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USM Forum -- Message Board -> AAUP-USM MESSAGE BOARD -> USM parking fees rise
Post Info TOPIC: USM parking fees rise
manova

Date:
RE: USM parking fees rise
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Big Brother is watching wrote:

Did anyone know that parking management has a new system which tracks how many times one is on campus in a semester? Apparently everytime you get a vistors pass they run your DL...

This was a much needed reform in visitor parking.  Many students were taking advantage of visitor parking so that they could park in faculty/staff lots.  They do not keep track of how many times you are on campus, only how many times you ask for a visitor pass.  If you need to be on campus more than 3 times in a semester, you buy an extended pass.  I am sure that a prospective grad student could arrange a pass from their department, graduate studies, or the recruitment office. 


 


As for running a SS# and knowing a person is a student, how would that work?  Only a few DLs still use SS# so the person could just make up a number, and now that USM uses ID#, once again, the student just simply says they do not have a student ID because they are a visitor. 


 


The visitor parking was nice when it was all based on trust, but as with many things in life, a few people who took advantage of the system ruined it for everyone.



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manova

Date:
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Anne Wallace wrote:

USM's parking problems are partly because the U. has never charged anything like a reasonable fee and has never taken seriously the notion that it had some obligation to do more than collect money. $50 is a bite compared to past practice, but the key is to make them DO something with that money. Good luck! And MORE SPACES. Anne Wallace

I completely agree.  With low fees, USM has never had the money to really do anything to improve parking.  If I remember correctly, several years ago USM tried guaranteed parking next to George Hurst but they couldn’t sell the whole lot.  I don’t know what this says about the culture of USM parking (we don’t mind if there is not a parking space, as long as the permit is cheap?).  If the increased fees lead to infrastructure improvements (paving dirt lots, new parking, etc.) then the increase is worth it.  If they just buy new golf carts so they can give more tickets, then it is not worth it.  I guess the bottom line is that the FS or someone needs to ask why is the increase needed now, and what will the additional revenue be used for?



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Doubting Thomas

Date:
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Big Brother is watching wrote:
Did anyone know that parking management has a new system which tracks how many times one is on campus in a semester? Apparently everytime you get a vistors pass they run your DL. They can tell you everytime you have been on campus and if it is more than 2 or 3 times a semester you are no longer considered a visistor and you have to buy a pass. I understand that students try to beat the system but it seems by running the SS # you would know pretty quickly whether they were a student or not. It seems like in our present situation we would be welcoming visitors not discouraging them. The person who told me was a perspective grad student who had done the right thing by getting a visitors pass and had legitimate campus business that had her on campus several times in a two week period. Once she realized why they wanted to see her DL ( after she was questioned by the guard) she decided to take her tuition dollars to WCC where there is plenty of parking and they direct you to the building you need rather than running your license.


I really like this development. In the recent past, students avoided paying for a parking permit by getting a new visitor pass each day. The visitor pass allowed them to park in any student zone and the faculty/staff zone. Maybe the admin zone too.

By limiting the number of visitor passes we hand out to a given drivers' license number, we also limit the number of students who can choose to ignore the zone parking rules on campus.

I know that everything Thames' administration does is bad, but this is a badly needed fix for a symptom of a much larger problem: students who think faculty are subservient to them.

True visitors to campus will simply have to learn to deal with this.

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Doubting Thomas

Date:
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sorry, manova. I took a really long time to execute that post and you beat me to it.

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Invictus

Date:
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Doubting Thomas wrote:
True visitors to campus will simply have to learn to deal with this.


I agree that limiting the number of visitor passes per DL is a great idea. I don't visit campus often during working hours & quite frankly, I've never bothered to get a visitor's pass, nor have I yet received a ticket. (I seldom use the front entrance to campus.) Security may see the faculty/staff sticker from another institution & honor it for all I know.

Faculty who really have problems finding convenient parking may want to pool their money & buy some of these:

...or these ...



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Goose-Gander

Date:
Permalink Closed

Doubting Thomas wrote:

... I know that everything Thames' administration does is bad, but this is a badly needed fix for a symptom of a much larger problem: students who think faculty are subservient to them. ...

This was a good post, DT, until you used this "...tacky, condescending, immature language (in my opinion) that was used to close..." this post.   Don't you know that, " if you mismatch the tone or style of your communication, it may confuse the reader (or make her tune you out) or it may simply obfuscate the message altogether."   I sure hope members of the community aren't reading this board.


What's good for the Goose is good for the gander.



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Doubting Thomas

Date:
Permalink Closed


Goose-Gander wrote:
Doubting Thomas wrote:
... I know that everything Thames' administration does is bad, but this is a badly needed fix for a symptom of a much larger problem: students who think faculty are subservient to them. ...

This was a good post, DT, until you used this "...tacky, condescending, immature language (in my opinion) that was used to close..." this post.   Don't you know that, " if you mismatch the tone or style of your communication, it may confuse the reader (or make her tune you out) or it may simply obfuscate the message altogether."   I sure hope members of the community aren't reading this board.
What's good for the Goose is good for the gander.


Let me find some evidence to back this up, and I'll get back with you.

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community member

Date:
Permalink Closed

Goose-Gander wrote:

  I sure hope members of the community aren't reading this board.
I am a community member and I have been reading this board for quite a while. I have formed some new opinions about USM, and some of my old opinions have been confirmed. There's no need for me to say what they are. Keep educating me and I'll keep reading.

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