The university, athletic department and others involved have handled the student parking situation at the football stadium very poorly. Many students feel slighted by the university due to the fact that their parking spaces were taken away and given to National Cyclone Club members. A solution to this problem would be for the university to gather student input on future changes affecting them prior to making those decisions. In the case of the parking situation, consulting the students would have been an act of goodwill and good faith. It also could have possibly eliminated the unwanted consequences the university is now facing.

Obviously, the move was simply to accommodate alumni who give money to the university. Alumni support is undoubtedly important to any university, but taking away current students’ privileges is not the way to get more money. The university may be getting more alumni support now, but down the road, will they still garner the same support? Making current students feel as if they are unimportant will not instill in them the desire to contribute to the university when they are alumni. Clearly the fact that students now want to stop giving money to the athletic department is a sign the university needs to consider student input and reactions when making decisions in the future.

Jana McConnell

Sophomore

English