just for freshmen. Other sophomores received parking spaces in the North/South lots and Upper Campus, which, by the name, implies that they are allowed to park on campus, not across the bridge (or Route 32) and down the AC stairs. Juniors and seniors are allocated upper and lower campus spots based on in which part of campus they reside.
I am one of the unfortunate ones who is required to park in Lower Campus, even though I live in the Plex. There are plenty of student spots surrounding the Plex, most notably in the gravel lot behind it. Parking spots are the same for the whole academic year, which not only frustrates me, but it also bothers many other sophomores who have been banished to the Athletic Center.
Evelyn O’Regan ’14 said, “The stairs to get down to the AC are icy and dangerous in the winter, and when the AC is closed at night, it’s scary to be down there alone.”
For some, it’s just an inconvenience to have his/her car down by the AC, far away from the dorms. One sophomore said, “I have to park at the AC, but I usually park in South because I babysit off campus multiple times a week, and it’s just too far to walk.”
It’s an inconvenience to park at the Athletic Center, especially when I notice all of the empty spots in the gravel lot, which is designated as a North/South lot. In my experience, it’s never been full; there may even be more spots available than there are cars. If the spots are there, why can’t I take one?
Cassandra Saimond ’14 agreed with this point. “I don’t think that sophomores should have to park at the AC because there is plenty of parking up [on campus], and I don’t think that they should give parking tickets for parking in the wrong lot, especially because there are so many unregistered cars. I figure if I paid $150 to park here, I should be able to park where I want and not get ticketed for it.”
In an article about the new parking regulations written for the Voice by Sarah Weiss in October, she quoted Director of Campus Safety Stewart Smith as saying, “The changes are part of a long-term plan to make the campus more pedestrian friendly, combined with a student-led initiative to make the campus more environmentally responsible.” I disagree that the new regulations are having a serious impact on either of these issues. I don’t think the parking changes have made Conn any more pedestrian friendly or green than last year. There are always cars driving around campus, sometimes going much faster than the speed limit. Students with unregistered cars on campus add to the vehicular population. Delegating students to Lower Campus doesn’t mean they never bring their cars to the main campus.
Members of other classes are also frustrated with the new system. In the past, parking on campus followed a hierarchical scale— freshmen parked at the AC, sophomores and juniors could park in the North/South lots and seniors were allowed to park in central campus or in spots in front of their dorms. This practice ended, however, at the beginning of this year.
“The way parking is now revoked all the senior privileges that I was looking forward to,” said Carolyn Kurz ’12. “It seemed like they doubled the price of a parking permit, took away half of the student spaces and then removed privileges based on class year or living location. It’s somewhat frustrating because I abided by the parking regulations for the past three years thinking that senior year would be different.”
As a resident of the 360 Mohegan apartments, Kurz has trouble finding a parking spot outside her dorm. There are more faculty spots than student spots, even though the only faculty building kind of near the apartments is Winthrop, which has its own large parking lot to the side behind Larrabee.
A newly instated rule allows students to park in faculty spots on weekdays between 5 PM and 2 AM. “I am glad they allow us to park in faculty spots after 5 PM now,” said Kurz, “but they can start ticketing again at 2 AM. No faculty member is coming back to campus at 2 AM. It seems like a useless way to make money rather than enforce that spots are available for faculty.”
It is clear that faculty and staff need parking spaces, and the allocation of such is not my complaint, but as full-time students who live in the dorms and apartments, this is our home during the school year. Not every student needs a car, but for students who work or volunteer off-campus or who live close to home and drive back and forth occasionally, having a car is necessary, and having a place to park should be a right, not a privilege.
“I understand that faculty need parking spaces as well,” said Kurz, “but we, as students, live here 24/7. I don’t think the old parking system was perfect, but I think it made more sense than the way it is now.”
Democratizing the parking system at Conn has only created more inequality and frustration among the students. While I’m openly irritated by the fact that I have to park far away from my dorm, it’s more frustrating to know that students in my class were granted parking spots in Upper Campus (in front of their dorms), whereas juniors and seniors, like Kurz, are being shafted after abiding by the hierarchical system for years. There has to be a more just way to assign parking spots than a random lottery system. It should be based on class year or location of one’s dorm to make it fairer for all students. And if there are empty parking spots in any of the lots, I don’t see why those banished to the AC aren’t allowed to request a new parking location. A dialogue needs to be created about issues like these. We might be students, but we are adults, and this is our home. We should be able to have a say in how we live. •
