When thinking about the various issues that are apparent on the DU campus, my group chose to take on the task of DU parking. It is believed that DU parking is an issue that is reoccurring, and if someone does not speak up about it, nothing will ever change. Of course there will never be one way to solve this problem, but I believe that it can be made more student- friendly. There were many arguments that could be made against the way that the DU parking system is set up. Some may include the price of parking permits and others may bring the issue of not having enough parking spaces to the fore front. This is going to be the main focus of my argument.
Every student who decides to bring a vehicle to DU is required to purchase a parking permit, which will allow them to park inside any of the parking areas in which their permit is permitted. This seems to be a good way to manage where students park, but when looking at it from a broader perspective, it is very inconvenient to most students. There are permits ranging anywhere from $33.00 to $279.00. Besides this being a pricey investment for students to make, there are negative conditions that come with these purchases. General Parking Permits cost $78.00, which is the permit that most students have. This permit allows you to park in the parking garages with only gold writing on the parking signs. When visiting other parking areas, I have personally noticed that there are barely any parking garages that have gold writing on their parking signs. But other than that, other permits are not permitted to park in other designated parking areas.
When speaking about this issue, reminded me of a recent interference that I had with parking in the general parking lot. On Thursday, February 2, 2010, I had returned from my morning math class, and saw a sign on the entrance keypad of the general parking lot. The sign read “Dear DU Students, this parking lot is full. Lower level parking is permitted”. So instead of backing out, I decided to drive around and see if there were any empty parking spots. I was upset to find that there were no parking spaces. But as the sign permitted, I drove to the lower parking garage where I continued to park my car. Since the rest of my classes are in walking distance, I did not have to use my car until later than night. It was 7:45 p.m. when I noticed the citation on my car. At first, I was irate. But then I realized I was not the only car, who had a general parking permit, which had received a citation. This instance showed the inconvenience of the DU parking system. It was neither mine nor any other students’ issue that there was not an adequate amount of parking for the amount of students that park in that garage.
Not only is there a problem with parking on campus, but where are students supposed to park when they are not allowed in the parking garages? A lot of students decide to park on the streets. But when parking on the streets students do not have the option to park for more than an hour. So they then receive a citation from the City of Denver. Which could range anywhere from $30 to $50. This is double the amount of a citation from the University. But yet it was not the students’ fault that they had to park on the streets.
I do believe that the parking system at DU is not the worst, but there are definitely minor issues that make parking a hassle. Although it is a current issue for students, there are other scenarios that show the ways that others are challenged with finding parking. In an article that I found on Lexis Nexis, was related to my argument. In Brooklyn, at Crispus Attucks Schools, there was usually a valid amount of parking spaces for faculty. Only having fifty-five teachers, there were sixty available parking spots. But the city then decided to change their sweeping policy which affected the parking spaces available for faculty. Most of the parking was found on the streets, but with this change, there would be less available spots for people to park. The amount of spaces that were allotted for the school was mostly for the teachers. But what about the others, such as the custodians and other employees? They did not have any where to park. This area was not the safest, so trying to find parking in a random alley or random street was not safe for the employees.
Although the circumstances may be different, it shows the intensity of the situation. Without a place to park, there could be unsafe repercussions to not being able to park in the parking garage or having to park on the side streets. Given this example, having access to parking is a vital part of a student bringing a vehicle to campus.
Mcmahon, Michael. "An Uneven Allotment of Parking Near Schools."
(2008): 1. Web. 3 Mar 2010.
Cool post! I enjoyed reading this blog entry as this issue also directly effects me. DU has a below-par parking system, and by writing about it, you could potentially help change the current system we have in place. I enjoyed how the post included examples of how the parking is inconvenient, and why it is an issue. This helps make your post more persuasive and adds more depth and rhetoric to the blog. In addition to discussing the problems in DU's parking, your post could benefit by including some possible solutions to the problem. By including ways to make DU parking better, not only will your post be more powerful, but it will motivate your readers to take charge on the issue. Over all, I enjoyed this post and hopefully DU parking can change for the better!
ReplyDeleteMariah,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on the fact that we need to change the parking situation here at DU. A few weekends ago I returned with some friends from skiing, when we arrived at the parking garage next to Halls, we were told that we would need to find another place to park because the fans for the hockey game that night had filled all the spots. This is not the only time when I have seen paying students turned away from their rightful parking places, during the day the parking garage can become extremely full due to all the commuting students. You were very persuasive in making your argument; you understand what students are facing by experiencing this first hand. I do agree with your point that this is not the worst case of parking problems, but it is extremely inconvenient. Overselling the parking garage is something that just simply should not be done, for the amount of money that we are required to pay to park on campus we should have the ability to park anytime. I really enjoyed how you put in first hand experiences, it strengthens your ethos.
parking is a huge issue here at the University and even though i do not have a car on campus, i have seen many of my friends get tickets for the same reasons you stated above. I personally think the most frustration occurs when we have an event on campus that attracts outside people. Many times just like Mariah mentioned, i came back from skiing and we were told to park somewhere else because the spot my friend PAYS for was taken. i feel as if the university feels they could just push over students when it comes to parking and we need to do something about it now! i love your post and feel it has the right rhetoric ingredient to go further than just a blog and into an action!
ReplyDelete-victor valle
I always enjoy persuasive projects due to the fact that you are trying to persuade someone to think just like you, or to even consider your opinion. I believe that this project gave everyone their own voice. The issue that we chose was one that many students could agree on. I learned a lot persuading others in this piece. Sometimes when we are trying to persuade people we do not think about the bigger picture. We do not think about the different aspects that are in the argument. When revising this post, I think I will use more facts and other stories to help enhance my ethos. I used a lot of ethos and logos in my post. I used logos to make my argument seem more logical. I used ethos so that other students could relate to the struggle that me and other students at DU are facing.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the year I had a general permit as well. I understand the stress of parking because of the amount of tickets I received within the first month of school. The school needs to do a thorough survey of the school to determine which parking permits require the most amount of parking spaces and adjust accordingly. Parking on the street is difficult as well because there are many streets that only permit 1-Hour parking or no parking at all. The university has to have made so much money from parking tickets alone. Where is all of that money and why can't it be put towards building a parking garage for general lots or something of the sort? I felt that your stance on the argument was strong and I like how you were able to share a side of view that is largely impacted by this problem.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mariah, for your post. I think your use of personal experience and observation works well to show you've had experience with this issue on campus. By emphasizing this strategy to the extent that you do, though, you run the risk of not providing additional evidence as to the scope of this problem. That is, when you begin to discuss how this issue affects other students note how your language gets somewhat vague. As a reader, I can't quite tell how many others have been impacted. As you revise, you might find a way to quantify this problem. At the very least, you might be able to integrate some of your peers' comments to add to your sense that others' share your frustration.
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