by Stacy Hutto
Staff writer
Parking at Southeastern has always been at a premium. That has never been truer than this semester.
Due to the numerous construction projects in progress this semester, many parking spaces students are used to being available are unable to be used.
For many students, this pertains to the loop. Right now it is closed to parking and is drop-off and pick-up only.
For students used to parking in the handicapped spaces, it has been very difficult finding an acceptable space. The sea of blue and red handicap placards hanging from rear view mirrors is proof of how far many people have to park from buildings.
There is hope in sight though, as a few parking spaces beside the Math Building have been converted to handicapped spaces.
Even before all the construction projects began, there have been problems with parking. The creation of more parking lots has eased some of it.
When walking through the parking lots, it is very noticeable that many of today’s vehicles have outgrown the spaces. Larger trucks and SUVs take up the entire parking spaces and if there is a car parked on both sides of a vehicle, chances are the driver could either end up stuck or hit the vehicle in the next space.
There are a lot of students that for one reason or another commute to Southeastern. Any given morning, cars and trucks circle the parking lots to find an elusive parking space. There is only so much room that can be used for parking lots.
A solution that has been mentioned by students is the construction of a parking garage.
Not only would it solve a lot of the parking troubles, but there would also be plenty of room for expansion. It seems like there are even a few good spots for a parking garage to go.
If it was built between the baseball field and the Choctaw and Chickasaw towers people would not only have available parking spaces close to the Student Union and the main part of campus, but it could turn into prime seating during games.
In some of the current parking lots, more spaces could be turned into handicapped parking. For those spaces that are small, two could be combined into one. Southeastern’s parking would be on par with larger colleges, and many of the students who commute on a daily basis would be very appreciative not to have to circle parking lots for eons trying to find a place to park. Until then, I’ll see you in the morning as everyone circles the parking lots looking for the elusive creature called a parking space.