I know that complaining about parking on campus is nothing new. However, this is not a parking complaint; it is a call to challenge policy. Let me explain.
Having a staff parking permit allows me the leisure of parking near my building. I don’t have to arrive 20 minutes early and scout parking locations. Having been a commuting student for many years, I thoroughly enjoy this perk.
Last week, I needed to conduct a research seminar for my students in the library, and having an appointment directly after this lecture, I needed to park close to the library. I drove the winding back streets to the parking lot clearly labeled “Staff Parking.” It was so clearly labeled, there were two signs indicating such in this tiny lot next to Bowen Hall. I get out of the car and carefully check to make sure that the handicapped parking next to me did not extend to the spot I had chosen. Nope, the signs read “Staff Parking,” and I wasn’t in a handicapped spot. So I was off to teach my one-hour class.
Little did I know that awaiting my arrival back at the car would be the most dreaded of parking experiences: a boot! I called the number on the sticker that they branded my car with only the thought in my head, “This is a mistake; I do not have multiple unpaid parking tickets!”
Forty-five minutes later the very polite blonde kid at the ticket office had some guys in a golf cart come free my car, laughing at me while I am mumbling on about the $100 non-refundable fee that this boot is costing me on top of the $20 ticket. Really? What could possibly make this “reserved” spot so special that you get automatically booted for parking there? I had no idea why this spot was special or how I could have known not to park there, but I got my answer after I pulled back my car a bit and got out.
Under a pile of leaves, some faded white lettering on the side of the curb reads “Service Parking Only.” Sure, it is a great way to make extra money for the university, but I feel tricked. I believe that an automatic $120 fine and boot on a spot with no “real” sign is unjust. If the spot was obviously service [parking], no one would park there. So I ask: Can we change this policy? Or maybe put some signs up?
I’m not asking for much here. I would take my $120 back if they granted my appeal, but I doubt it will happen. I’ll settle for a sign so that others don’t have to repeat my experience. Or just maybe they can issue tickets and leave the boots for wrecking the day of multiple ticket offenders.
Cassondra Sumrall is an instructor of English as a second language. She can be contacted at [email protected].