You've probably seen them around campus by now.

Instead of green Dodge Dakotas that made everyone scramble to put more change in the meters, there are six brand-new, shiny, extended-cab Dodge Dakotas to help parking enforcers get around.

The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety Parking Services has upgraded its 2002 vehicles to the newest 2006 models.

Given that $2 million of the department's funding is from parking tickets, it might appear to many students that their misfortune paid for those new vehicles.

Due to constant low-speed driving and the increased amount of seat wear from parking enforcers getting in and out of the vehicles, parking officials said the upgrade was needed.

But the necessity depends on how you look at it.

For students who drive and park on campus, the lack of legal and cheap areas to park is made worse by parking enforcers who are sometimes pitiless and "just doing their job." In "Showdown at the meter" (SN 2/28), it's clear that parking enforcers are not popular and sometimes the target of drivers' anger (spitting, yelling and lifting a vehicle while the enforcer was still inside).

It would seem that anyone who has ever paid a ticket would have a stake in how it was spent. After all, it's your money.

There's a lot in which the department could invest $2 million, such as improving the roads on campus.

But this isn't like paying taxes. This money was a fine for doing something illegal — parking without a proper permit or not buying enough time in the meter. People who pay those fines don't have the same say in where the money goes as they do when they pay tuition or taxes.

For the department, six Dodge Dakotas might be the only major piece of equipment they use for not only distributing parking tickets, but for providing roadside assistance and carting off abandoned signs and bikes.

With equipment that is used all the time, it makes sense that department officials would want to upgrade frequently to make sure their vehicles won't break down.

Still, if people are unhappy about the department's latest purchases, the most effective way to show it would be to cut some of its cash flow.

That means following the law; then you will no longer have to pay parking tickets.