Drew’s parking policy opens with the following declaration: “Parking and operating a motor vehicle on campus is a privilege and rules and regulations are established to ensure an environment that supports the educational mission of the university.”
One may ask, though, how the educational mission of the university is being upheld when oftentimes students find themselves late to class due to the extra 10 minutes it takes to find a place to park. The solution for this is a line a little further down: “The university does not guarantee a parking spot, and all parking is based on a first come, first served basis.”
As with any parking lot, there may be times that a space is not available; and while that is not inherently the institution’s fault, it also generally does not cost over $325 for the mere possibility of being able to park. Resident Keiran Dugan (‘26) stated, “When I told my friends from other colleges how much I was paying for parking, they were shocked. None of them were paying more than $125 or $150 for a year.” Being asked, annually, to pay hundreds of dollars for a sticker that does not come with a right to park, alongside increasing tuition and dining costs adds another frustrating expense that comes with little to no gain.
Dugan noted that “The price of a parking pass is also completely unfair to low-income students, who often need a car on campus to drive to their jobs. These students then need to weigh whether or not the amount they will make working off campus will be worth the blow to their bank accounts.”
The expense of a college education is already straining for most, and especially with the recent reductions in student employment opportunities, most residential students need cars in order to get to their jobs. An elective cost is not so elective when the bigger picture is examined. As Dee Cohen (‘26) stated, “You can’t help but dislike a system that takes your money.”
Two previous calls for change have been made in the past few years. Last spring, in an article published in the Acorn, advocates for commuters said, “If the students know the lot will be full, they won’t drive around in circles, wasting time, and will simply park in Tilghman lot. Although this would still not be fair, considering that commuters paid to park in the main lot and Sitterly, it would be better than the abrupt robbery of the spots.”
Moreover, the offer that Drew received to sell the forest would include selling Sitterly House and the Sitterly lot, which is one of the biggest lots on campus for commuters and faculty.
The Acorn’s previous request for change has still not been taken into action by administration, an example of which is seen in an email dated March 22: “A film production will take place on campus between Monday, March 25-Wednesday, March 27 with the bulk of filming occurring on Tuesday, March 26. The Hoyt-Bowne parking lot and portions of the Tilghman and Ehinger Center parking lots will be closed.” In this email, administration provides no alternative spaces to compensate for the closings, just as they provide no solutions to the long-term shortage of parking spaces.
The year prior, students brought to attention that the location of parking lots and utter lack of availability forces students “to park far from their destinations, which is inconvenient and poses serious safety concerns when it is dark out.” Since then, the price of parking has increased, but the availability of it has arguably declined. Dee Cohen (‘26) said, “All this does is sow seeds of discontent between students and the university by ripping them off like this.”
Considering the size of our campus, it is difficult to determine where the solution lies—but this issue should at least come into conversation. Money that is funneled into unnecessary renovations to the campus might be reallocated towards more pervasive issues such as parking.
Our campus, which is heavily made up of commuters and New Jersey residents, cannot stand to lose any of its available parking. Drew needs to solve its financial problems, and solve them fast, if they hope to maintain their numbers for application and enrollment, and their reputation.
The university is frequently hosting events for outside organizations as a way to bring in more funds. While this is an appropriate practice for a school with the space to do so and the need for the extra money, it further limits the parking available to students as sections of the lots are often coned off.
It seems as though the administration prioritizes financial gain over the student concerns, as calls for change have been ignored.
Featured image courtesy of Dee Cohen.
