By Dax Benway
Northwestern students and faculty are facing parking problems as construction work continues on a university dormitory.
The remodeling of South Hall caused female students to move into Coronado Hall, crowding existing parking lots for the dorms and other campus buildings. Students have also parked in no-parking zones, including handicapped spots and fire zones.
Campus police officers have been writing tickets to students parked in such zones, but they’re being flexible in other areas.
“The parking issues are mainly stemming because of the closing of South Hall,” said Northwestern Police Chief Dennis Kilmer. “We know they are on the downhill slide on the whole operation. Hopefully they will get that finished up soon.
“What I’ve been telling my staff in a time like this is to be patient with people and work with them – just communicate that the student may not park there,” Kilmer said. “The only exceptions right now are handicapped parking and fire parking. Other than that, we are trying to work with everyone the best we can.”
Kilmer suggests that on-campus students should walk, not drive, to class. This will reduce the number of times they have to search for a new parking spot.
“I have the same problem when I have to leave the school for certain reasons,” Kilmer said. “I come back, and my parking spot is gone, and I have to go searching for a new one.”
Some students say the parking situation has made getting around campus difficult. Senior criminal justice major Baxton Kearns said: “It is hard for students off campus to find parking when people on campus are driving over instead of taking a small walk from their dorm room to their class.”
Some off-campus students say they have a harder time finding places to park on campus.
“The biggest problem I have with being a student-athlete is not being able to come to class early and get a good parking spot,” said Isaiah Kellum, a senior business major from Lansing, Michigan. “I live off campus, so it has been hard to find school parking because it is so small, and we have more students than parking spaces on campus.”
For people off campus struggling to find parking spots when coming to class, campus police say the parking lot south of Shockley Hall on 8th Street is usually open, and parking lots across Oklahoma Boulevard usually have openings as well.
Some new students say they quickly noticed the lack of parking spaces on campus, but they’re figuring out how to manage the situation.
“I started walking to my classes after the first couple days because I would always struggle finding a parking spot close to my class,” said Ali Zeka, a freshman from Wellington, Kansas. “I would lose my parking spot at the dorms, so I resolved both of my problems by just keeping my spot by the dorm and walking to class. It has been a lot easier for me and less stressful.”