A new semester has begun at Hofstra University, which means everyone is still getting used to their classes and figuring out where to park. When the semester began, Hofstra students found themselves struggling to find parking spots. However, it has now been three full weeks of classes and the parking situation has not gotten much better.
As we enter the fourth week of school, we have to wonder – why has the parking situation been so bad this semester?
According to Hofstra’s website, as of last fall, there were a total of over 10,000 Hofstra students and over 2,400 Hofstra faculty and staff members. Of those 10,000 Hofstra students, only about 3,500 students were labeled as residents. Since this means that the rest of Hofstra’s student body are most likely either commuters or live off campus, it is safe to assume that a lot of students are driving to school – and need parking.Â
During the first week of classes, students found that most of the parking lots, and especially the commuter lots, were all full. This resulted in many people having to create their own parking spots or having to park on one of the residential side streets, ultimately leading to many students being late for class.Â
We are now almost a full month into the new semester, and even though things have gotten much better than they were the first week, there are still times that it is hard to find a parking spot. As someone who is a commuter, finding a parking spot each day is vital – so why are Hofstra students, and especially commuters, having trouble finding a parking spot?
Hofstra consists of two sides of campus, the north and south side. The south side is where all of the academic buildings are located, and the north side contains most of the dorms and athletic buildings. It is expected that the lots on the south side of campus will fill up quicker since this is where the academic buildings are. However, having to park on the north side of campus and then walking over to the south side can become a pain, especially on days with bad weather.Â
When you look at a map of Hofstra’s campus, you can see that there are plenty of parking lots on both the north and south sides of campus. So what has been going wrong?Â
All Hofstra students, faculty and staff are required to obtain a parking permit to park anywhere on campus. Sometimes students who live on campus decide to drive to class, ultimately taking up the parking spots commuter and off campus students need. Although it is not prohibited, residential students occupying the commuter lots are not helpful to the students who commute to school. Secondly, many students have shared that certain parking lots have been ticketing, resulting in students beginning to park in lots that are usually quieter.Â
At the moment, there is sadly nothing we can do about the parking situation except coming to school earlier and hoping for the best. Hopefully as more time goes by, all of the kinks will get worked out and everyone who needs a parking spot will get one.
Wishing you the best of luck with your next drive to campus!