MICHAEL ALAHOUZOS
Staff Writer
School of Law students are furious about what they don’t know.
In the past two weeks, tension has escalated between SOL students and the Seaver undergraduates over who is permitted to park in the lot about the Seaver Academic Complex (SAC) on Baxter Drive.
Many SOL students feel the lot is reserved for only those with SOL permits, and that Public Safety has not been doing a good job of enforcing that.
“They might have been given some misinformation,” said Dawn Emrich, the assistant director of Public Safety. “At one point in the first week of school, I believe there was some misinformation floating around, perhaps in an e-mail.”
Even so, SOL students believe that Seaver commuters should not be allowed to park in what many call “their” lot – the space that, according to the Malibu campus map, is named the “Student Lot.”
“The (SOL) students are about to take matters into their own hands,” said SOL student Angel Papadakis.
Parking has become a sore issue this fall, as the number of off-campus seniors has increased and the number of on-campus parking spaces has stayed the same.
“I think that the undergrads have a significant amount of parking on campus,” said John Brockmeier, an SOL student. “They only use it so they don’t have to walk up the hill.”
Public Safety has a lighter opinion — one that Seaver students could agree with.
“It is reasonable to think that Seaver commuters could park in that lot,” Emrich said, “They have class there.”
As it stands, any commuter student from any of the five schools may park in any un-gated, unmarked area on campus, including Rho parking lot, the Fieldhouse lot, and the Drescher parking structure.
This isn’t the first time the students have had to fight for parking either. As reported in November 2004, the Center of Communication and Business lot was to be opened up to students this year.
The removal of the island and gates was a decision made by a subcommittee University Management Committee and endorsed by Dr. Mark Davis, UMC member and dean of Student Affairs.
When students returned to campus two weeks ago, they found the gates were still closed. There is belief among students that the amount of complaints filed by faculty and staff is what has put this project on hiatus.
“I do not know whether the idea is still on the table or not,” said Dr. Robert Chandler, Chair of the Communication Division, in an e-mail.
As parking for students and faculty becomes more and more scarce on lower campus, Seaver faculty and staff are opting to park in the gated CCB lot.
“I know that since the original discussion, parking in the lot has increased as more Seaver faculty/staff that work on lower campus are now consistently parking in the lot,” Chandler said.
No word has been given on when and if the CCB lot will open to students any time soon.
09-15-2005