Administrators must find a temporary way to ease the parking problem on campus.
This parking issue especially affects those who live in the Apartment Village, University Terrace, or have to walk a great distance to and from classes.
The lack of parking spaces close to the majority of the academic halls for those who own HV or C decals creates an issue.
There has to be somewhere on campus near the academic buildings that students who live further away can park.
So far this year, the weather has been nice.
But once the air becomes nippier and nastier, driving can become a downright necessity.
If a light snow or heavy shower passes through, classes won’t be canceled, and students will still be required to attend those classes.
A 20 minute walk to class seems a lot longer than it really is in cold weather and it can have a negative impact on students’ health.
The long walks could not only cause students to catch illnesses, but also could lead to injuries.
A thin layer of ice is enough for someone to fall and severely hurt themselves.
Some students who have a previous injury may not be able to easily walk a long way across campus or ride a bike.
Another option has to be made available for those who physically can’t make the walk or bike ride.
By tweaking the current policy, some of these issues could be resolved.
The university could allow more street parking near campus.
Also, all residential halls and apartment complexes could share parking, allowing AV and UT residents to park on campus when needed.
In an extreme case, a bus could be employed to drive students to campus—similar to the one Student Government Association provides to take students from campus to Broad Ripple.
The current policy is also slightly contradictory.
After 10 days the ticket price will increase according to the text on the parking tickets.
But student accounts say the price will remain at $25 even after the 10-day period delineated by the ticket.
Students should not be held accountable for not understanding the terms if neither student accounts nor Butler University Police Department can work out the terms of the parking tickets.
Another issue is the money the university makes from ticketing.
The Collegian reported last November in “Parking Revenue brings in nearly $370,000” that BUPD made $104,290 in parking tickets during the 2010-11 school year.
As the student body grows, Butler is making more and more money from parking tickets.
This raises the question if solutions are drifting out slowly because tickets bring in extra money for the university.
Also, as the student body increases every year, the university needs to put more urgency on solving the parking issue in the present instead of just waiting for a parking garage to be constructed.
I know students have made the long walks to class in the past but improving a flawed system is never a bad thing.
Administration has been working over the past few years to find better solutions, but a solution must be created to address the problem here and now.
