To the administration of Quinnipiac University: As a commuter, I drove into North Lot on Monday morning, Jan. 22, 2007, prepared to start a new semester. Immediately, I recognized that while I was prepared for a new semester, the university was not. At 8:30 in the morning, there were only a handful a parking spots available in the same lot that, last semester, did not fill up until 10:00. I wondered if there had been an increase in the number of commuters or in the number of students taking early classes.

I was annoyed, but I thought the situation must be out of anyone’s control. I was wrong, and I went from being annoyed to outraged. After speaking with a friend in Security, I learned that students living in Village were being instructed to park in North Lot since their parking was taken over for construction. I could not believe that the university would commandeer the commuter lot, but they have without even consulting the commuter population. If they had asked us, we would have attested to the already limited amount of parking available to commuters. We would have reminded the university that we are paying an ever-increasing tuition and, as paying customers of this university, we expect parking to be readily available.

We should not have to search for parking spaces, or arrive an hour before our classes just to be sure we can find someplace to park. I sympathize with Village residents who have had their parking spaces taken away from them – I can relate. However, their plight should not be thrust upon the commuter population. I understand that they have had no control over their situation, just as commuters have no control over ours. We need to take a little control.

There must be some other place for these students to park, whether at the West Woods or Whitney lots, or at some other location that the university can procure. Quinnipiac University has just bought a third campus while still in the process of building the second one! Clearly, money is no object (nor should it be for the amount of tuition we students pay).

The administration has made clear their preoccupation with expansion – however, it seems they have limited this expansion to buildings and grounds, not parking. Please, do not punish the commuter population, or the Village residents for that matter, for the construction taking place on campus.

Quinnipiac should at least allow commuters their North Lot and place Village residents in Hogan Lot. The sign one can read upon entering the lot reads “Commuter Parking Only.” Can we please abide by that sign?