Every night after 9 p.m., students who live in the Greek community and Buchanan Hall without a designated parking spot or pass go through the same ritual: They drop what they are doing, walk to their cars and move them to the opposite side of the street. This scene is reminiscent of many large cities and is encouraged through the zealous ticketing by Ames Police Department Parking Enforcement Division — and it should continue.

Parking tickets serve two main purposes: They provide revenue to the city without raising taxes and make the streets safer for driving. Many of the streets in Ames are not wide enough to have vehicles parked on both sides and allow easy flow of two-way traffic. The Ames parking people make sure that the cars, which are illegally parked, all receive tickets — except Sunday mornings.

Driving churchgoers exercise a blatant disregard for the law and fellow drivers, and the Ames Police Department Parking Enforcement Division turns a blind eye to the issue. Cars parked illegally during church should be ticketed with the same zeal and enthusiasm that the ticketers find on the other six days of the week, or, perhaps, the street should be restriped as a one way.

WWJD? Probably not park illegally.

Andrew Carlson is a junior in political science.