Students at The University of Memphis may have noticed this semester that there are 15 fewer spots available to them in the Southern parking lot.
This is because the 15 spots adjacent to the printing building are now marked off for police use only, although they are usually empty.
Students have voiced complaints that these spaces are being wasted.
"I park in this parking lot almost every day and I have never seen a single police car in one of these spaces all semester," said Dana Wilson, senior integrated studies major. "It's pretty stupid."
Some students believe that the spots should revert back to their original designation as student parking.
"I can't believe that with the highly-publicized parking problem we have here at The U of M these prime spaces are being used so carelessly," said senior Larry Hunt. "I've never seen any cops parked here, and unless they are going to utilize these spots they should be surrendered back to The University."
The main problem is that no one seems to know exactly what the spaces are to be utilized for. A meeting took place Tuesday morning to determine, among other things, the fate of these parking spaces.
"There are talks between The U of M and the Memphis Police Department that, if they go through, would increase the presence of the MPD in the neighborhood of The U of M campus and its surrounding area," said Curt Guenther, director of communications services. "However, the people making that decision have not finished working out the details, and no details came out of yesterday's meeting."
As of now details of the exact function of these spaces are still not available. It is also unclear how long this will be the case.
"I don't have a schedule for when more information may be available, although it may be in several more weeks," Guenther said.
