Talking about on-campus parking can get nearly any college student riled up, especially those at St. Cloud State University. Q and K lots are typically the main focus of these conversations, and for obvious reasons. Being so far away from the heart of campus, the lots can be and often are described by students as sketchy, dangerous, risky, and unsafe. Within the first couple weeks of the 2012-13 school year, there were already many horror stories about the dreaded lots on the far end of campus. Whether it’s a rape, robbery, or just flat out violence, there’s always something happening in these lots, and for what? The problem is big, but the solution is simple.
There are already campus security workers that make rounds around campus, including the south lots. There is also the Husky Shuttle that does a route around campus all night so people don’t need to walk from their vehicles to their dorm halls, which are likely quite a distance away. Lastly, there is a decent-sized bus shelter where you are able to wait for a bus or another ride. However, this is not monitored and the doors are not locked. It seems as though the university is doing what it needs to, but many people, myself included, feel more could be done. But what are the things that could so easily be done and why aren’t they being done?
The 2012-13 school year started 13 weeks ago and there have already been many stories that could have been prevented with a little more security. There are many people working campus security and often they walk around and tell students to put out cigarettes or similar petty things. It’s hard to believe that it would be a huge inconvenience for SCSU to have someone “stationed” at Q & K lots during the night hours. It is also very dark with very limited lighting and emergency poles. As far as the Husky Shuttle goes, many people would rather walk to or from the lots because it takes upwards of 15 minutes to get to the dorms from the lots and vice versa. With this, there are strange hours for the bus and they aren’t always easily remembered. The shelter is very nice; it has bathrooms and an emergency telephone. However, there is no security at the building. You don’t need to swipe your card to get in and there’s nobody making sure everything goes smoothly. So while the building is a nice addition, it is very much a false sense of security that it gives to people.
Beyond the security issues that are coupled with these lots, there are also many things about it that are very inconvenient. The lots are not well maintained, however this is a fact for Q lot more than K lot. It is also unsanitary near these lots. It smells awful at all times of the day and there is often a lot of litter. Lastly, as of Nov. 1, 2012, new rules for weekend parking were put in place.
Q lot is more or less an area of gravel with lots of cars. It is an eyesore to say the very least, and it gets cars disgustingly dirty. Parking passes for Q lot are undoubtedly cheaper than the other lots, but if so many people park there, why is it still so seemingly difficult for our campus to, at the bare minimum, maintain the lot? There are no actual parking spaces and it’s more of a guessing game. Winter will, almost without any doubt, only make parking worse in Q lot. The litter that is always in the lot is very disgusting and could easily be fixed. It is not a huge amount, but it is definitely present. It is an easy fix – garbage cans. It probably wouldn’t completely fix the problem, but the option to throw garbage in a garbage can does beat not having any garbage cans at all. Finally, there are new rules for weekend parking. This too, isn’t a huge problem, but it is very inconvenient, especially when there were no problems with the way it was before. It will only cause confusion, chaos, and unnecessary stress for everyone involved.
Talking about on-campus parking can get nearly any college student riled up, especially those at St. Cloud State University. Whether it’s safety issues or something that is simply inconvenient, Q and K lots are a pain to have to deal with. The reputations of these lots have been the same for 20 years and it simply doesn’t make sense why absolutely nothing is being done. There are many, many problems with these lots. Unfortunately, it seems nobody of authority realizes how easy and simple this would all be to fix. With a few tweaks here and a few changes there, the lots would, more than likely, no longer be a main topic of conversation on campus.
Anissa Johnson
SCSU Student
Ms.
Johnson,
It
obvious that you have some very strong opinions regarding Q-Lot and
K-Lot and are very willing to voice your opinion; however, I feel
that it is necessary to respond to your recent published article and
shed some light on the issues that you clearly have exaggerated,
misrepresented, and more or less lied about.
The
first issue that I have found with your article is in the very first
paragraph.
You write that there are “many horror stories”
about these lots and you go on later to say that these stories
include rape, violence and even robbery. I would like to point out
the fact that no such “rapes” (the more proper term would be
sexual assault) have occurred in Q-lot or K-lot this year, nor have
any such “rapes” occurred in Q-lot or K-Lot during recent years.
I would also like to ask you when there has been other “violence
and robberies” in Q-Lot or K-Lot that have been proven to have
happened in those lots. The simple truth is that there ARE many
horror stories, however these are just stories that hold no validity
and by using terms like “rape, violence and robberies” you are
just continuing to fuel these horror stories and cause fear in other
people reading your article.
I
will give you credit however in the next portion of your article
where you did make a truthful statement; you’re right, there is the
Husky Shuttle bus. I will disagree though when it comes to the hours,
they are not that confusing and in fact they are posted not only on
multiple websites but also in the Husky Hub (which is the “shelter”
that you mentioned in your article but you were unable to name due to
what I would call a lack of research). On multiple occasions while
waiting for the shuttle I have personally seen many different public
safety officers (the “security guards” that you also failed to
properly name) patrol the Husky Hub and have even carried on
conversations with them there which leads me to the next topic.
The
SCSU public safety department dedicates an officer from their
department to Q-lot and K-lot every single night when the sun goes
down until the sun comes up the next morning. As soon as it gets dark
an Officer is stationed Q-lot and K-lot. During the day the officers
patrol these lots as well as the rest of campus. Therefore I once
again ask where did you get your facts from, or did you even research
this topic that you are so quick to make false accusations about?
The
article then ends with saying that these lots have had this
reputation for 20 years. Perhaps I’m just nitpicking, but I’m
assuming that you are an undergrad student since there are hardly
any, if any, graduate students who park in Q-Lot. Due to the fact
that I believe you are an undergraduate student, I am led to also
believe that you are approximately 20 years old. How do you know that
these lots have had this reputation for 20 years when you, yourself
are only about 20 years old?
I
am also a student at St. Cloud State University and I am very proud
of the university that I attend. I by no means, wish to disrespect
you; however it bothers me that your article lacked truth and was
very misguiding. If you do have facts that I am unaware of, please
feel free to respond to this with your facts, however if it is just
more hearsay and misguided information please feel free to keep it to
yourself.
Sincerely,
A
Proud SCSU Student