Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

Parking garage won't detract from campus image

To the editor:

I just read the article proposing the parking garage ("New Senate head sees the chance for change," News, Thursday) and am curious as to why it took so long to come to this decision. This is my first semester at UH and there are 30,000 or more students I bet feel the same.

As it is now, I doubt there is one space for every student to park. Students spend at least 30 minutes to an hour looking and waiting for a parking space to be open so that they may rush and try to beat out another driver racing to the same spot. A parking garage would definitely help this problem. But College of Education Sen. Sara McNeil said, "We don't want it in the middle of campus. We have a beautiful campus."

I urge her to take another look. I see only trees and grass on our campus and not many other embellishments. The exterior of the majority of the buildings needs a cosmetic overhaul. Our campus is far from beautiful, so another concrete structure in the center of campus would not hurt the aesthetic picture. Maybe McNeil should take a trip to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville or The University of Texas at Austin to see how they actually have beautiful campuses.

Take a look at the University Hilton. The building looks like it caught on fire. I say this because I am a student at the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management and would like to take pride in that simple fact. The bottom line is that our campus is just a concrete monster. UT has many parking garages that haven't hurt its appeal. SHSU built its first parking garage, in the center of campus. It looks great and has helped the parking problem.

I also don't think students should have to pay more than they already do to park in the new garage. The retail space would be a great idea, so up the price on the advertisers instead of the students who are just trying to get an education and not be in debt the rest of their lives. A good location for the new garage would be at the football stadium. It will benefit students and visitors who attend our games.

Marty Morgan, sophomore,
University Studies

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu