Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor

Mvk5945@psu.edu

Penn State Behrend is facing several issues with student parking on campus, which include students refusing to buy parking passes and residential students parking in the commuter parking lots. These issues may seem minor but actually have a direct impact on many students in a variety of ways. 

A parking pass on campus for both the fall and spring semester costs $280 for both residents and commuters. A single-semester parking pass costs $155 dollars. In order for a student to receive a parking pass it is an incredibly easy process which includes filling out the Parking Registration Form online. Then wait two to three business days after a student fills out the online form, they can stop down at Parking Services and retrieve their parking permit. 

It has been reported to the Student Government Association, SGA, on campus  that several students this year have just opted to not purchase parking passes at all, and simply are hoping to avoid getting ticketed. 

“Then the bigger issue in my opinion is the amount of students that I have heard that either don’t have a parking pass this semester, or have never bought one in their entirety of being here,” said Matt Strump, Student Affairs, in an interview about the issues with parking on campus.

“This makes it harder for students who need to park in those lots, such as the ones closer to the dorms. For the people who don’t have a parking pass at all, this affects every student in a few different ways,” Strump continued. 

Strump went on to explain that students who have not purchased a parking pass, technically do not belong to any one of the parking lots on campus. As they are not registered to be parking in a residential nor a commuter lot, they are always taking parking away from another student who does belong in the lot. 

The matter of parking on campus, and purchasing a parking pass as a whole, is a matter of whether or not one does the right thing and follows the rules. 

“…It is incredibly unfair to all the students who didn’t pay for their parking pass because first of all, you are using a good that they [other students] had to pay for, which discourages and penalizes those who are actually doing the right thing.” Strump said. “Also, they don’t consider the fact that that money goes back to help the students in the long run.”

All of the money that students pay for parking passes goes back to the school, and the school funds various events throughout the year. So, in a way, students do receive the money back in other various ways.

According to the Parking FAQ listed on the Penn State Behrend website, the money generated from selling student, faculty, and staff parking permits is used to construct new parking lots, maintain the existing ones, and administer the parking programs on Behrend’s campus. The money generated specifically from parking tickets goes to SGA, and is then allocated to student clubs and organizations throughout the year. 

Many students, Strump included, believe it would be unfair to students to include parking passes in the cost of tuition, because there are a significant number of students who live on campus without a car. 

Strump explained some possible solutions to the parking issues, saying “I think the best thing to solve this would just be better enforcement by campus police. I think the only people that would have an issue with the solution, would be those who are part of the issue.”

Strump also mentioned that although SGA has not looked into this yet, a student-reporting function could be a possible beneficial solution to the unfair parking situation students who have actually purchased parking passes are facing. This way, if a student is disregarding parking signs, parking where they do not belong, or parked without a parking pass, students would be able to report that to campus police. 

There has been an increase in recent ticketing on campus, as so many students seem to be violating these standard campus parking regulations. There are currently 2,567 parking spaces on campus, according to the Behrend parking website, and the campus will expand parking as the need grows. 

If there are no parking spaces available on campus, contact campus police services, do not park along roadways or anywhere that is not a designated spot. If you forget your parking pass, the Police Service office, or the parking kiosk, offer temporary parking permits for $4 a day. The Parking Services office is open from Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located within the Reed Union Building. If you have any questions you may contact Parking Services at 814-898-PARK (7275).