Unfair parking

This archived article was written by: Jeff Spears

The College of Eastern Utah has successfully managed to spend precious money and time on wasteful expenditures, such as the possibility of buying a spy-ware system to monitor computers and the useless permit parking signs by the Reeves Building.
Administration must have forgotten that there is a huge dirt lot in front of CEU’s campus that detracts from its appearance, and that our enrollment is down. Yet it is vital to allot resources to parking permits and tickets. There have been countless people, myself included, that have received parking violations for parking in the cosmetology customer parking section and are disgruntled with the whole situation.
First, we are the students of the College of Eastern Utah. We pay the tuition and allow for this entire campus to be open, not just one organization. I have no problems with the cosmetology department and feel that they are successful within their own criteria of education, but having exclusive rights to the parking spaces is pushing the envelope.
I understand the necessity for handicap parking, yet I fail to see any connection between that and a need for specialized parking spots only for cosmetology customers. CEU is not a business, and we do not need to turn it into one. CEU is here to educate and not make the campus a business mirage for the greedy. This is exactly why we have seen a rapid decrease in our programs. Plain and simple, you don’t make money and you are cut. This is true. Even ask ASCEU. I guess since the newspaper receives revenue from ads outside of campus, we should also get parking spots for our clients.
Second, I do not feel bad for the clients of the cosmetology department who have to walk across campus for a haircut. On-campus residents do it everyday, and considering the current parking situation, so does everyone from off campus. The simple fact is that we are all hurting for parking, and making spaces for a select few is not fair.
The number of cosmetology parking spots has risen from four spots to six. Add that to the number of handicap spots outside the BDAC, and finding a parking spot on campus is almost impossible. Administration should reserve those spots for the faculty who make this college run, and the students who give it a reason to be. This college wasn’t meant to be a business; it is an institution of education. It pains me greatly to see greed and business take precedence over what matters most, the future of CEU students.
Finally, I see no difference between students violating the cosmetology parking restrictions and those who are guilty of parking their cars on the sidewalk outside the library, or the grounds crew who park red Mules on the grass. The enforcement of the cosmetology violations should have a snowball effect to other campus-restricted areas. This lack of a universal enforcement causes bitterness from the students who feel that some people are above the law. They have not received tickets or citations the entire year, yet a department causes a commotion and we are forced to change our policies. Students are again not heard.