I am no longer in favor nor on the fence about the new parking system. The system needs to be adjusted, and that is my stance.

When the parking system was first implemented, I maintained an objective view of the situation and attempted to see the reasoning behind the system. And while I still believe the reasons behind the new system are justifiable, I think certain revisions or additions should be made.

The university should allow students who have paid parking fines equaling the cost of a parking pass to receive a parking pass.

For anyone who doesn’t know, a parking pass for one semester costs $60.  Therefore, with this addition, the university would have received the amount they would have had if the student had purchased a parking pass.

I understand the arguments that adding this revision would essentially be rewarding someone for parking violations.  

However, as a commuter student who didn’t purchase a parking pass and has been charged $75 in parking fines, it’s honestly not a reward.

I am still responsible for paying, but if I am paying $75 to the university, I want a parking pass.

Working on campus and being involved in extracurricular activities requires that I spend a lot of time on campus.

Not being able to park on campus is a real inconvenience — I was never able to afford the parking passes when the new system was implemented. All in all, the parking system has been a hassle.

I’m not criticizing the system as a whole or the ideas behind it. But I am stating that revisions should be made with more thoughts in regards of the underrepresented student bodies.

With so many commuter students at the university, it makes sense that there are conflicts. Regardless of President John Bardo’s plans to transform the former association of Wichita State as a commuter school, he must still keep in mind that he still has a significant population of commuter students to serve.

Hopefully as the administration works out the kinks of the new parking system, a revision can be made to find a plan that is more sensible while keeping in mind the entire WSU population.