Poor student attendance cause for Parking Forum flop
House Editorial
At a place considered the No. 6 activist school
in the world by Mother Jones magazine, it seems that JMU students
are quite picky about their battles.
Despite all the darts, letters and complaints about
Parking Services over the past years, less than 50 students were
in attendance for the Student Government Association-sponsored Parking
Forum last Wednesday. Finally, Parking Services allowed a speakout
for questions and suggestions, and less than half of 1 percent of
the "activist" student body showed up — some of which
were SGA senators and reporters required to attend.
What happened to the image of "fight for what
you want" that became so strong with the emergency contraceptive
pill issue? Surely, those signing the petitions and marching to
Mark Obenshain's office were not personally affected on a daily
basis by the discontinuance of ECPs at the University Health Center.
Why, then, would an issue like parking get thrown into the background
when there is an opportunity for change?
The SGA came prepared with a panel of parking officials
and administrators to alleviate student questions about everything
from why the gravel C1 lot is not paved to why another parking deck
is not built yet. The forum members dispelled myths about parking
cadets and where all the parking ticket money goes.
Students then gave their own suggestions —
to give warnings on first offenses, place a cap on permits, or run
a shuttle to campus from distant parking lots — all on which
the panelists spoke their thoughts or took into consideration.
Whether it was that students had too much homework
on a week night, or they decided it was time to start cheering on
JMU sports teams and headed to the basketball game, it is inexcusable
for the lackluster turnout at the Parking Forum. SGA advertised
the event on its Web site and through fliers. It lived up to its
motto of "Your SGA" by picking a problem that most students
are forced to tackle on a day-to-day basis.
Maybe students were burnt out from their "War
on Iraq" protests or their cars still were snowed in. Students
obviously had something more important on their agendas Wednesday
night than the overdone battle against Parking Services.
JMU is well-known and respected for its activism,
and rightly so after receiving national recognition on the ECP issue.
Yet, just because a problem doesn't make it to FOX News does not
mean it isn't important enough to acknowledge and act toward change.
SGA and Parking Services opened a door to students, and were left
with a nearly empty PC Ballroom.
In terms of parking, it's time for students to
stop talking the talk and start walking the walk.
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