ASMSU's recent decision to advocate lower parking meter rates on campus sounds like a good idea. For students who put a considerable amount of their income into the $1.50-per-hour meters - the highest of any Big Ten school - a little representation probably sounds welcome. It's worth questioning, though, just what our student government means by "advocate."
ASMSU needs to really concentrate on this if they want to see a change. They are going to have to stay on top of the issue and fight to get it addressed. A smattering of posters throughout campus and a formal letter to the authorities probably won't elicit the changes they want. Instead, they are going to have to take a more gung-ho approach. Rally students, get petitions signed, show the administration you're serious.
The issue of cheaper parking might not be something that flies over easily with the Department of Police and Public Safety and the Board of Trustees. To be sure, this university loves its money and has probably gotten pretty comfortable raking in great volumes of change from MSU's more than 650 metered spaces (not to mention revenue collected from parking citations).
The All-University Traffic and Transportation Committee, or AUTTC, is a group of students, faculty and other representatives from the university that make recommendations to Vice President for Finance and Operations Fred Poston. Two members of ASMSU are also on this committee. As of now, the topic of parking meters is not on the agenda for the AUTTC's first meeting, which will occur on Thursday.
At the University of Iowa, meters only cost 60 cents per hour and they have more than 850 meter spaces available.
The students at MSU have a seemingly never-ending list of nominal fees to pay on a daily basis, and many of those seem to increase every year. As a gesture of good will, it seems like the university could try to assist us a bit by not price-gouging students at parking meters.
ASMSU, we support the cause that you have so nobly voted to "advocate." Now just prove to students and university officials that you mean it.
