Payment to park

Every new UAA student is greeted at the welcoming doors of each campus building. But before you may enter the building hosting whatever class you will call home for the next four months, you have to pay to park your car. 

For one hour of parking, in the majority of the parking lots on campus, you must pay a $2 fee for one hour. While $2 is not much, one must take into consideration the amount of hours an average student spends on campus each week. 

With many students attending classes 2-5 days a week, at an average of five hours a day, that is $10 a day just to park your car. 

If the person who has parked does not pay the $2 an hour fee, students and faculty are subject to a fine of  “$10–$500, depending on the violation.”

If a student is required to pay between $20 and $50 a week just to attend classes, how is the average student, who is often too busy with academics to work, expected to afford this weekly payment? 

Even if students are able to work, between paying tuition, grocery expenses, gas and all other financial aspects of life, this weekly bill becomes hard to manage. 

Not only do students have to pay for parking, but so do UAA faculty and staff. I spoke to an employee here on campus to hear additional perspectives on parking fees. 

I discovered this employee and I share similar opinions on the matter.

They said that the required payment to park “feels weird. It’s definitely not something I've ever had to do before, for any job.”

They chuckled as they looked through their email saying, “I did get a ticket. I bought my summer permit and it has to go through a processing before they send you your permit. So May 25 ‘your permit has been set to active status’, that was at 7:51 am. Then on May 25 at 11:45 am, I got a warning ticket.”

While this is a comedic situation in timing, the process can still be stressful for the parties involved. 

If most UAA employees work an eight hour work day, as well as submit payment for parking on campus during those work hours, it seems as though one is working just to pay for a parking spot.

Those who can not afford taking an Uber or the bus to UAA are forced to pay these parking fees and there is little room around this requirement. 

The “Pay N Park Kiosk” is probably the most common way individuals who are visiting or staying for a short period of time pay for parking. 

But if you look at the “Passport” section under the parking services website, it’s flaunted as the “Best option for multiple short-term parking needs.” But, it’s noted that “each transaction includes a $0.20 convenience fee”, which does not seem very convenient to me. 

While this measly 20 cents is less than a quarter, the weight of these fees add up, digging a financial hole in the wallets of students and staff.

My biggest qualm with these fees is the $2 an hour for anyone who may park on campus, even for five minutes. I also see how other parking permits limit students and staff. 

Another permit option, not including resident students, is $131.25 per school semester (Fall and Spring) and $56.25 in the summer. This may seem like a “fairly” priced single semester long expense, but the installation of a parking fee itself, seems unfair.

The $131.25 semester charge on top of “$7,014 one-year estimate for full-time resident tuition and fees” is just another add on to an already debt-creating charge.

The $131.25 semester charge is much cheaper than paying a constant $2 an hour, which would equal $80 for the average school week. But the entirety of parking permits for students and staff, who keep this school alive, is a bit odd.

I understand UAA is in a financial predicament and must find new ways to gain income, but placing yet another fee onto the student body shows minimal effort in understanding others perspectives in life.

And if we are to pay for a parking permit, where does this money go?

With 11,000 students at UAA, the financial support UAA may receive from even a third of the student body paying parking fees, is more than enough to allot money to certain campus aspects, such as maintaining roads and buildings.

I can level with UAA in understanding the economic and natural crises and the pollution vehicles emit, if that is the sole reason to charge students and staff parking fees.

Public transportation, such as buses, have less gas emissions and carry multiple people at a time. You can also show your Seawolf card to the bus driver, and your ride is free. 

The problem with this notion is the time spent to get to classes. Most bus trips that I have personally experienced last at least 30 minutes, while I live only 10 minutes from campus.

Many of the students I have spoken to live in Matsu or on the far side of town, making a bus trip ranging from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, or rendering the option impractical.

It is more understandable to charge parking fees for those who visit UAA, as this may contribute to the security of UAA while still acquiring a small constant income. 

But with all the tuition fees that we already pay as a student body, is the need to pay for a spot to park really necessary?