Luke Nowell may have found a way to get away with parkingillegally on The University of Memphis campus.
"I've gotten a ticket without my hangtag in the car I usuallydrive, and the ticket ends up on my (U of M) account," said Nowell,junior MIS major. "When I drive other cars, if I get a ticket, Ijust throw it away because they never do anything about it."
Parking scofflaws like Nowell seem to be growing in number atThe University -- The U of M Parking Services department issuedmore than 10,000 parking citations last fall, assistant ParkingServices manager Kathy Treadway said in a written statement.Approximately 20 percent of those tickets were not paid, Treadwaysaid. While some students ignore University parking rules, thepractice of discarding and disregarding campus citations can becostly.
Ticketed vehicles registered with The University are immediatelyplaced on the student, faculty or staff member's account, said BillStewart, accounting manager for student accounts. Faculty and staffhave their debts automatically deducted from their salary when aticket remains unpaid. However, when a student fails to pay acitation an immediate hold is placed on the student's records.
Depending on the student's status with The University, the holdcan bar access to grades and transcripts, or it can bar a studentfrom registering for the next semester. The hold is only liftedafter the debt has been satisfied.
The University's ability to deny students access to theirrecords for not paying parking citations has sparked some studentsto question The U of M's motive for creating the rule.
Freshman Michael Griffin said he sees parking tickets as littlemore than a moneymaking opportunity for The U of M.
"There are obvious places you shouldn't park," Griffin said."But (issuing parking tickets) is just another way for the schoolto swindle poor college students."
Fees for parking citations range from $10 to $125, depending onthe seriousness of the violation, parking officials said.
To avoid the costly fees, some students hide their U of Mparking hangtag, some students said. However, this doesn't preventParking Services from identifying the vehicle and linking it with astudent, staff or faculty member.
Each time Parking Services cites a vehicle for parkingillegally, the vehicle's make, model, VIN and license plate numbersare recorded. This information is placed in a database maintainedby U of M Parking Services and can be cross-referenced with studentnames and hangtag numbers to identify the owner of the vehicles,Edwina Washington, assistant vice president for business services,said in a written statement.
"The identified owner of the vehicle pays for the citation,"Treadway said.
Parking Services can research license plates through the use ofthe Department of Motor Vehicle registration system, saidWashington. The DMV gives The University access to vehicleregistration information across the State of Tennessee. ParkingServices has similar arrangements with more than 30 states,University officials said.
Once a vehicle has been linked to someone at The University, theBursar's Office sends out written notices to the address on fileabout eight times a year, Stewart said. If the debt remains, TheUniversity turns the matter over to a collection agency, Stewartsaid.
While The University tries not to turn students over to acollection agency for unpaid fines, non-students or graduates willhave their debts turned over to a collection agency after 120 daysor 90 days after graduation respectively, Stewart said.
"An unpaid ticket won't stop you from graduating," Stewart said."But the holds are forever."
Although students with grade and transcript holds are allowed toparticipate in the graduation ceremony, they are not allowed toview or have their grades and transcripts sent to prospectiveemployers or graduate schools, Bursar's Office officials said.
Although The University notifies each student at the beginningof the semester in writing of the school's parking regulations,some students said the lack of available parking spaces and highcost of tuition justifies breaking the rules.
"If you go to the school and pay tuition, you should be able topark wherever you want to," said senior accounting major RonaldNoble.
