Parking complaints part of college reality

EDITORIAL

Oh, the woes of parking. 

Residents hate the Legion lot. 

Not everyone in the Courtyard can park in the apartment complex’s lot.

Faculty and staff have to duke it out for spots in the Johnson Hall lot.

Commuters have to park on grass and gravel behind Dinkins. 

It’s just terrible. 

But, there’s a good chance Winthrop isn’t alone in its parking troubles. In fact, we might be better off in terms of cost.

USC students pay between $260 to 320 per semester to park in garages. Clemson students pay $134 each year. 

It’s hard to judge whether the availability of parking is better here or at other colleges but we would venture to think no college has a perfect parking situation. 

Completion of the DiGiorgio Campus Center may have shifted the parking needs of many staff members from the Dinkins area to the center of campus.         

This change may be impacting faculty members accustomed to parking in the area between Margaret Nance and Crawford and in the Johnson Hall lot.

So, some faculty and staff members may be walking farther but we do have a new campus center—it’s give and take, people.

In an ideal world, people who don’t enjoy walking or arrive later than usual to campus would be able to cruise into a convenient parking spot. 

But, parking isn’t really ideal anywhere we go, whether it’s grocery stores, the mall or the airport. 

The Johnsonian isn’t saying you shouldn’t complain about parking. We’re not fans of parking on the street or in the far reaches of the Legion lot either. 

But, keep in mind it’s not Winthrop out to get you. It’s just the nature of a college campus.