New Campus Parking Regulations

Stacey May

Public Safety is trying a new parking policy that will benefit first-year and sophomore students.

Students are now allowed to park their vehicle in Lot 10, by the Memorial Gym and Lot 8, by the apartments. This will be every day from 5p.m. to 7a.m. 

Students are still allowed to park in lots three, five, seven, eight, 10 and 12 between Friday at 5p.m. and Sunday at 7p.m. 

This updated policy was sent out in a campus-wide email in early February. Overall, the update has been well-received by students. 

When asked if this updated policy will be something she will use, a commuter, Caroline Watson (C’28) stated, “Not me personally, just because where I prefer to park and where I come from.” Watson believes this will be a good thing for the campus.   

Mia Hill (C’26) said, “I think it’s fair as long as by the time commuters get here, they have somewhere to park.”  

Tamiya Parker (C’26) agrees with Hill. Parker stated, “Even though it is a small campus, we do have a lot of people with cars on campus, so I think [the new policy] is a good idea.” 

Jacob Hummer (C’26) reported, “I take no issue with [the new policy]. I think the cutoff time prompts students to be conscious of how long they leave their car there... I think [the cutoff time is] just.” 

Kathryn Fives (C’28) has a car on campus, and reported, “I was very happy, actually [with the new policy], because sometimes I don’t like moving my car around, and it’s convenient to park there.” Fives also said, “This is very generous of them [Public Safety].” 

On the opposite side of the spectrum, an anonymous student stated, “I tend to just park over there anyways [in lots 8 and 10].” 

There have been mixed feelings about the updated policy from commuter students, who primarily park in lots eight and 10.  

Kaya Hannon (C’27) is a commuter, and she stated, “I play softball, so we practice in Memorial. It’s hard enough to find a parking spot as it is, especially as a commuter. I don’t think cars are moved in time, and I can never find a parking spot.”  

Maggie Murry (C’28) shares this sentiment. Murry stated, “As a commuter, that is a little bit hard, since I’m generally up here past that time [5p.m.], and parking spots are sometimes really hard to find. I don’t think it’s an awful idea, but it will make things a little more difficult.” 

Blake Hatcher (C’26) commutes and does not believe it will affect him much. Hatcher said when he goes to visit friends who live at the apartments, he does not have trouble finding a parking space in lot 8. 

Public safety said that if this “trial run” goes well, they will implement this into the parking policy for next school year.