Unreasonable parking demands are nothing new to the students who live in Shocker Hall. Just this year, parking options for these residents have been reduced by more than 20%.

And the university doesn’t seem to be done taking away lots.  

WSU released that lots 3N and 3S are permanently closed. These lots are nestled right next to the University Stadium, formerly Cessna Stadium.

These lots were right across the street from the Shocker Hall. Students had a convenient place to park only to have it taken away once again. 

With the closing of these lots, Lot 1, west of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center, has reopened to accommodate Shocker Hall residents. This means, though, that students must abide by the game day parking rules, moving their car three hours before a game or face a $50 citation. This is hardly a good compromise to losing crucial lots students could park in nearly 24/7.

While Lot 1 is closer to Shocker Hall than Lot 5, which is near the softball stadium, students are now in danger of facing extra citations because of the university’s inability to be consistent with parking. 

If WSU really believes that game days need more parking than what’s already provided by the Koch Arena, maybe they shouldn’t focus on the brand new field lights being installed for University Stadium. They should focus on the new parking garages the Master Plan is promising students. These new additions would help solve many of the campus’s issues with parking but they’re choosing to focus on other and what feel like irrelevant issues. 

On top of lot closures, Shocker Hall residents have to pay the same amount for parking as other students. Why force these freshmen to pay $75 for a parking pass, if they’re getting fewer lots?

In addition to the inconvenience that comes with these changes, with the colder months here, students now face a dreadful — and freezing — walk to and from their vehicles. And the closest parking lot to Shocker Hall was shut down right as it got cold outside.

But what I truly don’t understand is why they let students get into a pattern of parking their cars in certain lots. Most of the residents in Shocker Hall are freshmen, so they’re already dealing with massive changes left and right. Parking doesn’t need to be another stressor.

Overall, these changes are super inconvenient and probably could have been avoided in the long run. I would have much rather never known about the nice little lot across the street than to have my hopes and dreams smashed away.