As teachers and students become accustomed to the school-year schedule, a recurrent issue comes up in many conversations, and that is the parking situation at Arkansas Tech. Many blame the entity known as the “administration,” that doesn’t listen to the needs of students. However, searching for someone to blame does not solve the issue, nor does it satisfy the needs of others.

Part of the reason why students cannot find parking is because they come to school later in the day, when students with earlier classes have already come to school. An easy remedy for these students is to come to school a little earlier. That way, they can find a better parking spot as well as have some spare time before classes.

But this doesn’t completely resolve the parking issue; if everyone showed up to school a little earlier, there would still be those who would have to park in the back lots. Also, some students cannot come to school early because they are at work.

Some students suggest that Tech should build more parking lots for more vehicles, but if there were new parking lots, they would be built at an even greater distance from campus than the ones already vacant. New parking lots would mean a longer walk to class.

Students who live on campus are also frustrated by parking. Consider the cramped parking lot shared by Nutt and Brown Halls. If a student arrives from work later in the evening, he will probably not find a spot close to the dorms, and having to walk across streets late at night, even on campus, can be a nerve-wracking experience. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that most students don’t have choice parking, unless they never drive.

The parking situation is a frustrating issue for both teachers and students, but in the end one has to consider that Tech isn’t the only place where students can’t find a decent place to park. In fact, bad parking happens everywhere; at a concert, at a barbeque, at Wal-Mart, and so on. Since enrollment this year is the highest it’s ever been, students need to think of other ways to get to class.

If they live off campus, carpooling with a friend is always a good idea. If you live near a railroad track or know when early morning traffic is at its highest, anticipate the problem and try to leave home beforehand. Students can completely eliminate the vehicle, if possible, and bike or walk to class. Why not counteract spiking gas prices and the pesky freshman fifteen at the same time?

There may not be just one answer that will satisfy everyone on campus, but until more pavement is spread on Tech’s campus, students and educators alike must use their college-educated brains to work through this.