Campus parking should be free to students who attend CWU full-time or part-time. Currently students either walk, bike, find street parking, or pay the fees for a parking pass. The fees range from $116 for one quarter to $247 per year at CWU.

The University is essentially forcing students to pay hundreds of dollars just to get to class on time, as if the thousands of dollars they already pay for their degree isn’t enough. Not to mention, many commuting students have to pay for parking at their own residences as well. 

Believe me, I understand that CWU has a limited number of parking spots and they need a way to monitor the amount of people parking. But why give out more parking passes than spots available? I have had so many occasions when I had a pass where I am trying to find parking at the school to get to class and there are simply no available parking spots.

According to the CWU parking services website, “Money paid for a parking permit does not guarantee or reserve a specific parking space.” So why is CWU selling us a service that they can’t guarantee delivering?

Dogs look for food as much as the CWU campus security looks to find people to give tickets to. It’s almost like they have a competition to see who can give out the most tickets in a week. I’m an athlete. Why should I have to pay to park in the Nicholson Pavilion parking lot when my locker and practices are inside the building? Athletes are pretty much paying to go to practice if they have a parking pass.

Then I got to thinking, why am I paying for a parking pass that doesn’t even guarantee me a parking spot? After realizing I could save $247 a year just by walking farther I quickly decided to stop contributing to the school’s piggy bank. It felt like the school was stealing my money and I hated it.

All we are to the school is a source of income, and they will get that income any way they can. I will walk the extra distance 10 times out of 10 to get to practice or class even though it pisses me off and makes me think, “This is stupid, I should be able to park at the university I pay to go to for free.” 

I have even been ticketed for parking with a pass at a different school just because I parked in the wrong area that was poorly labeled. It was very frustrating getting a ticket knowing I had a pass even though I was technically in the wrong spot, I just didn’t know. I tried talking to the school about it but they still made me pay.

And just to remind everyone, we go to school in Washington, one of the most beautiful states in the country. Students want to have a car here so that they can go hiking in Leavenworth on the weekend, visit friends from different schools, ski and snowboard at Snoqualmie pass, or even just to make a trip to the grocery store.

Part of the reason I came to CWU was because of the great location. Having a car is, I would say, a must if you want to fully immerse yourself in all that central Washington offers. However, some of us risk missing out because having a car is expensive.

My whole point is students already pay enough in general for their degree at CWU. So students should not have to pay extra just because they have a vehicle they use to get to school.