“More parking!” “Fewer tickets!” “Less DPS!”

Cries such as these for parking reform on the Iowa State campus have been going on for so long, they’ve just become part of campus lore.

Demands for better parking have always fallen on deaf ears. No matter how much students whine, nothing has ever changed.

Students long ago gave up hope for actually finding a legal parking space anywhere on campus. They’ve resigned themselves to either walking from the stadium or accepting the $15 ticket for parking in a staff lot.

It seemed as though students would always be fined within an inch or their lives, while DPS trucks would still be found illegally parked all over Ames.

But then, DPS took unprecedented action. Finally, we would get the parking we had so long desired.

Late last month, renovations began on the parking lot in front of Alumni Hall. Construction crews started tearing out existing parking in order to add at least 15 spots. They will also put in an additional 15 spots south of the student health building, since an ambulance driveway isn’t necessary anymore.

These 30 spots are a great step in reducing campus parking woes. Or so we thought.

These spots will, of course, not be available to anyone who needs better parking. According to Doug Houghton, director of parking systems, the 30 additional spots will be only available to admissions visitors. No student spots, no faculty spots — only parking for those few visitors to ISU.

With all of the people on the ISU campus that have a legitimate need for parking spots, DPS went and gave new spots to folks who don’t even attend the university. Typical.

It’s understandable that the university would like to be able to show off for potential students and their families without them being ticketed and/or towed.

But perhaps DPS should make the whole campus more parker-friendly first and worry about impressing recruits later. After all, the moment these unsuspecting high school students start college, they’ll realize the truth about on-campus parking.

It’s not surprising that DPS won’t take students’ concerns about parking seriously, but it is disappointing in light of recent promises to better accommodate the community.

It seems as though DPS is destined to almost serve students, but not quite.