The Problem of Parking: Drury University parking regulations let students know... they don't matter.

A university within city limits having parking issues is not a unique situation; as a university grows within the city, the problem of space must affect some part of the lives of students and faculty.

In the case of Drury University, part of the parking issue lies in priority being given to boosters (i.e., sports fans who pay plenty of money to attend a series of games) rather than students (i.e., the makeup of the university itself). Now of course one can argue that the boosters pay for that priority parking; it is indeed included on the list of things that come with booster ticket packages.

Please, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that students might also pay a decent amount of money to attend Drury in the first place, and I feel that consistent access to a not-miles-away parking lot should be provided, given the hefty tuition and fees we pay.

If a lack of parking was the only problem, and the campus was simply packed out on game nights due to attendees being allowed to use those spaces, that would be one thing or maybe not… ask a night school student. Sure, it would be frustrating, but that’s life sometimes, and everyone could stamp their feet in protest as they walk to class from a farther away lot.

Unfortunately though, it’s not as simple as running out of space. It’s about locking students out of lots and forcing them to pay parking tickets if they didn’t get the memo to move their car in time.

The university’s tickets website (drurytickets.universitytickets.com) provides a colorful map of all the places that someone coming to a Drury event can park, leaving one small lot for commuter students. When I saw this I thought, “But wait! I take a night class! Those people will think they can park anywhere they want!” And that’s the problem – they can.

I know I’m not the first person to complain about Drury parking, but I think the university needs to hear, from many voices, that they are sending a negative message to the students whether they realize it or not, by saying that the university’s resources (the most basic of all, perhaps, being space for one to park) will not be given to the students first.

Don’t even get me started on the open space in front of the HPER parking lot that was recently turned into a “green space” that no one uses. They’re ejecting us from our very own places in favor of non-students; specifically, sports fans.

Let’s just say the whole situation doesn’t encourage my own school spirit.