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Frustrated Students and a Full Parking Lot

Students all over the Anoka- Ramsey Community College Coon Rapids campus are ranting about the current parking lot situation. That is, there is not enough space for everybody to park. Some students walk all the way from the goodwill parking lot, a block away. Nearly every student on campus has muttered something negative about how far they have to walk in the Minnesota cold weather, just to get inside. The amount of students tardy to a class just because they are looking or a parking spot, has increased and is beginning to be a problem.
One student by the name of Alisha Terry even went as far as to say, “This parking situation is ridiculous. I drive around for 20 minutes some days just trying to find a spot. The administrative has to understand that is really frustrating. When its really cold outside and I have to walk from the goodwill parking lot, the whole way in all I think about is switching schools. What’s going to happen when there is a bunch of snow on the ground? Then what do I do? Trudge through? I’d rather skip class than deal with that.” These are just a few of the points of many students who are attending the Coon Rapids campus. Some of them are beginning to wonder if things will ever change.
“It just doesn’t seem to me that the school is doing anything to improve what is going on with the parking lots. I just feel that they should be doing more to help us. I hate being late, and sometimes I just can’t help it because there are no spots open. The worst part is, you can tell the teachers are getting angry with people walking in late too. Its just all around a bad situation,” Trina Scherff added, “It’s just a bad start to my day when I can’t find anywhere to park.” Many students also agreed that teacher have become frustrated with the tardiness this semester, even though most of the time its because they can’t find a spot to park.
Another student had an even bigger problem because of medical issues, but replied anonymously reporting, “I have arthritis, and there are a lot of days where my arthritis acts up, and worse in the cold, and it doesn’t help that I have to walk so far in the cold to get in the school. I just can’t take it. They need to solve this issue some how, and fast. I think student enrollment is going to go down for next semester if students do not begin to see some sort of effort put in to solving the problem.”
It seems to me that every student is being effected, and even some professors on campus have made remarks through out the semester. Kristen Olsen, a sociology professor stated, “It’s like the first couple weeks the parking lots are jam packed, and slowly they get less crowed.” She is upbeat and thinks that only the fist two weeks are really that bad, and from then on you find parking spots a lot easier than before.
This semester has had the highest percentage of enrollment yet, which has caused the unexpected parking problem. The Coon Rapids campus was simply overwhelmed with the amount of students, and what to do.
Paxer Yang, a student currently attending morning classes at the Coon Rapids campus suggested an idea, “I know the campus is struggling with ideas of what to do to fix the problem. I think they should turn second parking lot into a parking ramp. Maybe an indoor one. It could work, and maybe with the extra enrollment lately, they could afford to. I don’t know what their budget is, but at least its an idea.” Other students argued that this would create and even bigger problem. While they would be constructing this large ramp there would be an even bigger parking problem, and more people would be frustrated. “Imagine the parking situation as they are building a ramp! I don't like the walk either.”- Anonymous.
Many students noticed the vehicles that are now scattered along the streets, parking alongside the curb. Some said this is frustrating too, because you can’t see getting out of the parking lots anymore with all the cars blocking your view. Some even park in the way of other cars in parking lots, along the curbside, even when there are still parking spots available in the particular parking lot. They simply just do not look for parking spots. In an anonymous poll, one student complained that they were blocked in by one of these students that decide to park on the curb inside of the parking lot.
“Its really frustrating to be blocked in, when your already on a timed schedule, and need to get to work on time, or just have plans. People start to get in the mindset that there are not going to be any parking spots, even if they do keep looking. So they just quit. They give up on looking, and block off someone else. It’s really rude, but at the same time I understand where they are coming from,” Josh Anderson, goes along with Olsen’s response that only the fist couple weeks are really all that bad and from there on it gets better, but people just refuse to pay attention and see what is going on around them.
So far the Coon Rapids campus has not shown any signs that students really are going to refrain from signing up for second semester. Students are still enrolling for the spring 2009 semester.




Note* I could not figure out how to make a side bar actually fit on the screen in word, so this is why I am just writing it below.


Sidebar
Enrollment at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Coon Rapids campus was higher than usual this fall of 2009 semester. This created a parking issue around campus. Many students claim they cannot find parking spots at any time during the day, and struggle to get to class on time.
“This parking situation is ridiculous. I drive around for 20 minutes some days just trying to find a spot.”- Alisha Terry a current student.

(Alisha Terry)
“It just doesn’t seem to me that the school is doing anything to improve what is going on with the parking lots. It’s just a bad start to my day when I can’t find anywhere to park.”- Trina Scherff, another current student.
(Trina Scherff)

“I think student enrollment is going to go down for next semester if students do not begin to see some sort of effort put in to solving the problem.” -Anonymous

Some people do have hope, and really don’t believe it’s as big of an issue as others do.
“It’s like the first couple weeks the parking lots are jam packed, and slowly they get less crowed.” -Professor Kristen Olsen of the Coon Rapids campus.

Some are even coming up with suggestions to help the school.
“I know the campus is struggling with ideas of what to do to fix the problem. I think they should turn second parking lot into a parking ramp.”-Paxer Yang
(Paxer Yang)
For any further questions contact the school at:
The information center:
(763) 433-1240

Or the Ink spot for further reports:
(763) 433-1960