The new school year is here and there are many things to look forward to. The VSU sports teams are gearing up for another season of intense competition. Our campus is graced with the presence of new freshmen in their foray into their collegiate careers—and another game of parking roulette begins with the gusto of a rocket blasting off to the next world.

Yes, I’m talking about the ridiculous situation that we call campus parking. Oh let the powers that be and the powers that think they be (SGA *cough*) discuss how it is enough for our situation, but we all know that isn’t the case. About a week ago I was running late for my Thursday classes so the logical reasoning would be to drive. Normally I would ride my bike down Patterson for a 15 minute jaunt of sweat and tears—thank you, Georgia summer—but like I said I was running late. So I jumped into my Land Cruiser and took off. Now, flash forward about 20 minutes and you would see me sitting still in my Cruiser stuck on the third floor of the Oak Street parking deck in a long line of cars trying to reach an open space.

Now, let’s back track a bit.

I decided on the parking deck because it’s bigger than the hype around Kanye West and Jay-Z making that video with the destroyed Maybach. The parking lot surrounding the deck was full, and the parking on the surface streets around the campus has strictly enforced times. Don’t even try to park on those streets between those times or you will be slapped with a nice fine by the VSU police or our own student meter maids.

Okay, so now we are back to the parking deck. It has one way up and one way down; all that cost savings must have gone to hiring more meter maids. So, now stuck in a vertical traffic jam I’m watching the clock tick away as my fellow students fight over spots. Maybe I am just being the crusty old man, but this is getting out of hand.

Some suggestions on how to fix this problem aren’t too hard to find. Just look at similar colleges around the country. I know for a fact that University of South Carolina doesn’t allow freshmen who are living in the dorms to have cars. Well, that alleviates the many cars parked in the lot that don’t move on the weekdays.

Why would freshmen need a car anyway? They have a meal plan so they get all the food they need. They have a store on campus to buy basic items from and the bus system to help move them around. I kind of like the idea that upper classmen get the privilege of parking on campus—just like high school….but only older.