Wichita State’s university police department began issuing citations Tuesday for students or faculty members who have not purchased the required parking permit. Prior to the citations, police gave reminders to those in violation.

“These didn’t work as well as we hoped they would on educating people,” said Sara Morris, chief of university police.

From 7 a.m. Tuesday morning to 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon, more than 400 citations had been written.

Andi Hale, a Shocker Hall resident, was one of the 400. Hale was parked in a 30-minute loading zone in front of Shocker Hall when she received her ticket Thursday.

Hale said the citations are unfair.

“I was up there for maybe five minutes and came right back downstairs and had a ticket,” she said.

Hale is not the only one she knows who has been issued a citation on campus. She said both of her suitemates have received tickets for the same thing.

“If there’s a parking space, we should be able to park there,” Hale said.

In the future, Hale would like to see the university do away with the permits. She also wants to see more parking on campus for everybody.

Morris said if the students do not want to pay the $120 for the permit, to give the shuttles a try.

“You may have to give it two or three tries until you get your routine worked out with how the shuttles run,” Morris said.

Morris said she is strategizing on continuing to educate students on why the permits and shuttle service are important. In the neighborhoods surrounding campus, some students have parked illegally and have upset some of the residents.

An irritated graduate student, who wished to remain anonymous, said she has been parking on residential streets for years.

“In the four years that I have been here, people have always parked on those streets,” she said.

She comes to class two times a week and thinks it would be silly for her to pay for parking. She spends the majority of her time at the Metroplex, where she is also taking classes.

“Now that I’m paying graduate school tuition and don’t have the time to work as much, I don’t have the extra $120 to pay for parking for the two days I’m on campus for classes,” the student said.

Morris said she wishes to educate students on city ordinances that apply to parking off campus. If the location is out of the jurisdiction of university police, some students could receive tickets from the city, which, if not paid, can turn into warrants.

Morris said she would like to see students look at their other options and make the right choices. She figures the permits would average out to $12 a month. She compared the cost to being less than an energy drink a day that some students purchase routinely.

For the students who are frustrated with the shuttle, there’s an app for that.

Morris said the university is coming out with an app that displays the two different bus routes and gives estimated time of arrivals. Morris said students will be able to start planning their schedules around the shuttle.

The app will be available through both the Google and Apple app stores and should be available sometime this week, she said.

Morris said the department is always open for input and ideas from the students.

“This is a learning curve for all of us, and if there are tweaks we need to make in that, then we’re game,” she said.

For more information, contact Morris via email at [email protected].