Column: No one cares that it took you 30 minutes to park

0
''

By Jon Parton

The first day I started working for The Campus Ledger, I learned that people like to complain about the parking. It doesn’t matter what time I show up to school, I’m always able to find a spot. Why are there so many people complaining about the parking?

We don’t have a parking problem at the college, we have a walking problem. Even the furthest parking spot only requires a five minute walk to the campus. I know because I’ve timed it.

I see them everyday I’m on campus. I call them parking buzzards. They’re students circling around and around until the perfect opportunity arises. I stare in puzzlement as I watch them do laps around the parking lot, waiting for a car to leave. Never mind the fact that if they had parked further away, they would have been on campus already. No, no, no. They must wait for the perfect spot to appear.

It’s absolutely ridiculous to hear people complain about parking, as if it were a brand new problem for the school. There are more people going to this college than there are at KU. Anyone with half a brain can figure out that parking is an issue, just by noticing how many parking garages are on campus. It’s like complaining about summer having hot weather. Is this your first day on Earth?

Maybe it’s a Johnson County thing where people have a false sense of entitlement. People somehow think that walking is beneath them. One of my co-workers goes out to their car to smoke, only to have one or more buzzards wait nearby. They usually fly off after a few minutes, but it’s very entertaining to watch.

What I really don’t understand are buzzards who circle the parking lot over and over again, following any pedestrians that might look like they’re leaving. I had one classmate show up half an hour late for class, blaming it on the parking problem. Like I said, it’s not a parking problem, it’s a walking problem.

Why is it that no one has a problem with the amount of walking they do from class to class, but when it’s from a car to the campus it becomes an issue? I’ve expended more energy walking up and down stairs on campus than I have walking to and from my car. By the looks of some of you, you could stand doing a bit more walking.

It’s time we stopped making parking an excuse. There are more than enough parking spaces available. If you spent more time walking and less time circling the lot like a bird of prey, you might actually get to class on time. Better yet, wild idea incoming, try coming to school earlier. Did I just blow your mind?

Contact Jon Parton, managing editor, at jparton@jccc.edu.

''

NO COMMENTS

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.