Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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adjust to a problem that seems to have no solutions by Judi Walter Buying a $22 parking permit didn ' t guarantee anyone a parking spot. If anything, it guaranteed frustration. In the fall of 1986, K-State ' s campus had 10,000 parking places. Some of the parking problems were due to the fact that the campus police sold 15,000-16,000 permits. By simple subtraction, the average college student can see the number of permits exceeded the number of parking places by 5,000-6,000 spots. Charles Beckom, superintendent of the K-State Police, said the oversell was justified by a high rate. Not all students needed parking at the same time, he said. But some students became tired of hassling with the problem. a parking place took anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. I ' d rather spend the extra time getting some exercise by walking rather than driving around looking for a parking place, said Diane Meredith, junior in marketing. Students found the parking frustrating for other reasons also. Leslyn Rockenbach, freshman in journalism and mass lived in Ford Hall. Her assigned parking lot was B-3, more commonly known among students as Egypt because of its distance from the residence halls. Rockenbach, like others, concern for her safety when parking there at night. Winter seemed to aggravate the already existing parking problems. More students and faculty brought their cars to campus because of the cold weather. Snow piles caused people to park incorrectly. This caused a chain effect. With improper parking, fewer places were available. Jacque Ediger, junior in found herself arriving on an hour early in hopes of a spot. In some aspects, I have to my class schedule differently because of the parking problem, Ediger said. Beckom said the parking problem was very complex. He saw it as a two fold problem. There was a user problem and also a resource problem. People wanted to park as close as possible to where they were going, often breaking the parking rules, Beckon said. Beckom said the department work ed hard to diminish the look of a big city. They wanted students to see more prominent aspects of the University and the landscaping not walls of concrete. He said he believed it was distracting to have a lot of parking facilities. Students can help ease the problem in several ways, Beckom said. One way is to return to the use of bicycles. There are many to riding bikes. Both time and money are saved and one ' s health can benefit as well, Beckom said. Students serving on committees to discuss possible solutions could help solve the parking problem as well as take a more active role in decision making, he said. In a mere two hours, from 6 to 8 a.m., the K-State Union parking lot fills to capacity as students fight for a place to park. (Photos by John Thelander) Parking 23

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(Photo Illustration by John Thelander) Parking 22

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Tailgate Parties Lori Rock fixes something to eat in the parking lot before a K-State football game. (Photo by John LaBarge) A group of K-State fans take part in a tailgate party before the K-State—Oklahoma game. (Photo by John LaBarge) 24