By Jami Upchurch
No parking decal? Don’t worry. You will receive a brighter, larger and more permanent decal if your car is found in the parking lot of WPU.
For those of you who are not aware of the “stickering” of cars, then I guess you can say this is your “heads up”.
The parking violation stickers that the City of Raleigh uses for repeat parking violators are similar to what you may find on the window of your car if you do not have a parking decal.
These bright green eyesores are no simple stickers. They take up majority of your window and are impossible to remove without the help of a razor blade.
Yes, you could just purchase a decal and not worry about the large obnoxious sticker, but some students are finding that it’s not that simple.
Most students can say that the parking situation is quite frustrating at WPU. Not only did the price of the annual decal increase from $85 to $125, but there is not enough parking provided to even guarantee that you will have a spot.
You would think after paying $125 dollars for a sticker, then you should not have to search 15 minutes for a parking spot and end up having to park on Person St., dodging cars when opening your door.
Junior Molly Renegar said, “I don’t ever remember receiving a reminder about purchasing a parking decal or the fact that price of them increased, but I did receive a few parking tickets and now have the fear of them stickering my car while I am in class. I just don’t think that is fair.”
Many students share the Renegar’s sentiments and are left wondering what will happen to the parking situation with all of the WPU changes to come. Not only is the lack of parking irritating but can be very unsafe. Parking off campus does not include the safety from campus security.
There have been many past occurrences of cars being broken into on and off campus at Peace. Former student Michaela Carty said, ”My friend and I’s car had the windows busted out and had things stolen in the same night while our cars were parked on the side parking lot near Finley. They were never able to find the people that did it and we were not reimbursed for our damages.”
It is very understandable that security cannot see everything that’s going on at all times, but if situations like Carty’s are happening on campus, then what are the risks when having to park off campus?
With the current frustrations of WPU students, it would appear that parking is quite an issue that needs improvement. Along with the other campus changes, let’s hope that parking is something that faces changes as well.