To whom it may concern,

The parking situation on campus has slowly developed into a war zone between over zealous campus police officers and lazy students who don’t want to walk from a farther parking lot.

The lots next to Biddle and Blackington fill up before 10 a.m. on most days, and the teacher lot is off limits to students, even though most professors are there all day, while students are always coming and going.

Today, a campus police officer sat in the parking lot driving in circles waiting for someone to park their car so he could ticket them. Is our biggest concern really $15 reserved parking space violations on this campus? If so, I have never felt safer.

The war on parking reminds me of the war on Greek life, that has taken place since my time at Pitt-Johnstown. Aside from the cameras in the trees spying on Greek Life, which is slowly being snuffed out by this campus and its administrators, soon within the next five years, Greek life will cease to exist at Pitt-Johnstown.

That’s awesome. Right, we get rid of the binge drinking and overly confident guys hitting on anything that walks?

Or do we actually lose a great source of community service and one of the few aspects we have at Pitt-Johnstown that makes it feel like an actual college, not a ski resort.

Think about it: we love to hate fraternities, but that doesn’t take away from their essential nature to a college atmosphere.

Now, the administration has turned its focus to parking and ticketing cars as soon as they are parked, wasting gas driving in circles for hours on end.

This campus pours money into redoing sidewalks, pavilions, the police force, and other unnecessary items that make administration happy but fails to take into consideration what their consumers want.

Like any good business, isn’t the priority to make money by pleasing the customer?

Now, critics will argue this is a school; people are paying for an education not to party or get good parking.

But let’s look at more issues on this campus that the administration pays no attention too. Like the lack of dining options on campus; changing Pizza Hut to Freshens is not adding options; it’s replacing them. Putting booths in the cafeteria seems a little unnecessary considering the food in the café continues to be mediocre.

The point of all this? The fact “Campus Life” is slowly becoming a wasteland. Students don’t want to party on campus any more because of the police force’s obnoxious attempt at exerting authority when all we ask is for is respect, and in return respect will be given– not a hard concept.

The student life and the “college experience” are at the bottom of the barrel when administration makes decisions. This isn’t a complaint about partying and drinking, that’s not the college experience, the college experience is feeling home, being part of something bigger than yourself, and here at Pitt-Johnstown, it’s far from home.

Sincerely,

Tyler Iddon