We’re UH football fans. Seasoned ones. Hard ones. The kind that get half-naked and paint up regardless of the weather. The kind that get up and shout at the top of their lungs in Pink’s Pizza when O’Korn throws a 60-yard touchdown pass (sorry, other patrons). But before we are fans, we are students, and as students we find the parking situation on game days to be simply abhorrent.
Let’s be fair, though. The University has done a great job at trying to resolve the issue. Our hats are off to the Game Day Logistics Committee and Entertain Houston for developing plans to help alleviate parking. We’d also like to thank the University administration for working with Minute Maid Park and the Toyota Center to accommodate displaced faculty, students and staff. As students, we also are quick to forget that our alumni contribute to the vibrancy and culture of the campus and deserve the opportunity to utilize our facilities and ogle at our shiny new tectonic architecture.
With that said, students that bought a stadium garage pass or normally park in one of the closed lots are getting screwed. No one that invests an extra $200 per year in order to avoid the already-packed lots around campus wants to be told that they need to park elsewhere. “Elsewhere” means that those other lots and garages will be under an even heavier load than usual, unless students actually take advantage of parking at the off-campus locations. It has worked so well for ERP. Side note: Why not offer a cheaper parking pass specifically for ERP if the parking department wants us to go there so badly?
As one can guess, many students will simply avoid campus altogether. Most of us don’t have the option to or refuse to let hard-earned money spent on classes go to waste. The day is likely to be rampant with tardiness and behind-schedule meetings as a result of trying to hold a full academic day and a Division 1 football game simultaneously. If we’re going to functionally shut down part of campus, we may as well shut down all of campus and make an event out of it.
What should disgruntled students and faculty be doing? The same thing they should be doing at games: making lots of noise. Flood your SGA representative’s inbox. Do the same for the Office of the President. Or, if you are feeling particularly angry, don’t go to the game. Nothing gets administrative attention quite like a half-full student section during a televised game (UCF at UH on ESPN at 6).
The football schedule doesn’t creep up on us out of nowhere — we know well in advance who we will be playing, and dates and times are lined up soon after. We have ample time to take what we have learned so far this season and start planning for 2015. It is as great a time as ever to get involved and be part of the changes in our rapidly growing University.
Regardless of the solutions anyone may propose, it is time for us to talk. As for us soon-to-be graduated seniors, we’ll enjoy the convenient parking that you all have already paid for when next season rolls around. Thanks.
See you at the game, and GO COOGS!
Camden Kirkland is a chemistry senior and may be reached at camden.kirkland@gmail.com. Anjay Ajodha is a computer science senior.
—
“Letter to the Editor: With gameday parking, $441 not well spent” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar