After a long day of classes, homework and struggling to meet 1 a.m. newspaper deadlines, I’m more than happy to meet the seat of my run-down, dented-up ’97 Chevy Cavalier to take me back home to the Apartment Village.
But when that all-too familiar 4-inch by 8-inch bright green envelope placed gingerly under my broken windshield wiper interrupts that reunion, my excitement quickly is replaced by pure unexaggerated rage.
Since the Butler University Police Department started ticketing parking offenders two weeks ago, I’ve managed to rack up $75 in parking tickets. Add in that $60 parking permit I purchased at the beginning of the year, and I’m up to $135 spent on parking.
It has never been a problem until this year. I’ve always had the little green B permit that allowed me to park pretty much wherever I want on campus. But now that I’ve moved into AV and farther away from campus, my choice of parking is less than limited.
I suggest that all Butler University student residents, regardless of residence, be assigned the same B permit.
Our current system doesn’t make much sense. Those living in University Terrace are assigned commuter stickers, while those living two blocks away in AV are assigned HV stickers. Residents of Schwitzer, Ross Hall or Residential College receive B permits.
There are always spots left open in the back of the lots behind Schwitzer and ResCo. They’re the reject spots that no one wants because they’re too far from the buildings.
But when I’m going to be on campus from 9 a.m. until 2 a.m., I want that reject spot. I want to drive to campus, do my thing all day and then get in my car and go home. I don’t want to worry about calling BUPD for a ride back to AV and I don’t want to worry about avoiding strangers on my trek back home.
It’s safer and more convenient for everyone to allow all student residents to park in all the student resident spots.
BUPD has more important things to worry about than giving students a ride here and there. You never know what can come up that would prohibit an officer from being able to pick someone up.
Butler, in no way, is immune from danger on campus. Bad things can happen on any campus, especially when there is no way to keep someone off campus, like a moat or a really tall fence. Walking around on campus alone is not the safest idea and needs to be avoided.
If my mother found out that I was riding my bike back to AV at two in the morning, it would be a mess.
The current parking options for student residents create inconveniences, which can easily be avoided by consolidating all student resident parking into one friendly permit.
