2008 Woodie Awards
Fighting over parking is immature, reflects poorly on our campus
Editorial Board
Issue date: 8/28/08 Section: Opinions
After the unfortunate incident on campus today, it is easy to assume that this was an isolated case of road rage, perhaps brought on by stress or due to the increasingly-frustrating parking situation on campus.
Campus parking has become such a cliché scapegoat that we might as well just devote a weekly column to it. While there truly are situations in which people legitimately have a right to complain about parking, such as professors' spaces being taken up by green-permit cars, most of our parking complaints are good ole' fashioned whining.
First of all, let's start off with the obvious. Someone was stabbed today. Over a parking spot. A PARKING SPOT! Are you serious? Really? Has it come to this? Are we really to the point where entitlement overtakes all semblance of common sense, causing people to pull weapons on each other so that they can get to Peck Hall on time?
Even more, it has been reported that the ambulance(s) couldn't even get into the Bell Street lot, blocked by illegally parked cars driven by (we're assuming) frenzied students. Cars allegedly had to be towed so that a student-who had just been stabbed-could be helped.
So let's get the story straight. An argument over an alleged parking dispute led to a stabbing. The ambulance, blocked by illegal student parking, couldn't help the victim. It has, it seems, come to this.
While we certainly hope that today's assault was an isolated, fluke attack, we really need to address the real problem here - laziness. There is plenty of parking on campus. Anyone who states otherwise should really amend his or her argument to say "there is not enough 20-feet-away-from-the-building-my-class-is-in parking." There is a huge difference.
Yes, it sucks to rush to class when you overslept and have 10 minutes to make it from the Rutherford lot to the KOM, but you are more likely to get there on time if you just suck it up and park in the outer lots, rather than clogging up the inner arteries of campus with last-minute traffic angrily trying to find that "close" space.
Campus parking has become such a cliché scapegoat that we might as well just devote a weekly column to it. While there truly are situations in which people legitimately have a right to complain about parking, such as professors' spaces being taken up by green-permit cars, most of our parking complaints are good ole' fashioned whining.
First of all, let's start off with the obvious. Someone was stabbed today. Over a parking spot. A PARKING SPOT! Are you serious? Really? Has it come to this? Are we really to the point where entitlement overtakes all semblance of common sense, causing people to pull weapons on each other so that they can get to Peck Hall on time?
Even more, it has been reported that the ambulance(s) couldn't even get into the Bell Street lot, blocked by illegally parked cars driven by (we're assuming) frenzied students. Cars allegedly had to be towed so that a student-who had just been stabbed-could be helped.
So let's get the story straight. An argument over an alleged parking dispute led to a stabbing. The ambulance, blocked by illegal student parking, couldn't help the victim. It has, it seems, come to this.
While we certainly hope that today's assault was an isolated, fluke attack, we really need to address the real problem here - laziness. There is plenty of parking on campus. Anyone who states otherwise should really amend his or her argument to say "there is not enough 20-feet-away-from-the-building-my-class-is-in parking." There is a huge difference.
Yes, it sucks to rush to class when you overslept and have 10 minutes to make it from the Rutherford lot to the KOM, but you are more likely to get there on time if you just suck it up and park in the outer lots, rather than clogging up the inner arteries of campus with last-minute traffic angrily trying to find that "close" space.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
jay
posted 8/28/08 @ 12:12 AM CST
Amen. Quit being lazy and walk for Pete's sake. To walk from EHS to the rec takes less than 20 minutes. Be responsible adults and get up a bit earlier. (Continued…)
Eric Childress
posted 8/28/08 @ 11:26 AM CST
What about the stabbing victim? Does anyone give a crap about them???!! The rant and rave about a parking place, yet no concern for human life? Hmmmm. (Continued…)
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