Iam a commuter, and when I made the decision to move off campus, I knew that I would need parking every day. I under- stood that fact. What I didn’t anticipate was the battle for a parking spot I faced every day. I bought a commuting parking pass because I didn’t want to walk to and from the Ice Arena every day. And, due to my schedule, I am often at the campus for 10 hours which makes the idea of paying a meter very expensive. But despite my purchasing a commuter’s pass, I still have to park at the Ice Arena because there is no parking at the campus proper. My classes start at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but in order for me to get a parking spot even close to where my class is located, I have to come to campus 3-4 hours early. The same is for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, except since my day starts at 10, I am only sitting around doing nothing for one hour rather than three.

This is ridiculous.

Why should I have paid 150 dollars for a parking pass, when I am not guaranteed a spot unless I show up to the campus in the wee hours of the morning? Some days, the parking situation is so bad that the Ice Arena parking lots are almost filled to the brim as well. And Lot 605 is barely any better, and that is not taking into  account the fact that it turns into a mud pit whenever it rains. This has been a problem at Plymouth State for years, and it has not gotten any better. With the influx of new students, there are even more cars that fill up the parking lots making it hard for commuters to find a space. And what makes this problem worse is the fact that students without commuting passes park in commuter lots, many of whom claim to never have been ticketed.