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| Photo courtesy of The Intrepid |
By Maddie Gionet, features editor, @MaddieGNA
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (Sept. 26) – Fawn Wilson commutes three days a week from her Olean home to St. Bonaventure University.
Last semester, even though the junior early childhood education major went to classes like all the other on-campus students, Wilson was limited to a specified parking lot labeled commuters.
“We all pay the $100 to park, and we all pay tuition,” Wilson said. “Just because I don’t pay to live on campus doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be allowed to park in the same spots.”
Starting this semester, that won’t be the case for Wilson.
Vito Czyz, director of Safety and Security, said Safety and Security Services has erased the distinction between commuter and student parking, allowing all students to park in any of the 1,279 available student-designated spots on campus. He said this not only simplifies the parking program but makes it more efficient.
“We did an evaluation, and over the course of a month and a half, we found that the commuter lots were only being partially used,” Czyz said. “We came back to the parking committee with this information, and we said, ‘Let’s make one student area.’ And the parking committee said, ‘Yes.’”
The other part of the goal comes from senior class president, Mike Kaplan. Kaplan proposed the change in student parking to the Student Government Association, looking to reduce tickets for students.
“By combining the lots, we decrease the probability of tickets which is really my goal,” said Kaplan, a biology major.
Kaplan brought his proposal to SGA last semester.
“Mike actually came to one of our meetings and said he couldn’t understand the signs and that tickets were being unfairly processed,” said Michelle McKernan, SGA president. “He worked closely with Vito and was pretty much the force behind it all.”
Lots B and E, areas behind The John J. Murphy Professional Building and Maintenance/Central Receiving Building, respectively, used to be the commuter parking lots.
Both McKernan and Kaplan said students and commuters have not voiced any complaints about the new change.
However, Czyz and Colleen Crino, parking administrator, said they have gotten mixed reviews.
“It depends on what time they schedule their classes,” Czyz said. “If their classes are at 8:30 a.m., they’re happy. If their classes are later, they’re not happy. We have no control over that. It’s simplifying things for us and making most commuters generally happier.”
The Intrepid, 2011
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