I became an employee at your institution in the spring of this year and when I asked at my orientation about employee parking passes I received a blank stare. I did my own research and I found your ridiculous rate of $42.50 per month for an employee-parking permit. That’s paying $510 per year just to go to work, on top of already paying your exponentially growing tuition rate, but that’s another letter to write. Not to mention you pay a lot of your employees the minimum wage, a whopping $8.50 an hour, making the whole $42.50 per month thing kind of impossible with going to school full-time, paying rent and only being able to work part-time if I want time to actually breathe, which I do.

Luckily for me I work in the Brody neighborhood, and there are residential streets nearby that allow free parking during most hours of the day. These are competitive, because who wants to pay to go to work? So getting a spot is not always guaranteed, but most of the time I am successful. But then I think about your employees that work in other neighborhoods and probably are not within a ten minute walk of free parking and who cannot afford a parking permit, what do they do? Especially the ones that work in the evening because a lot of us have to work until midnight, and walking around on your campus in the dark is not a favorable thing to do, considering sexual assault and robberies are not uncommon at MSU. You should really value your employees’ safety more. We do more for your university than you’ll ever know.

So you’re probably wondering, “dang, how many tickets did this girl get if she is writing an entire letter complaining about it?” and the answer is one. I got it the day that I am writing this letter. I was working in University Village, and there are no residential streets within a reasonable distance to park on, but there was a near-empty parking lot right outside of where I was working. I thought to myself, “hey, why don’t I park in a parking spot in my work’s parking lot like I should be able to, because parking lots are for parking,” so I did, and when I got out, I immediately regretted it. Because there laid a ticket that would take away everything that I earned that day. I didn’t take anyone else’s spot. Barely anybody is living in University Village right now, so why can’t I park there? What are those empty parking spots there for?

I know I am not alone when it comes to this issue. I mean a girl did decide to graduate with her parking tickets from you glued to her head, and I think that really makes a statement. Considering my friends that go to other colleges and universities get to park for free, I feel like the least you could do is provide free parking passes for your employees, as a lot of us are students and are already paying you heaps of money to go to school here, we shouldn’t have to pay to go to work too. It is not only a financial issue, but a safety one as well. I dread those nights where I get out at midnight and have to walk a ways to get to my car, and I know others do too. You are liable for us and our safety. Once again, it's on you, MSU.

Kortney Dennings is a women's and gender studies junior at MSU.