Life as a Ball State University commuter has never been easy.-áGetting up early, say 7 a.m., for that 8 a.m. class, is one of the hardest things in the world.-á After class, it is off to work.-áAfter work, it is either back to class or hard work studying.-áThe life of commuter seems to go round and round and round.
Until this year, I have easily been able to handle the early mornings, the late nights, and the long work shifts in between.-á However, that process has become more difficult.
As a history student, I frequently park in the commuter spaces south of the Student Center.-áWhy park on the north side of campus and cross campus when you stay mostly on the south side of campus?-áEver since my freshman year, I have easily been able to gain a spot in one of the three commuter lots. That has since changed.
Beginning this year, one third of the largest lot near the student center is now designated for faculty and staff.-á While I support more spots for faculty and staff as much as I do commuters, why take more spots than needed?
Every day, the new faculty and staff parking lot has no more than five to ten cars in a lot able to accommodate 25 to 35.-áThat is several less spots for the commuters wishing to park there.
This causes what I like to call the "pick and follow" maneuver.
It is to simply find a person walking away from the shuttle area and slowly creep behind them to their vehicle.-á Sometimes it works.-áSometimes it does not.-áHowever, it is both annoying and creepy.-áIt gives an eerie sense of stalking and it also rushes commuters to get to their vehicles and leave campus.
Sometimes other vehicles, who have not waited for spots, will not give right-of-way to the vehicles that attempt this maneuver.-áSince I have implemented this creepy stalking for a parking spot, I have given more international signals of displeasure than ever in a three week period.
While the Student Center parking lots were always a problem that would lead to this type of creeping behind students, it has become worse since the loss of nearly 40 parking spots.
The Student Center parking lots are full of greenery and shrubbery that sometimes looks nice.-áHowever, to commuters, it would be more appealing to have the extra 10 spots they could provide.
The rush for these spots on the southern end of campus has caused some wrecks and constant frustration.
Which leads to the question: Why take the spots away from commuters, rather than give spots to faculty and staff in the sometimes empty parking garages on the South side of campus?
Who knows?
However, the Student Center is not the only commuter parking issue riddled with problems.
Two weeks ago during the first Ball State football game, all commuters had to park in near-campus church lots. While hundreds, if not thousands of commuters attended school that day, BSU did not provide any sort of special shuttle to help carry students from the east end of off-campus closer to the heart of campus.
All we have to say is that Ball State and President Gora are lucky that it did not rain on that day.-áThere would have been a lot of angry students with ruined laptops and notes.
All of the ranting comes down to the simple question: How much longer will commuters be placed by the wayside for the comfort of dorm residents?
Matthew Stephenson is a senior history major and wrote this 'The Left Side of the Couch' for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper.
Write to Matthew at mlstephenson@bsu.edu.
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