Do you dread having to pay for your parking pass? But if you don’t you know you’ll have to pay the parking ticket given out by the community cop. I’ve now received $35 in parking tickets, all because I don’t want to spend my money on a $50 parking pass, and neither do other students. I believe it is time we as a school and community need to change the regulations and pricing on our parking passes. 

Parking pricing 

SPASH students pay $50 a school year to park in our parking lot, and it is too much. I created a survey asking students questions about our school’s parking. Although students may not be affected financially by this, these students still see this as a burden. According to my survey, parking passes affect 20% of kids financially, 43.6% of kids see it as not a financial issue but a burden, and 25.5% of kids have no pass yet. These are real students addressing they are not satisfied with the requirements SPASH has created.

The student’s answers in the survey suggest we change our pricing. The survey answers state, 49% of students believe we should be charged but less, while 43.6% of students believe we shouldn’t be charged at all. If students would prefer a price change, what would be a good price? Students gave their ideas on what a good price would be in the survey. The survey results suggest , $0(7 students) $10(1 student) $10-15(3 students) $10-20(20 students) $20(5 students) $25(8 students) $20-25(1 student) $20-30(2 students) $30(3 students) $50(1 students) Less than $50(3 students). 

Parking Tickets

While pricing on the tickets is just as important, we must address our “punishment” for not paying the $50. Imagine you’re walking out to your car and seeing the yellow envelope and it ruins your day. This affects students financially. If they could not pay for the parking pass, the school just added more money on top of what they owed. SPASH 11th-grade student, Kylie Wiza, states, “I had to pay the $15 and my mom was mad at me….I couldn’t afford [the parking pass and ticket].” This shows that ticketing our students is not the answer. This affects them beyond how they think it does.

According to Stevenspoint.com/parking tickets, there is a heavy set of rules and guidelines that come with the ticket. It shows you can appeal, but not simple mistakes. It goes up every week you don’t pay it, burdening our students. Student Kylie Wiza replied to the question “did you believe you should’ve gotten it?” She argued, “No, I’m just a teenage girl…” We are victimizing our students with these tickets.

How can we change

We as a community and school should bring awareness to this. We’re all together in this and the parking situation must be revised. Lower parking pass prices, no tickets due to no passes, and better ideas on how to make students pay for the pass. Another idea is suggesting different prices based on family situations and income. We all matter and we should not be held to one standard. Change starts now with you.