Letter: Charging for Central Campus parking permits unfair

Finally a rising senior, I went to choose my apartment for senior year Saturday morning. Although I had the option to live on West Campus, I chose to live on Central because it was financially better: The apartments are cheaper than dorm rooms and the parking is free. What a shock it was when I walked in and found out that the parking office was going to charge us $190 for a Central permit, the same amount as a Blue Zone pass.

This upset me, and several others in the room, for two reasons. First, we had no warning that we would be charged for parking. Had I known ahead of time, I might have looked more seriously into an apartment off campus, where my landlord didn't charge me to park. Telling students right as they are about to sign a binding contract is unfair. Second, Central Campus is favorable for those who wish to save money on their housing expenses, especially for those who have a car on campus. This sudden permit charge is a shock, to say the least.

I understand the parking office wants to keep up "maintenance on Central Campus parking lots." I understand that the parking office wants to prevent students from obtaining a Central parking permit for their friend, so that the friend can avoid paying for parking. However, Central parking lots have survived this many years without students having to pay to "keep up maintenance." Also, with the money that the University is getting from the Blue Zone, the new Bryan Center parking lot and parking tickets, I don't understand why they need to suddenly charge Central Campus students as well.

I request that the University reconsiders the decision to suddenly charge $190 for Central Campus parking. I would be much more content if, finding they needed to charge students for a permit, they would start at a lower amount initially--say, $50--so that the unexpected expense would not be so much of a shock financially.