By Stephaney Wilson
Elm Staff Writer
It was my first semester as a Washington College sophomore, and I had just recently moved into Harford for the year. As I settled myself behind the desk and looked out the window at the Harford parking lot, I remembered thinking to myself how crowded the lot look compared to the amount of students at WC.
Then suddenly, a fight broke out right there on the lot. Two students were complaining about a stolen parking space. I found this amusing but also very concerning. One of the questions that lingered on my mind from th at day was “what were the concerns and feelings of others based on campus parking?”
I had never owned a car or dealt with parking but it seemed to many of my peers an important issue. Freshman Lonessa Rupertus had much to say about her experiences parking on campus.
“It can be difficult because I live in Queen Anne’s and a lot of people who do not live in QA or Reid take up those spots. I would wish there would be more parking but I don’t know where you would put it exactly. Try to keep to your residential zone, probably,” she said.
One of the issues about parking on campus is students parking in zones that they do not reside in. Some students coming from other residential areas parking in places that are not meant for them seems like a source of frustration for many.
Most students have strong and varied opinions about it. Freshman Erika Schmidt had expressed some of her thoughts about campus parking.
“Well, I know it’s definitely not as expensive as other schools, so that’s nice cause I know my brother pays like $600 a year to park and its only $70 here. The parking lot by Minta which is where I park is really small but other than that I think it’s fine,” she said.
This shows that maybe not everyone thinks that there should be change to the campus parking. Some students are fine with the parking just how it is.
However, through the many walks I have taken around campus, I still see many possibilities for changes to campus parking. For instance, the lack of available parking spaces for students near the academic buildings, but how does this make a difference?
Many students do not have available parking space near the academic buildings, so they are forced to park elsewhere. This causes more chaos when trying to find a parking space and could lead to students parking in spaces that are not reserved for them.
Many students live off campus in Kent Crossing. They use their cars to commute for classes or other campus activities, instead of walking a mile and half just to reach classes.
Campus parking may be last thing on your mind as we come to a close for the semester, but it is still worth writing about.
We as students all have the ability to usher in change to our campus community. If you are passionate or want to voice your opinion about campus parking, I would suggest you email James Turley, secretary of student services and campus properties, at jturley2@washcoll.edu.