The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/19/09 Section: Opinions

MARC MCAFEE

Aw, hell. There it is on your windshield, slipped under the wiper. A parking ticket. Nothing says, "Gotcha!" like that little receipt with the price printed on it.

You probably snap it up, roll your eyes and curse the little punk over there hiding in the white truck. "I'll fight this," you solemnly vow.

Everybody has a beef with University Parking Services workers - the only people on campus loathed more than bike cops. And unlike the police, these money-mongering parking enforcers don't have a higher purpose to throw at us, other than the almighty dollar.

That's why we have Dustin Burch, a University junior, as an example. He got a ticket last summer when he had the audacity to park in an empty lot for 15 minutes.

Or we have a journalism professor, who refused to let me print his name for fear of retribution from a rogue white truck. His ordeal began when he noticed he had $40 deducted from his paycheck, courtesy of the parking pirates.

"It was somebody else's car!" he said, "It was registered in Alabama!" Obviously a bit na've, my professor sought justice. The money-hungry tyrants at Parking Services weren't having it.

"Oh yeah, I appealed it. I showed them receipts that proved I was in New Mexico that day," my professor said. "They deducted it from my paycheck anyway."

As for me, I got my first and only ticket in my first few days on campus. I couldn't prove I was in New Mexico, but I thought I had a plan. I decided I'd write a great yarn about how I was new to campus and didn't know the rules, I was only there for a few minutes and there was no other place to park around the MLC.

When I went to its Web site to plead my case, there was a warning waiting for me. It said, "The following reasons are considered frivolous for appeal." Several examples followed: "Lack of knowledge of the regulations, for example, [saying you're] new to campus." Then another, "only parked illegally for a short period of time," and finally "no other place to park."

One, two, three punches - I was almost down. What the heck, I thought, I could still give it a shot, right? Why not?

Then the Ali to Liston knockout: "Don't appeal 'just to give it a shot."

I guess I'm not as creative as I think I am. But these ticket dealers sure are. Just look at how they assigned too many cars to the NO8 lot, but still give tickets to cars with permits that have to make their own spaces when the lot is full. Don't try to fight it, for there's another line under frivolous appeals: "Other vehicles were parked improperly."

How about when they towed a car because it was parked in front of a fire hose outlet behind Grady?

Parking Services wouldn't respond to repeated requests for comment, but I'm sure it'd say the car got towed for safety purposes.

So let's play a game, everybody. Each time your bus passes the back side of the journalism building, check to see if several University dumpsters and worker vehicles are still blocking that same hose outlet. It's been a week, let's see how many more days go by.

Let's see if Parking Services moves them for safety's sake. I doubt it will.

Parking Services is full of more garbage than those two multi-ton dumpsters. It knows full well it's all about the money. But at least its money goes to fixing our decaying dorms, right?

Wrong - separate entity. It just builds decks to make more money. You know, like the ones going up where we used to have green space for intramurals. That's also why it closed lots over there for construction, then ticketed students who have to park on the grass because the parking lots are closed. More money in the bank.

Fact from Parking Service's Web site: "There are no free parking areas on campus."

Is it not all about the money? Prove it. Open up the decks earlier in the afternoon. Designate a free lot where it's first come, first serve. Ease up on the tickets.

I won't hold my breath waiting for any of it to happen. We could play another game waiting to see fairness enter the parking process, but we're better off waiting for the Oconee River to flow crystal clear.

And that river is full of almost as much crap as University Parking Services.

- Marc McAfee is a senior from Kennesaw majoring in broadcast news.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools