COMMENTARY

Ticketing should not equal fund raising

Sean Oakley

My opinion is on campus parking and though I realize this whole topic has been completely overdone, I think my argument is coming from a slightly different angle.

First, there is a parking problem on campus. This is not news to anyone and this is not what I am addressing here.

Second, why students should be expected to pay for a parking permit on top of tuition fees is a question that has been raised before.

I find it laughable that, after paying close to $5000 a semester in out-of-state tuition, I need to pay an additional $50 for the privilege to park on campus. This is not my point either.

Third, something does need to be done. Parking is a nightmare. And though this is not my purpose either, I would like to say that the parking problems here are not any different than any other campus across the nation. Appalachian State University students are not the only students that have to deal with this problem.

These are all ideas and issues that have been brought up many times before. But here's what I really do not understand.

Why is it, when I park my car in an empty campus parking lot at 9 p.m. on a Wednesday night I find a ticket on my car?

I understand that theoretically I was not supposed to be parked there. And if I had parked there at 11 a.m., during a busy time when parking spots are the rarest, I deserve the ticket.

But what is the point of ticketing a car surrounded by empty parking spaces? Who was I hurting by parking there?

The same thing has happened to me when I parked in Stadium Parking Lot so that I could go to lacrosse practice. Practice is at 7 p.m. at night and once again my car was surrounded by a sea of vacant parking spaces. Yet still some ticketer decided that I was causing such a problem that I needed to be ticketed.

At what point does enforcing parking violations turn into a fund-raising campaign? And where does all the money go?

It cost me $30 to park for 30 minutes in a lot that was probably only being used by three or four other cars.

Now if the lot had been nearly filled and I was potentially stealing the spot of someone who had paid to park there, ticket me. I will not complain.

But it seems to me that I was an easy victim to either fill a ticketers' quota (as I have heard they have) or an easy way to raise $30.

Thirty dollars may not seem like a lot, but when you consider the budget of your average college student, every little bit counts.

The official rebuttal against the parking problem has always been the accessibility of the AppalCART.

Do not get me wrong. I applaud the university for making buses available to the school population.

But realistically, considering that my average day as a reporter forces me to constantly be on the move, I do not have a half-hour to wait for and then 20 minutes to ride on the bus.

Basically all I am saying is this. Parking should not be a black and white issue. Ticket me if I am taking a space away from someone who is supposed to be there. But if it is an empty parking lot, why?

To all those who ticket, it must be easy to leave fines on faceless windshields. But please, show a little judgment.

Ticketing should be a deterrent to those who carelessly park wherever they wish, only heightening the midday parking crisis on campus. Ticketing should not be a way of draining more money out of already financially burdened students.

COMMENTARY

The optimistic view: 'Get over it and be nice'

Kara Hodge

Lately I have run across two qualities that seem to be lacking in the human race Ñ honesty and niceness.

People are not so nice anymore and they are not so honest. I know I'm not perfect in these two areas, but I feel like the issue needs to be addressed.

First, the quality of honesty. Why is it lacking? Why do we feel the need to lie or stretch the truth?

We have all lied about little things like if we are late for something important or if we have done something stupid, but why do we lie about things that don't need to be lied about? Why are we so afraid of the truth?

I think we lie because we're afraid of how we feel and we're afraid to take responsibility for our actions. There have been too many instances in my own life where a roommate or a friend has lied to me because they are afraid that what they feel Ñ anger or sadness or whatever Ñ isn't important or relevant to me or the problem at hand.

And I know that we have all lied to someone simply to spare our pride. I've done something wrong (intentional or not) and lied about it to save my butt too many times to count.

My point is, don't throw out the truth just so you can look good or spare yourself some humility. Everyone makes mistakes and most people at one time in their life are afraid of what they feel.

Secondly, the quality of niceness. Where has it gone? People aren't nice or even polite anymore. Sadly, I have gotten used to the door not being held open by the person in front of me, being cut off in traffic (and given certain hand gestures) and had rude things said by total strangers.

I know that we all have bad days. I know that there are times in my own life when I want to tell the world to you-know-what, but that doesn't make it right for me to treat people badly.

Yes, life isn't fair and it doesn't work out the way we want it to. We have all been hurt by circumstances and those we are close to and we have all had hard times, but being bitter and mean about it will not make it go away.

Why are we mean to people? Why have we forgotten the importance of being polite?

I think we're mean to others because we are either threatened by them in some way or because we are afraid of them. We are mean because we forget that people have feelings. Other people need forgiveness as much as we do and because we are hurt ourselves at times.

My roommate has a saying that we try to live by in our apartment Ñ "Get over it and be nice." If I get my feelings hurt or get pissed, I try to just forgive that person and be nice to them.

Surprisingly, it works. And I'm sure you're thinking (like I do sometimes when I'm angry), "Well, what I deserve is for that person to get on their knees and beg for my forgiveness!" or "I'm right and they are wrong and I will not bend!" Get over your burning desire to always be right. Get over the fact that you want to make the person feel as bad as you do. It won't do any good.

There is no excuse for being mean. My co-workers at call me "the optimist." I just think life would be easier if, in our society, we started helping each other out a little more.

It could start with two qualities that go hand in hand Ñ honesty and niceness.

Our Perspective ...

Let SGA focus on campus issues rather than federal issues

The aftermath of a failed attempt by several Student Government Association (SGA) Senators and a handful of student organizations to pass a resolution of support for Section 484 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 has produced a bevy of controversy.

The defeated side fell three votes shy of having the Appalachian SGA join other student governmental bodies across the nation in calling for the repeal of a federal law prohibiting convicted drug offenders from obtaining federal financial aid.

Those in favor of the resolution, including members of the Appalachian chapters of the NAACP and ACLU as well as the Hemp Club, have a long list of reasons why Section 484 should be repealed, and have told The Appalachian they intend to reintroduce the resolution at tonight's Senate meeting.

This column is set aside twice weekly as our outlet to express the collective opinion of the editorial board. Our opinion?

We still feel the repeal of Section 484 would be an unwise move. Attempting to force this piece of legislation through the Senate would be equally as unwise.

A student governmental body at a mid-major university such as Appalachian State should not waste time pursuing the repeal of federal law. The Senate should deal with issues affecting students on a daily basis on the Appalachian campus.

Furthermore, members of the U.S. Congress and their respective staffs spend a tremendous amount of time and effort researching an issue before voting on the repeal of a controversial law such as the HEA.

We feel the respective leaders of the campus organizations and senators responsible for the resolution must realize the repeal of federal laws have no place on the agenda of a student governmental body with little political power on Capitol Hill.

Put bluntly, a resolution of support is just that. It is a non-policy bill. It does not repeal any laws, but lends SGA's support to a specific action.

An idea was presented to SGA last week. The Senate voted against it.

SGA should be allowed to focus on issues that are relevant to and attainable by students at this university instead of clogging the the Senate agenda with arguments spurred by leaders of special-interest groups.