After a long first week of classes, I was looking forward to going home for the weekend. I packed a heavy bag, got into my car, started the GPS, turned on some music when suddenly I noticed these bright pink papers attached to my windshield wiper. I thought someone may be advertising something. To my surprise, I was incredibly wrong.
For the past three days, I received written warnings because I was parked in the “Gold Lot”. Now, I wasn’t necessarily ignoring these very bright warnings. I just wasn’t as attentive to the notices on my car either because I had not gone to my car since I last parked it. It made me wonder how many written warnings they would have given me until they finally gave me an actual ticket.
Was it a strike policy? How many “strikes” would I have gotten until a ticket appeared on my windshield instead of a bright pink warning? The warning also said that if my car wasn’t moved, the police could tow my car or immobilize my wheels, and even make me pay fines.
I thought to myself, I can’t be the only one receiving them. I saw people with parking stickers for Baldwin Hall, the building I live in, right next to my car. So, I sought out to ask my community what their experience was with the parking policies. I later met with Isaac Michalek, ’27, who experienced the same issue before classes started. His warning was different from mine and it said, “You are parked in violation of the parking rules and regulations. This vehicle will be ticketed next time.”
So, it’s clear that the penalty is more severe once classes actually start compared to before they start. There must’ve been a grace period for a while before classes began.
Many students have faced issues with parking tickets. Xander Malin, ’26, says he received five parking tickets just over spring break. This was all while he was in the hospital, so he was not even aware of the tickets he came back to. “I was completely unfit to drive,” Malin said. “My car was right outside Baldwin and got two parking tickets after two days.”
Public safety handles all written warnings and parking tickets students receive on campus. Malin tried to explain to the public safety officer since he was in the hospital and they suggested someone else move his car even though no one on campus that he knew was there because it was spring break.
“They were completely unsympathetic,” Malin said. “It was kind of insulting, I know that they didn’t mean to be.”
It’s possible that Public Safety could be more understanding of his situation but he paid the tickets regardless.
Luckily, parking tickets were only about $10 so it wasn’t too much of a worry for Malin.
“It wasn’t the money, it was just trying to figure out what I did wrong,” Malin said.
It is something I think all students should be aware of. Where they are parking is important because it might not be the same for everyone. On top of that, not everyone has $10 for every time something like this happens and it can become really inconvenient if it keeps happening.
“I don’t mean to characterize them at all,” Malin said. “None of them from my experience are bad people. I just think it’s silly, we already got enough debt.”
We are all at a stage in our lives where we have put education as a top priority. We all know money is something that is part of this education. Some of us do have to contribute to our tuition, so it would be nice to get more than a few warnings before an actual parking ticket. Allegheny is not a cheap institution. The tuition is a hefty price many of the student body have to pay. Things like parking should be convenient rather than a tedious task of figuring out where they can and cannot park, especially during the beginning of the school year and breaks.
None of this is to make Public Safety look bad, I understand they are just doing their job. It is just important to bring this to students’ attention so that the same thing doesn’t happen to anyone else.
I understand that there are signs and rules for parking but I did not realize that where I was parked was even wrong at the time. I think there could be more signs or clearer directions.
With everything said, written warnings and parking tickets can be an inconvenience for students. While students are still adjusting, hopefully there is still some leniency as we are learning about our beautiful campus and the rules that come with it.
