By Alizah Salazar, Staff Reporter
Parking on campus is an expensive pain in the you-know-where. In case anyone reading this wasn’t aware, CSUDH students pay $200 per semester for their parking permits – that’s $400 every school year. That’s not exactly cheap, especially for students like me. Honestly, it’s way past time for the university to reconsider the cost of permits.
The university sets the cost of permits after surveying the cost of parking at other campuses in the local area. According to Jessica Garcia, the director of CSUDH parking and transportation services, that survey is then presented to the university president, who ultimately approves or denies the recommendation. Garcia told me the current $200 price tag was approved in 2018. She acknowledged that Toros have voiced their frustrations with the cost, but said state regulations “require anyone parking [on] a [California State University] campus to pay a fee.”
Some people may think that’s a fair price to pay, especially given CSUDH’s lower cost overall. Students at CSU-Long Beach, for example, pay $259 per semester; they pay $171 during the summer session. Toros pay less for their permits, sure, but there are plenty of students enrolled here who are barely making ends meet.
(For what it’s worth, most CSUDH faculty will pay $135 to park for the entire academic year. Just saying.)
Students who work full- or part-time jobs must balance their classes and their work schedules. Factor in other expenses like textbooks, food, rent, and school supplies, and the high cost of a parking permit just seems like an additional burden.
“Adding another expense onto our already unstable financial states can be seen as unfair to many students who have been unable to pay for basics for their education,” said Taylor Sharp, a senior journalism student.
And then there’s the issue of the parking lots themselves. Many students, staff, and faculty park in lots 3 and 6 – why wouldn’t they? Those lots are closest to the buildings and facilities most of us on campus use every day: Welch Hall, LSU, Cain Library, and Student Health Services. Finding a spot can be difficult some days, and not to sound lazy, but it’s a long walk from lots on the other side of campus to, say, the North Lawn or East Walkway.
I’d like to see the fee factored into the cost of tuition, personally, but that might not be possible. Garcia, the parking services director, told me tuition costs are reviewed and approved through a different process – another win for bureaucracy, I guess.
At a time when student debt is a critical national issue, the institution should consider eliminating extra burdens for students. In my opinion, the university should at least explore ways to make student permits more affordable. After all, most students commute to campus – some from places far from Dominguez Hills – high parking fees shouldn’t be another roadblock for them on their way to a college degree.
