We have all been there— you are running late for class and think to yourself, “Parking services is never over here,” only to walk out and find a bright yellow envelope on the windshield of your car. Stress sets in and you begin to wonder how you will pay yet another parking ticket.
The introduction of a parking amnesty day could help relieve some of this stress. This would provide a day for students to partake in school-appointed community service projects to better both the school and the lives of all Mississippi State University students but also reduce the overall fee of the ticket.
Other universities including Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) and the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) have done similar events for their students. According to an announcement by Patrick Collins on Missouri S&T’s website, the parking operations department voided out up to two unpaid parking tickets per person in exchange for a $10 cash donation for each citation to their Student Emergency Fund for their parking amnesty day.
As for UAB, according to its campus calendar, they held their event inside the student center during an allotted time frame where students could bring five nonperishable items in exchange for $30 off a parking ticket to benefit their on-campus food pantry.
Having an event such as this could benefit MSU in a new way. Some organizations on campus require community service hours, so this event could help some students work off their tickets and log hours for their club at the same time.
Volunteering for your local community and giving back is important. In an email with Executive Director of Transportation Jeremiah Dumas, he mentioned how service such as this would help MSU and those within the local community.
“An increase in meaningful community service hours and/or donated food or items that help people in a time of need is a benefit to us all,” Dumas wrote.
College life has its perks but also has its stressors. One of the biggest stressors for a college student is money. Living on a fixed income is difficult no matter if it comes from a parent or minimum wage job. A lot of students pay for rent, food, school supplies and adding these parking tickets can sometimes feel like the world is ending.
There have been months where after paying bills all that is left is $20 or $30, which makes paying a parking ticket of $30 or more feel impossible. A popular alternative is selling clothes, which some students do just to afford a parking ticket they got five minutes before getting back to their car. Community service through the amnesty program will allow for some reconciliation and reduce the financial strain of a ticket.
A parking amnesty day will not take away the penalty of breaking parking regulations but will help MSU students take one thing off their plate and grow from their mistake; while also providing a chance to give back and help something that is much bigger than a parking violation.