Colorado Mesa University (CMU)’s school board is looking for ways to reduce the budget, and one option is to cut funds to the school’s “parking police.”
Supporters may argue that the parking police on campus are vital to the school, however, many students view them as a pest.
“Our parking enforcement is the only reason you can still find parking on campus,” student Parker Spot said. “We should be thankful that they encourage people to find other parking and transportation options.”
Admittedly, the fees for parking can contribute to the push for bike usage, carpooling, public transportation and other greener transportation options.
Despite this, permit fees are seen by most students to be exorbitant, especially considering how having a permit does not guarantee you will be able to find parking.
With CMU taking away existing parking, such as the current theater construction replacing parking lots near Hotel Maverick, this problem continues to get worse. An out-of-luck student may finally find a spot only to realize that they have the wrong kind of permit for the space.
They are then forced to choose between continuing the search and being late for classes, or parking anyways, and risking a ticket, or even a boot on their vehicle.
“I’ve paid more in parking permits and ticket fees than I have in tuition,” super-senior Albert Einstein said.
Recently, there has been a student movement supporting the defunding of the parking police. Students have finally had enough of the pride and joy the parking police get from giving out tickets and placing boots on cars. Their reign of terror on CMU should end soon.
If the school chooses to defund the parking enforcement team and relax restrictions on parking, it will be a source of relief for many students, especially those with tight schedules or empty wallets.
“I hope the parking police will learn their lesson, someone better put a boot on their stupid little cart,” said a disgruntled student.
