Education
Getting the Boot
It's an everyday battle to find parking at VCU
Courtesy: VCU
This truck at Virginia Commonwealth University has gotten a parking boot.
Shanell Jackson
Richmond.com
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The University of Virginia, Virginia State University and the College of William and Mary all ban freshmen from bringing their cars on campus. Why doesn't Virginia Commonwealth University?
Parking is a big problem at VCU because it is an urban university with more than 31,300 students. Every day, commuters as well as students who stay on campus with cars have to compete in finding a parking space.
Other schools have addressed this issue by telling freshmen to leave their cars home. William and Mary, for example, does not allow freshmen who live in campus housing to have their cars unless they are granted special permission by an appeals board.
The VCU Parking and Transportation office has considered this option. But officials believe that freshmen are not a major factor in taking up parking spaces. That's because VCU assigns parking on a first-come, first-served basis – and freshmen already are the last in line.
"Freshmen are already at a disadvantage when it comes to parking because they can only purchase parking after they have registered for classes," said Emma Minor, assistant manager at VCU Parking and Transportation.
Registration for freshmen starts in August during new student orientation. By then, upperclassmen have already bought most of the parking permits. Minor doesn't feel that banning freshmen from having cars would free up a lot parking spaces. VCU has 3,302 freshmen this year. It is not known how many of them are residential students with cars.
VCU freshman Jaime' Dzandu thinks it would be a good idea to prohibit freshmen from having their cars on campus, despite what Parking and Transportation says. She is from Hampton and is majoring in dance and choreography. Dzandu lives in Brandt Hall and did not drive her Ford Focus to campus this year.
"Cars are a distraction. As a freshman, not having a car on campus, it allows you to meet new people. Plus it is a lot cheaper," Dzandu said.
Like Dzandu, Kimberly Barnes believes cars are not a necessity for freshmen. Barnes is a sophomore from Fredericksburg and is majoring in mass communications with a minor in marketing.
"Being on an urban university in the heart of the city, there are many other modes of transportation if you don't have a car on campus," she said. "In addition, all of our immediate needs are met by stores that are within capable walking distance on our campus."
Barnes did not have her car on campus her first semester at VCU. However, she doesn't believe banning freshmen from having their cars on campus would help ease VCU's parking problems. She said freshmen tend to park in lots where upperclassmen do not.
Shana Peterson, a freshman from Hampton who is majoring in biology, parks her car in the CM lot on Laurel Street. She strongly opposes prohibiting freshmen from having their cars.
"I wouldn't like it at all," she said. "I use my car often -- to go to the grocery store, pharmacy and mall and even back home."
Parents as well as students have opinions about the issue. An associate professor in the School of Mass Communications, Bonnie Newman Davis, didn't allow her daughter to drive her car on campus during her first year at Spelman College in Atlanta because it was too much of a hassle. She feels freshmen don't need cars unless they commute.
But Davis can see why students like her daughter want their ride on campus.
"Now I am relenting, and in the process of helping her buy a car because of the extensive time it takes for her to get from point A to point B via public transportation. So I do understand why some students need their vehicles," Davis said.
Shanell Jackson is a student at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Page 1 of 1 
Top of Page
0 comments.
Disclaimer:
By submitting feedback through this page, Richmond.com reserves the right to publish your contributions either in their entirety or edited for content, appropriate language, length, etc. This includes publication in RBlog. Please include your first name and email on all submissions. Inappropriate comments will be subject to immediate removal without notice.
More Articles in
Education
CommunityFocus |
|
The Millennial Kids Give Back
With more than 400 hours of volunteer experience under her belt, Ava Hoffman is just one of numerous area teens helping give back to the community, one pro bono hour at a time.
|
|
Chesterfield Observer |
|
Prom on a Budget?
Even in a tight economy, high school proms still go on.
|
|
Business |
|
Cracking the da Vinci Code
VCU students in the da Vinci program project are designing operating tables for the third world.
|
|
|