Well, it’s time for another opinion column about the incredibly absurd state of parking at this fine institution.
After driving around for 40 minutes I had been through two parking garages, the commuter lot and Sorority Park and was feeling fairly desperate.
So I called the friendly staff at Park n’ Pony to voice my now raging anger while I roamed campus and wasted gas. I got a chipper man who directed me back to the parking garages, telling me that it was always like this the first few days of school and that the parking problem would clear up.
Since it hasn’t cleared up in the three years I have been here, I was understandably skeptical but gave the garages another try. I never found these mythical spots that my friend at Park n’ Pony told me existed, though I did find several hulking SUVs and Hummers taking up two spots.
Finally, I gave up and parked in Dedman Lot 3, the lot that used to be for freshman males, located on the far outer reaches of campus. Twenty minutes later I arrived at Fondren Life Sciences Building, late for class. (The fact that it takes an hour to find a spot and walk to your class is unacceptable, but it doesn’t seem to concern anyone but the students developing heat stroke.)
As a commuter, I understand that I have to be punished for living off campus. To me it makes sense to want to pay reasonable rent and not live in a dorm without hot water for several days at a stretch or a dorm with too much water (my freshman year our whole room flooded from a hole in the ceiling—good job, maintenance).
It makes sense not to want to live in exorbitantly-priced SMU apartments with roaches under the sink and a few years’ worth of hair clogging the drains, as well. (Not that there are going to be a whole lot of SMU apartments left anyway, now that RLSH has kindly condemned University Gardens and evicted the lucky occupants, throwing them into the dog-eat-dog world of commuting.)
But getting back to the point, I understand that not putting money into the overstuffed coffers of SMU is a Bad Thing. I should have stayed on campus like many of my foot-bound classmates, who don’t have cars and can’t live anywhere better.
My solution to the problem of parking: Stop building new facilities and put in a darn garage. For instance, the location of the new James M. Collins Executive Education Center would have been ideal for a parking garage. It’s right by the dorms and near the middle of campus—perfect. Sure, it wouldn’t have been as aesthetically pleasing, but the builders could always stick a few columns and a gold cupola on it.
Voila, it fits right in! Or flowers! We love our new landscaping every other week. But honestly, why should we pay $200 to park when we have to go park in the Barnes and Noble parking lot just to get to class? There are 500 spots in Airline Garage and 595 spots in Moody Garage, plus all of the other spots on campus. Multiplied by $200—that seems like a good start to finance a new parking garage.
Of course, SMU would miss out on all that money they get from giving us tickets, but that’s fodder for a whole other column. Good job with the parking, SMU—I salute your competence and concern in dealing with this problem. Keep it up.
Erica Lovett is the chief copy editor for The Daily Campus and a junior journalism and english double major. She may be contacted at [email protected].