The student parking situation is atrocious.

As students, we pay the university every semester to have a parking space on campus. We can choose to park at the other lots off-campus and ride the shuttle, but many of us choose not to because it would add to the length of our days at school.

This morning, Sept. 6, the parking lots on both Hillside and 21st street were at full capacity. I know they were at capacity because I drove down each of the aisles in the green lots trying to find a parking space so I could make it to my morning appointments on campus.

Parking on campus has been more difficult all semester, but this morning it seemed far worse — there weren’t fewer spots to park, or less desirable spots, there were simply no parking spaces.

When I turned at the Hillside and 21st intersection, I realized why: lot W-2 was closed for a fleet of school buses. If the closing of this one lot causes the parking situation to become so dire, what happens to our parking when the sports seasons begin and we have people coming to the game who park wherever they want on campus (in addition to the closed lots).

The university seemed, at times, to offer solutions. The addition of the parking garage seemed like a step in the right direction for our parking woes, but the fact that it is mostly hourly parking puts it financially out of reach for most students.

Parking services now offers reserved parking spaces, but the high cost for a year seems like little more than an attempt to help students who have access to more disposable money than the rest of us.

For a commuter college with a decent price-tag, why is access to parking so limited? Getting a parking spot shouldn’t be more difficult than passing an algebra exam. I hope that the university, or at the least our Student Government Association, can step up to help us so we can park and attend our classes.

— Zachary Parker, graduate student