Parking Wars: Bowie State Edition

By Mondriahn Miller 

What seems to be one of, if not the biggest, issues surrounding Bowie State students and faculty currently is the parking situation and the blocked off parking lots around campus, according to a recent interviews conducted by The Spectrum. 

The parking lots behind Tubman Hall and the CLT, which are commuter and faculty parking lots, have been blocked off for over a month, leaving students and faculty impatient and frustrated with finding parking and getting to their classes on time.  

“The parking is affecting me,” said Amirah Lockhart, a senior who commutes to BSU. “If I were to leave campus in the middle of the day, I am most likely to spend 15 to 30 minutes driving around looking for a parking spot when I return.” 

Julian Harrell, a junior commuter student, complained that he has to park in areas reserved for residents. “Due to limited parking, most times I am forced to park behind Holmes Quad, which is technically on-campus resident parking, but I have no choice.”   

“I feel like it’s a major inconvenience and financial burden to commuter students because of the lack of parking or space allotted to us on campus,” said Renshaw James, a senior, commuter student. “[This is] in addition to them [waiting to repave] the parking lot behind CLT just prior to school opening.” James said he usually parks behind the CLT but is now parking behind CMRC. 

Not only are the commuter students bothered by the parking lot closings, but it’s having a domino effect on the on-campus students and faculty. 

“The parking has affected me because when its time for me to get to my classes, they do not start on time because my professors are late due to the limited parking spaces on campus,” said Kerell Maxwell, a graduate student who lives on campus. 

Dr. Lynne Long, director of field placement here at BSU, whose office is located in the CLT, said that a memo was sent out by the Office of Facilities Management about the parking lot situation. “Information is power. Once everyone knows what’s going on, then we can address the problem.”  

According to Dr. Long, an update from facilities management to faculty indicated that the parking lots are expected to be opened on Oct. 2, depending on the weather. The delay in repaving and reopening closed parking lots, the update said, is due to sub-grade soil beneath the asphalt in several areas that had to be removed before repaving.  

Although the parking situation has been a burden on campus for many drivers, it nice to see some positive reinforcement coming out of the situation. “Although I didn’t like it, I understand. It is good for me to walk further away, I needed the exercise,” Dr. Long stated.