Opinion 2 : Parking issue sparks debate

The first day I stepped on campus here at Ottawa University I realized how difficult it was going to be to find a parking spot every single day and night, with very limited parking around both Bennett and Brown.

It is like a 12 round fight on Friday Night Fights, except for every night.
This brings up a very good argument. Should freshman be able to drive on campus or be allowed to drive and have a car their first year?

I believe the answer to that question is yes. I understand why the upperclassmen say that we don't need a car our first year but I beg to differ.

Understandably, you can hitch a ride with a person who does have a car for the first week but that gets old fast. Everyone knows that when somebody asks you for a ride every day you start to get a little irritated.

Another reason why I feel that freshmen should be allowed to have vehicles is that when you live far away and there is an immediate family emergency, you have no way of getting home; you have to wait for another family member to come pick you up to deal with the emergency.

I realize that there is limited parking around student residence halls, but that's not the students' fault.

It's a great thing that Ottawa University has a lot of new incoming freshman, so lets not punish them by not permitting them to enjoy the luxury of a vehicle their first year on campus.

The university should at least build some more parking so their students don't have to worry or walk 1 1/2 miles just to get to their dorm rooms at night.

I feel that having a car on campus is a great way to socialize, too. Instead of being cooped up in your dorm room you can travel to other colleges and meet the students that attend there.

You can even take your friends so they can get in on that socialization, too.

I think along with adding more parking spaces it would be a good idea to make designated parking lots labeled for the individual classes. I think this would be very beneficial when trying to improve the parking lot situation.

With these additions I feel that it would greatly improve the university and would eliminate some of the upperclassmen complaining about not being able to park in front of their dorms.

They always complain about having to sometimes walk to their residence halls from either the football field or the Chapel.

With designated parking lots, everyone would be happier and people would be able to park where they wanted.

Read an opposing view HERE.