By Eric Broude

Daily Titan Staff Writer

Everyone at Cal State Fullerton knows about the parking woes that have plagued the school as of late. The recent construction has reduced the already minimal parking availability to an all-time low.

In times such as these, one might think that those least affected are the students who are not commuters: those few who live in the on-campus residence halls. Anyone thinking such a thought, however, would be sorely mistaken.

Students who live on campus have no more parking privileges than those who do not. They have the same parking permits and are limited to the same lots as everyone else. The difference is that, rather than not being able to find parking at school, they often have trouble finding a place to store their vehicles in the very place in which they live.

Having lived in the dorms for the last two years, I know that the parking was already difficult to navigate before all of the construction projects. The first parking lot closed for construction was the northern half of Lot E: the closest parking lot to student housing available to students. At this point in time, we have the choice between a 10-minute walk to our cars in Lot E or a parking structure that has spaces so small that even Volkswagen Beetles have trouble fitting in them.

To make matters worse, the elimination of parking has made it nearly impossible for housing students to leave the campus during the day, say to go grocery shopping, for fear of not being able to find parking upon their return.

The biggest kick in the pants, however, is Lot J. Located next to the Ruby Gerontology Center, it is the closest lot to the dorms, but dorm students can’t park there. This space is reserved for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members, a group consisting primarily of the elderly who attend classes at the RGC.

Until just recently, students were allowed to park there after 6 p.m. and on weekends. As much as I understand that the elderly should be respected enough to give them their own parking, it is extraordinarily frustrating to walk through a parking lot located no more than a minute away from the dorms and see that it is only half full.

That’s right.

The parking lot closest to the dorms is reserved for cars that rarely, if ever, fill even half of it.

To add insult to injury, the rules have recently changed so that only faculty and staff, rather than students, are permitted to park there after 6 p.m. As far as I can tell, this serves absolutely no purpose.

Many staff members are not on campus after that time anyway, and even the ones that are were there well ahead of time. They don’t need to find parking when they are already in their offices or teaching classes.

The change sends a clear message to the students: the school doesn’t care that it’s screwing us over. If they would give just half of Lot J to the housing students, it would free up additional spaces in what remains of Lot E, relieving some of the tension for not only those in housing, but for all students. Instead, they are making it even more difficult for us.