Parking citation appeals board focuses on student complaints

Tiam Tavaloli, a senior psychology major, received her ticketwhen she parked in the Airline Garage on the ramp leading up thesecond floor.

“I think it is so unfair,” Tavaloli said, “Iam a commuter, and $25 is a week’s worth of gas. Iwouldn’t put myself in that position. I can’t affordit.”

Tavaloli had parked on the same ramp for the past two years andwas unaware that this year the rules had been changed, and the rampwas now reserved for faculty and staff only.

SMU students gathered on Tuesday afternoon to appeal ticketsthey had received while parked on the second floor ramp in theAirline garage.

Chris Brodie, an SMU commuter, also received his violation whileparking on the ramp.

He caught up with the officer who gave him the ticket and wasinformed that there was a clear indication of the restriction onthe new parking maps.

Chris argued, “It wasn’t changed on the map! Itwasn’t even listed!”

The parking guide shows the Airline parking garage in green,which indicates that it is reserved for SMU commuters and thosewith permits excluding all male first years, but does not specifythat the ramps are reserved for faculty and staff.

An e-mail sent out on Aug. 29, 2003 stated that “OnTuesday, Sept. 2, the SMU police department will begin issuingtickets to those who park in unauthorized areas” but did notspecify which areas were unauthorized.

LaCretia Dickerson, an SMU senior who commutes daily, receivedthe e-mail stating that violators would be ticketed beginning onSept. 2, but she received her ticket on Aug. 29.

“I am angry because this means that they put the signs upfirst and then decided to notify people. For two years people havebeen allowed to park on the ramps, and then they change the rules,and no one knows about it. They need to put signs in the entranceor list it on the map.”

One by one, students went before the Citations Appeals Committeeto discuss problems with parking tickets across campus.

The committee meets four times a semester, and each student isgiven two minutes to argue on his behalf before the panel decideswhether or not the ticket should be dismissed.

“We gave each student two minutes because we wanted togive everyone a chance to be heard,” said Jay Hengst, afaculty member and head of appeals committee.

Students who could not appear were instructed to send in awritten statement describing their case.

Cameron Johnson, the student representative on the appealscommittee said, “SMU is a university full of students, and itis only fair that they have a chance to fight for their rights. Youcan’t just give out a bunch of tickets and not let studentshave any say at all. If students feel that their ticketwasn’t fair, they should defiantly have the opportunity tosay so.”

After the meeting with the panel, the students felt confidentthat their concerns were taken into consideration.

“They told us that they understood our dilemma and that amistake was made in sending out the e-mail,” Brodie said.

Subsequently, the students’ tickets were dismissed.

“We have people that come in and direct their anger at theboard and wonder why we aren’t doing things to change therules, but they don’t realize that we don’t have say inthe rules that the police department make,” Hengst said.

Police Chief Michael Snellgrove said that many times studentsjust don’t take time to read the parking rules.

“Each year change happens for a reason. We are not tryingto confuse people; we are trying to accommodate thecommunity.”

If you ever have any questions on where you are allowed to park,you can always call the vehicle registration and parkingoffice.

The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30p.m.

After office hours, students can call the SMU police departmentusing the non-emergency dispatch number or check the Web site atwww.smu.edu/pd.