Spring Break
Our View: Remember all students before increasing prices
Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: Opinion
Starting at about 7:30 every morning, student cars begin filing into student parking lots. By 9:15, when more classes have begun, it becomes difficult to find a good spot. And by the middle of the day, students sometimes have a hard time finding a spot at all.
They're left with a choice: Park far away from class and risk being late, or park close and risk getting a ticket.
Chances are every student on campus has heard some form of the usual parking woes: Parking Services tickets too often, there aren't enough parking spots, there aren't enough close parking spots and, to top it all off, the passes cost too much.
And with last week's announcement that Parking Services will once again raise prices for next fall, it goes without saying that students may not receive this change very well.
Last week, the Stater reported Parking Services manager Larry Emling encouraged students who can't afford the price increase to use alternative forms of transportation.
To this, we ask, "What alternative forms?"
Not every student is the so-called "traditional" student who spends most of his or her time in Kent and lives on campus or within walking distance.
Some students don't have the luxury of walking or biking to campus. Even some apartments in Kent that are considered "close" are still too far for students to walk, especially during Kent's seemingly eternal winters.
For students who live outside of Kent or Portage County, it's difficult to depend on public transportation to get to campus on time. Someone commuting from the Cleveland area would have to rely on transfers and multiple bus schedules in order to get to Kent with public transportation.
And working students, who might otherwise be able to walk or take a bus, might need to have a car on campus so they can leave and drive directly to their job or internship after classes.
In other words, for many students, it's just easier to drive.
And for just as many students, shelling out even more money amid a recession just isn't possible.
Instead of brushing off the price increase by saying students have other options, Parking Services should remember there aren't always other options.
Like it or not, driving is probably the easiest and most common type of transportation for college students. Instead of discouraging students from going about their daily habits, Parking Services should become more accommodating.
The above editorial is the consensus of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.
They're left with a choice: Park far away from class and risk being late, or park close and risk getting a ticket.
Chances are every student on campus has heard some form of the usual parking woes: Parking Services tickets too often, there aren't enough parking spots, there aren't enough close parking spots and, to top it all off, the passes cost too much.
And with last week's announcement that Parking Services will once again raise prices for next fall, it goes without saying that students may not receive this change very well.
Last week, the Stater reported Parking Services manager Larry Emling encouraged students who can't afford the price increase to use alternative forms of transportation.
To this, we ask, "What alternative forms?"
Not every student is the so-called "traditional" student who spends most of his or her time in Kent and lives on campus or within walking distance.
Some students don't have the luxury of walking or biking to campus. Even some apartments in Kent that are considered "close" are still too far for students to walk, especially during Kent's seemingly eternal winters.
For students who live outside of Kent or Portage County, it's difficult to depend on public transportation to get to campus on time. Someone commuting from the Cleveland area would have to rely on transfers and multiple bus schedules in order to get to Kent with public transportation.
And working students, who might otherwise be able to walk or take a bus, might need to have a car on campus so they can leave and drive directly to their job or internship after classes.
In other words, for many students, it's just easier to drive.
And for just as many students, shelling out even more money amid a recession just isn't possible.
Instead of brushing off the price increase by saying students have other options, Parking Services should remember there aren't always other options.
Like it or not, driving is probably the easiest and most common type of transportation for college students. Instead of discouraging students from going about their daily habits, Parking Services should become more accommodating.
The above editorial is the consensus of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.
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