Kenzie Martz

Professor Denicolo

ENG 103

10 April 2022

Where’s My Money Going?

Have you ever been a victim of a parking violation? If so, think about where you were

parked. It’s most likely you went overtime on a parking meter, parked in a restricted area, or

maybe even in a handicap spot. These violations, though annoying, all make sense. Don’t park in

a handicap space if you don’t qualify to do so, seems quite reasonable. I began college in August

and have received three parking tickets, all being on Ball State University Campus, a university I

pay to attend. I was parked in the Atrium parking lot, located near the center of campus, on one

of the first weeks attending college and was unaware I had to pay $1 fee to park in that area.

Because I live off campus and drive myself to class, I was required to purchase a $100 commuter

parking pass to be able to park on campus, but to my surprise it didn’t include anywhere on

campus. Instead, I was greeted with a $20 parking ticket on my windshield. Despite the $100 fee,

there are only two areas the commuter students are eligible to park, both being on the ends of

campus. Typically, most colleges have fewer parking spots than they do students. With that in

mind, though I paid for a parking pass to park on campus, more often than not the lots are full

leaving me with nowhere to park. As frustrating as it was, I started questioning why anyone

would feel the need to purchase a parking pass with the possibility of knowing they might not get

a spot. Would you pay for a parking permit if you weren’t guaranteed a space to park? Students

and their families already pay thousands of dollars for tuition and fees, they shouldn’t be charged

extra money for parking just because they drive their own vehicle getting them to and from
classes. Ball State University should have free parking on campus for students because students

already pay for their tuition, students are on a low income as is, and considering extra costs, such

as parking fees, make the decision to attend more difficult.

Going to college is an experience that people tend to remember for the rest of their lives.

As expected, it also comes with a burden of stress and road bumps. A common stress for myself

along with the majority of college students is finances. College tuition covers the course fee and

the class itself, but excludes things such as room and board, textbooks, and parking. For someone

who is financially independent, I’m responsible for all expenses such as tuition, rent, books,

groceries, gas, and the list goes on. These extra expenses outside of what I’m already paying for

tuition are constant stress of wondering how I’m going to afford the things that I need. A

Colorado State University commuter student, Sophie Roseman, expresses her feelings regarding

unreasonable parking prices after asking her dad for help buying her parking pass because she

couldn’t afford it. According to Sophie, “Making poor students pay extra fees makes it that much

harder to get an education, creating even more of a class division. These types of hidden costs

discourage low-income students from pursuing education, particularly because average incomes

haven’t grown to match rising tuition costs. Parking is a small example, but it perpetuates the

same system” (Prittchet). Relating to Sophie, it’s difficult to focus solely on getting an education

when I’m faced with a continuous worry of finances. Now, not every college student drives their

vehicle to class, some students can rely on other forms of transportation and don’t encounter

paying the parking fees. For students that do and have no other option, why create unreasonable

extra fees regarding their own transportation, on top of the already costly price tag in attending

college? Instead, if you think about it, students are almost forced to pay extra costs of parking

every year so they can get themselves to class. If your only option to get to school is to drive
yourself, and you can’t afford to pay the parking fees they are charging, then what? Do you not

go to college, or do you just skip going to class? Ball State University doesn’t think to give that

option to students who can’t afford it, they put that stress on the students and expect us to figure

it out on our own. Revenues gained from parking fees and parking tickets are said to go towards

the maintenance, repairs of parking lots, and adding new lots located on campus. Essentially,

students like myself, are charged to park and are funding the upkeep of the university. With that

in mind, think of how many times you have seen someone working on repairs or maintenance of

these lots we pay to park in. I don’t know about you, but in my 9 months being at Ball State, I

have never seen anything be fixed, repaired, or added to any of these lots. It makes you wonder,

are we really being charged for parking, or are we being charged to fund something they aren’t

telling us about? Charging students additional fees just to park on grounds of a university they

fully pay to attend, personally, just shows that Ball State University relies heavily on these extra

costs we are responsible for paying, specifically parking, to pay off their own debts. Students are

already paying tuition; Ball State University needs to be held responsible and allow students to

park on grounds of a facility we are funding.

According to the Ball State University website, students, faculty, and visitors can’t park

anywhere on campus for free during enforcement hours (Parking Permits). Students or faculty

who don’t have a parking pass are able to park in metered lots or garages near campus and pay

$1 an hour or $5 a day. Let’s say you’re someone who decided against purchasing a parking pass

for the year due to the expense and instead parked in the metered lots. You have class 4 days of

the week and park on campus in the metered lots. Two days of the week you spend $5 and the

other two days you spend $2 for a total of $14 for the week. Although $14 doesn’t seem like very

much, you decide to add things to find out that for just one semester, you are spending over $200
for parking. For the full year, you’d be spending over $400. Now, I know what you’re thinking,

why not just buy the parking pass? Commuter parking passes are $100 for the Fall, $80 for the

Spring, and $60 for the Summer. If you’re a freshman living in the dorms and decide on bringing

your vehicle to school, you can park in the Stadium lot, which also comes with a fee of $100 for

Fall, $80 for Spring, and $60 for Summer (Parking Permits). This doesn’t even include all the

permits, but for just these two options, Ball State University is receiving around $240, and that’s

just for one student. Think of how much money you could potentially be saving and putting

towards other expenses if you weren’t paying for Ball State Parking. For some, a few hundred

dollars may not seem to be a big chunk of change. For students struggling with low-income, like

myself, this amount of money going towards parking would be much more beneficial going

towards other expenses.

Coming to college, I never expected these kinds of extra costs to be so unreasonable that

it would actually make me second guess my decision to attend. I, along with many others are

broke college students with low incomes who can’t afford paying this kind of money just so we

can go to class. Balancing the weight of classes and workload is difficult as is but adding the

stress of finances on top of all that makes reaching your goals feel out of reach. According to

Matt Reed, who discusses free parking at universities, “I’d bet money that part of the reason that

for-profit colleges never charge for parking -- at least, never that I’ve seen -- is that they

understand intuitively the effects of that sort of charge on students’ willingness to show up, and

to keep coming back. Say what you will about for-profits, but they’re attuned to what gets

people in the door. In this case, they may have a point” (Reed). Paying to go to college and

receive an education is, as I’m sure many of us know, expensive and stressful as is. For a

university that centers around the success of their students, why make it more difficult to see
them succeed? I’m not usually one to ask for help, I like learning and figuring things out on my

own. But for the sake of my education, time, and money, asking for help is necessary. To Ball

State University parking office and Ball State University as a whole, we support and contribute

to the successes of this school, now it’s time for you to support and contribute to us.

The benefits of free parking for students would likely increase attendance in classes as

well as contribute to lowering financial stress. Yes, costs to maintain the university I’m sure are

quite expensive but making sure it stays a place that future generations will enjoy attending starts

the willingness of putting the students first. I may or may not still be attending Ball State

University, but in the near future I hope to see growth starting with the parking department

regarding parking options and pricing. As a population growing university, it’s clear we need

more parking options for students, faculty, and visitors. Adding more lots or expanding the ones

we have currently may not be at the top up the list but should be considered when thinking about

changes needed to be made. The prices of parking passes and parking on campus take away from

the success and motivation of low-income students and will remain a disappointing and

unreasonable factor. Students who choose to attend college do so for a reason and have a

willingness to learn with hope of a successful future. Parking prices, something that seems so

small and simple, could rip that willingness to learn right out of the hands of students like

myself. Ball State University isn’t held responsible for mine or anyone’s college tuition, living

expenses, textbooks, or parking. Allowing students free parking on a campus that financially, we

fund on our own isn’t outside the budget, especially because we are the ones funding that budget.

As previously stated, Ball State University doesn’t pay our tuition, books, or our bills, we do.

Being a low-income college student has become typical in society but still hasn’t changed or

become any easier for anyone. As we all know beforehand, college isn’t cheap. Many young
adults today don’t have the resources to even consider attending college. Even for those of us

that do, the stress of school load on top of finances are overwhelming enough that many people

reconsider attending, including myself. If extra costs in attending were reduced or even cut out,

more adolescents may be willing to consider and take advantage in the opportunity to grow their

education without having the stress of finances. If not free, adding reasonable parking prices into

tuition, would be a great start. In the world we live in today, I know that unfortunately, most

extra costs won’t go away. But let’s be honest with each other, life is already complicated

enough without the outrageous cost of parking passes and parking tickets.
 Bibliography

“Parking Permits for Students.” Ball State University,

https://www.bsu.edu/about/administrativeoffices/parking-services/permits/types-of-
permits/student#accordion_stadiumpermits.

Pritchett, Eliana. “Parking on CSU's Campus: Impacts beyond the Permit Price.” The Rocky
Mountain Collegian, Rocky Mountain Student Media , 15 Feb. 2015,
https://collegian.com/articles/news/2022/02/category-news-parking-on-campus-impact-
beyond-the-permit-price/.

Reed, Matt. “In Defense of Free Parking: Inside Higher Ed.” Confessions of a Community
College Dean, 6 Sept. 2018, https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-
community-college-dean/defense-free-parking.