To simply survive the Fall 2011 semester campus parking at Pierce Community College, students’ who drive to school should posses two things; patience and car insurance.This semester’s parking reveals that the competition to find a parking space rivals the competition to find a class, and with the overflow of students, the pandemonium among the campus parking lots resembles a battlefield.
As if the demands of a new school year are not heavy and stressful enough, students are forced to deal with the fact that there simply are not enough parking spaces to accommodate the entire student body.
“If you have an 8 a.m. class and you leave early, you have a chance to find a space, but my earliest class begins after 9 a.m. and it’s almost impossible to find a space because all of the 8 a.m. students’ cars,” said sophomore Mykel King.
Many students who own cars choose alternative transportation such as the bus, carpool, or getting dropped off to avoid arriving late to class.
Even with a small $27 parking permit fee per semester, some students view the purchase of a discounted bus pass as a sufficient way to bypass the parking lot anarchy.“I park my car at the Orange Line lot by my house and take it to school because I already know I either won’t find a space or I’ll be late to class before I do”, said freshman Victoria Gibson. “I plan on purchasing a parking permit in the next coming weeks when students start to drop.”
