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Opinion: Parking becomes educational roadblock

Opinion

Opinion: Parking becomes educational roadblock

Parking on campus will soon be getting worse to the dismay of NIC students who are forced to deal with the parking shortage.
During the summer the metered parking across from Christianson Gymnasium was expanded to accommodate visitors, and a row of metered parking is to be added in front of the Hedlund Building for visitors accessing Emery’s, NIC’s culinary arts department.

Campus Security will also be issuing visitor parking permits so visitors can park in student spaces on campus.

It is absurd that visitors take precedence over students.

If I hear that parking conditions will get better after the third week of school one more time I am going to have an aneurism. It is upsetting that we as students are depending on other students to drop out of classes and stop furthering their education so we can more easily find a parking spot.

Each day Sentinel adviser Nils Rosdahl jokes about the parking situation from the second level of the Siebert Building where he watches an endless game of “Find the Open Parking Space.” Cars continuously drive a loop waiting for spaces to open, and only the most stubborn and persistent drivers will overcome the odds.

The daily occurrence is like a NASCAR race where the drivers are in a head-to-head battle against the rest of the field, the checkered flag going to the person who gets to park before class begins.

As a nontraditional student, I don’t have a problem finding parking because I show up very early to assure that I find a space, even if it means scavenging a spot from people leaving the campus. Parking on this campus is a matter of patience. The time a person allows oneself to find parking dictates the amount of patience.

Though I don’t have a problem finding parking, I do have a problem with the parking situation. I personally believe that because the college hasn’t allocated more space to resolve the parking shortage, students are being deprived of furthering their education.
An explanation is in order.

Local students making the transition from high school to college come to this campus unaware that more parking permits will be issued than there are parking spaces available for student use. These students are forced to drive around until they find an available spot. This may take from five minutes to an hour.

Many students have complained about looking for parking for 30 to 45 minutes before finding a space. This means that a number of students are showing up late to class or missing class altogether. This is unacceptable by the standards of many instructors at the college and students are forced to pay the price. Students are reprimanded, miss what the class offered that day, or are dropped from classes. These classes are paid for by the students.

Unfortunately, many of these students aren’t able to come early enough to allow them a chance to find parking due to jobs or other responsibilities. Rather than fight the parking, some of these students decide to focus on work and come back to further their education at a later date. For most, the later date never arrives because once in the work force some people are forced to change their priorities and school falls to the wayside. We pay tuition and other fees in order to obtain an education from NIC. Shouldn’t students be guaranteed easily accessible classes?

On top of tuition many students pay $20 in order to park on campus. Why should we buy parking permits if there is a good chance no parking space will be available to us?

With the recent closing and upcoming demolition of the lumber mill next door there is a simple remedy to the parking crisis. With the acquisition of the educational corridor in the works, it would be feasible to inquire about borrowing space for a temporary parking lot until permanent parking is available.

A simple inquiry by the proper administration office could permanently solve the parking situation and calm the nerves of frustrated students trying to get to class on time.

I don’t know this to be true, but I would think it is happy students that make an educational institution flourish, and happy students are students that have their needs met.

Opinions expressed in editorial and opinion articles are the views of individual NIC students. These views do not necessarily  reflect the opinions of the Sentinel, North Idaho College, or any other organizations or groups there-in. North Idaho College is not responsible for the accuracy of statements or opinions shared.

I am the current News Editor of The Sentinel, and in charge of creating the News section of this paper and assigning the stories covered in it.

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