Letter to the editor

I think what UM should do is consider having a mandatory driving test before the issuance of parking permits (SARCASM ALERT! I understand this is not feasible).

If everybody at UM could figure out how to put their car between the lines, maybe there would be more spaces! Everybody complains about the lack of parking, but how many of those whiners swing their car with complete disregard for the lines of demarcation?

So maybe when the Parking Enforcement agents are driving around in their ticket mobiles, they should consider handing out a STIFF fine for cars monopolizing two spaces. How much is a commuter pass up to now? $8,479? Half of that sounds like a reasonable fine.

But seriously: How much is a cheap, 4-megapixel digital camera? Provide one camera per Parking & Traffic ticket mobile, and when the P&T agent sees an improperly parked car, snap a shot for proof and smack a ticket on there for $150. Then when the student whines and cries and tries to appeal, the school will have proof. Think of all the money! If it doesn’t encourage people to learn to drive and park, at the very least the school will be able to afford a new parking garage.

I was a commuter student who parked between the School of Communication and Pavia. I had early classes, therefore I never had a problem parking. What I noticed is the spaces are quite narrow, and it’s nearly impossible to fit a larger truck or SUV in the space adequately. I walked around once and counted how many wasted spaces there were because of this. It was an impressive number. So why not take a section of the parking lot and re-line it to accommodate oversized vehicles? Sure you may lose four or five spaces initially, but in the long run it would save so many more existing spaces because the right-sized cars can park in the right-sized space.

Maybe the problem here is that UM wants a quick solution instead of sitting down and putting a reasonable amount of thought into what the real problem is here; teach people to drive and park – don’t reward idiots with additional parking and raise permit prices to afford it.

– Tiffany
online comment

Green with gladness

I was elated when I picked up the most recent issue of The Hurricane and found so many stories about being green. Many of the stories emphasized the fact that students are extremely undereducated about the ways of sustainable living. However, thanks to The Hurricane, maybe some will be a little more aware of what they’re doing next time they’re about to trash their empty Coke bottle. I know I’m definitely going to check out some of those environmental books that were mentioned, maybe while trying out that organic wine.

– Jenny Burrows
Senior