Recent news of a University of Memphis Police Services crackdownon parking violators has some students angry about the continuedlack of available parking spaces.
"They send you this miniscule sticker in the mail when youregister," said Angela Justice, senior graphic design major. "You'dbe lucky to get the sticker to the tag in your car without losingit first."
Each morning, commuter students circle campus parking lots andresidential streets in search of parking spaces. And some studentssaid they choose to gamble with the prospect of being ticketed andpark illegally so they can make it to class on time.
"Why are they ticketing cars on Southern?" asked Justice. "Mostof the people who park there still have a ridiculously long walk toclass."
There are 5,346 general parking spaces on campus, and the totalenrollment at The University is approximately 19,911, whichincludes undergraduate, graduate and law students.
There are about 2,100 students living in residence halls oncampus, said U of M residential life staff.
Taking those numbers into account, there could be as many as17,811 commuter students at The U of M.
However, students who live on campus don't seem to have much ofa problem with parking.
"I live on campus this semester, but I don't have my car atschool right now," said freshman KaTerra Locke. "I'm bringing mycar next semester, but living in Carpenter, I'll be eligible for aresidential parking permit."
In addition to the lack of available parking, many students arealso complaining about the heavy fines resulting from tickets.
With the semester coming to a close, unpaid parking tickets mayproduce headaches for registration and transcript holds forgraduates.
"I've had parking tickets that have kept me from registering,"said Jessica Belote, senior graphic design major. "Sometimes thetickets are just too expensive to pay."
Students whose vehicles are registered with U of M ParkingServices may incur holds on their student accounts if they do notpay parking fines.
Some people dismiss parking tickets and don't take themseriously, said Locke. "I know people who have registration holdsplaced on their accounts because of unpaid parking tickets."
Unpaid financial obligations will result in holds on a student'saccount, said Tamisha Hawkins, assistant manager of studentaccounts.
"At the end of the semester, students try to clear theiraccounts so they can view grades or get transcript releases,"Hawkins said. "The biggest rush to clear holds is at the beginningof each semester when students are trying to register."
Some students said more parking lots or garages would helpalleviate the overcrowding and stress associated with the currentstate of parking at The U of M.
"The University needs to build more general parking lots,"Justice said.
