Opinion

Parking is bad enough already

Jillian Arriola
Guest Columnist

If you're a student at UH and you battle for a parking spot every day you actually do attend classes, then you'll love this.

Wednesday more than 100 parking spaces in the lot next to the Moores Opera House were blocked off, as I'm sure many of you noticed.

But why? Well, I'm glad you asked. The spaces were blocked off because of an event that was being held in the opera house later than night.

The opera house was using our parking lot as a place to put valeted cars. And while I'm sure those individuals were going to pay to have their cars parked for them, they don't pay $104 to park there as we, the students, do.

My growing frustration grows from the fact that I can barely find a spot to park in even when all the spaces are available, then the school goes and takes away numerous spots for an event that isn't even until that night.

When I called Parking and Transportation, obviously to express my disapprobation of this act, I was surprised to hear that they didn't really want to take away our parking. But, they said, the order came "directly from the president."

I really wanted to vent my aggravation to the department but they were very nice and I realized it wasn't their fault.

But whom do we blame? The president? The board of regents? I still don't know. All I do know is that I pay a great deal of money for my education here and I can't get my money's worth if I can't find adequate parking.

As it is, the school's deficient parking lots don't provide enough spaces for everyone to park there causing a bitter and treacherous fight for open spaces. I know I've been on the verge of vehicular homicide when someone steals a spot from me.

But the students are not at fault here. I believe they built the administration built the parking lots so small on purpose, to try to turn us against each other like rats in a cage, so that we will not rise up against the establishment.

Well, now we're on to them.

Arriola, a junior communication major, can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu.