Earlier this week, I was driving through campus on my way back from work in the pouring rain, and it suddenly hit me–no pun intended–that I should write an article all about the trials and tribulations of driving on campus. The amount of times throughout the day my friends and I complain about parking on campus honestly has no limit.
Here are just some of the biggest complaints I have about driving on a college campus, and I hope some of you can relate.
1. Parking is a complete and total disaster
You’re paying all of this money each semester to attend a school–on top of paying a couple hundred dollars for a parking pass–and the officials in charge of parking can’t even bother to make sure that there are enough spaces for each student purchasing a pass.
Even though I have a parking pass, half of the days out of the week I take the bus to class just to avoid the parking deck. That should not be a problem, especially on a campus like Virginia Tech’s where most non-freshman students are commuting from an off-campus apartment. On my second week of classes this year, I was in line at the parking garage for so long that I ended up having to park in a faculty spot and just take the ticket because I couldn’t afford to be late for my class. Needless to say, I learned my lesson very quickly about navigating parking. (The most helpful tip I can provide–be early to class, because otherwise you’re screwed.)
2. College students really have no idea how to drive
I’m not always the best driver myself, but going to college really made me realize just how many kids should not have passed their driving test. Is it even a normal day if you don’t narrowly escape getting in an accident when someone whips around the corner of the parking garage into your lane?
(Shoutout to the person who almost hit me this morning)
3. Pedestrians are such a headache
I’d guess that the majority of us have reached the point where we just kind of walked into the crosswalk and hoped that the driver would see you and actually stop the car. And believe me, I do it far too often. But when you’re the driver that has to stop every five feet for someone walking out into the street again, you somehow forget how many times you’ve done it yourself.
4. The favoring of faculty
Why is it that every parking lot on campus that’s not smack in the middle of nowhere is dedicated to faculty only? They get paid to be here, while I am paying to attend this place. The very least you can do is let me park remotely close to any of my classes, so I’m not dragging along like this:
5. I’m still walking a mile to class, rain or shine
Sometimes I question if all of these headaches are really worth it, considering parking anywhere on campus still puts me about 15 minutes away from every class I’m trying to get to. If I still have to brave the Drillfield wind in the middle of January, is my money even worth spending?
Believe me, I truly love Virginia Tech and it’s beautiful campus; I just don’t necessarily love driving on it.
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