Walking to your car, you catch a glimpse of that bright, thin orange sheet, waving back and forth in your windshield wiper as the wind blows. You stop in your tracks and think, “Not again!”
For many students at Fairfield, parking can be a hassle. Students are constantly complaining that Fairfield does not provide enough spots on campus for parking and they are tired of being fined for where they choose to park.
“I think that Fairfield’s ticketing system is more a money-making scheme than it is a valid parking system,” stated Shane Tarca ’15. “I can only park at the Townhouses, but when I dropped a friend off at McInnes and helped her bring in groceries with my hazard lights on, I came back out and found a ticket waiting on my windshield.”
Assistant Director of Public Safety John Ritchie said he believes that enforcing parking tickets to the student population teaches responsibility.
“8 a.m., I know it’s troubling if you live on campus but we are trying to prepare you for the real world,” stated Ritchie.
With regard to parking on campus, Ritchie feels that there is more than enough parking for the student body that is permitted to have their cars on campus. For many students, it’s just not where they want the spot to exactly be.
According to Ritchie, the university issues about 7,000 parking permits every year.
“They have to understand that the design of the [Townhouses] area was not to accommodate all of the parking, but to accommodate students to live in that kind of environment. Some students are going to be asked to park in the Dolan parking lot, which is not directly in front of their house.”
Although students are given a particular color permit, they still park in various lots on campus. Whether it’s visiting a friend, or wanting to park a little closer to their doorsteps, it’s easy to find an array of colors scattered around the townhouse lots.
Ritchie explained, “Every time you park your car, look at the car next to you and if it does not have the proper colored sticker, that is your peers violating the rules which causes students to get frustrated.”
Ritchie suggested that if students park where they are supposed to, students would find that parking on campus would be a lot easier and less frustrating.
Underclassmen itching to get their cars on campus are often ticketed for having an unregistered vehicle on campus.
For students who are repeatedly getting tickets on campus, Ritchie explained that after five tickets, a student’s car will be towed off campus and they will have to pay the tow fee.
Ritchie and other public safety officers have found that all schools in the region are following a very similar parking policy. However, it has also been found that other schools may not ticket and will just tow students immediately.
“We don’t do that though. The spin off with that is that you get compliance, but we are giving you five tickets in advance to let you figure out what you are doing wrong,” stated Ritchie.
Ritchie said that there have been instances where students are designing fake parking passes in order to be able to keep their car on campus.
“Every year we find that one or two students are creating their own documents. We refer the individual to the Dean of Students Office and we also have the ability to suspend their motor vehicle privilege in future semesters.”
The Department of Public Safety does not get to keep any of the money from parking tickets that they issue.
Ritchie stated, “We don’t have any quotas, however, it is part of our job and we certainly do.” He also said that there is an officer whose job is to simply go around and look for permits and ticket if one is not found.
There are a number of issues students can face if they are not willing to comply with the university’s parking policies.
Ritchie stated that students who do not pay their parking tickets before graduation will not be able to walk and their diploma would be held until all fines are paid.
“You, as an individual, have responsibilities. We all have to play our part. You can’t think that you can violate the rules and not pay for it,” stated Ritchie.
Fairfield has been trying to “go green” and DPS officers feel that they are playing a role in this initiative by issuing parking tickets.
Ritchie stated, “We want to discourage people from driving short distances, like driving to dinner or driving to class. You’re constantly burning fuel in the environment. Just park where you’re supposed to.”
Some students have racked up bills that have cost them $1,100 to $2,800.
Tarca stated, “If I were public safety, I’d give out tickets on Dolan Hall where people fly up and down rather than giving out tickets for temporarily parking somewhere on campus or rolling a stop sign.”
Although public safety strictly enforces parking on campus, the rules do not apply for them. Ritchie stated, “University vehicles are allowed to park in any lot. No violation.”
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