George Mason Opinions: Parking

Mason is notoriously known to be a commuter school. Students at other Virginia schools imagine a campus with absolutely no dorms, no school spirit and no fun. This fantasy world they enjoy making fun of has zombies who roam campus from 9 to 5 and disappear into thin air when the sun goes down. This might come as a shock, but thousands of students attend George Mason — some of them even sleep there! We have a basketball team, Greek life and hundreds of organizations in which students involve themselves. With this aside, there is one thing that continues to mystify Mason’s commuter rep—where do these commuters park?
       
Traffic in NOVA is about as bad as it gets. It is vital to leave your home at least 30 minutes early in order to reach any destination on time. And even then, it’s risky! Who knew the general parking lots at Mason could be worse than major state roads. It is near impossible to find a good parking spot on campus. On most days,
commuters would be better off walking the miles rather than wasting gas driving around and around the parking lot. Now that Mason is gaining more and more on-campus students, commuters are loosing their spots. My best advice is this: hit it right. It is best to look for parking right as the previous class period has ended, but just before the rush of students arrive for the next block of class. Time it right and you’ll never again find yourself parking a mile away just to sprint to class.
       
If GMU has one regret it is poor planning. Since Mason is growing exponentially, the university is desperately trying to make up for this. Students are constantly parking in restricted areas in order to save themselves a few steps. As punishment for their own mistake, Mason has hired dozens of parking services Nazis. They live for those neon orange tickets. Students have nightmares about waking up to these frightening slips shoved under their windshield wipers. How much does is pay to make one student so terrified of a parking space? Day after day, men are spotted arriving in a white van stamped with GMU Parking Services. You know they mean business. They trek through the asphalt, scanning cars like groceries and printing receipts ending in large figures that must be paid within 30 days. Once, I got two tickets for being parked in the same place. I’m still waiting for an explanation…For a girl who paid $500 to park on campus for merely a year, maybe you can waive that fee. Pretty please?
       
This goes out to all GMU Parking employees — I know it’s your job, but can you cut us a break? We’re poor students simply trying to make it to class before being marked absent. Next time you’re roaming through the lot, skip my car. I promise I’ll do something worth your while…maybe a shout-out in my next article will suffice…I sure hope so.