Every day I read the opinions of students and faculty on the editorial page, but l have never responded publicly to any of the ideas expressed here. After reading the editorial by Sara Ziegler on Friday, September 12, however, I feel like I have to. Ziegler, along with several others in the past weeks, was complaining about the Department of Public Safety’s enforcement of the parking rules. (Her car was towed after she parked illegally.)

Ms. Ziegler, I realize what an inconvenience this was and I sympathize, but parking spaces are extremely limited on campus. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has tried to park for a meeting or class.

Evil DPS officers did not design the current parking situation so they could sit back and pounce on students to make 12 or 15 bucks. Like it or not, the officers are out there enforcing the rules day after day because when we try to park illegally for our own convenience, chances are we are taking up a spot that somebody paid dearly to have.

It’s natural to be upset over receiving a parking ticket, or worse yet, having your car towed. It’s not reasonable to blame DPS for your misfortune, though. When we go to college we take on certain responsibilities, like making sure we sign up for classes we need to graduate and paying tuition on time.

Knowing what parking lots are acceptable1e to park in and which ones we need to completely avoid is also our responsibility. The parking situation around lowa State is not going to improve in the foreseeable future. Let’s just get used to that fact and move on with our lives.

Darin W. Johnson

Senior

Elementary education