It is simply amazing the number of times students who attend Alabama State University are told “students are our first priority,” “you are the reason why we are here,” and the most familiar line is “we take our students’ concerns very seriously.”
Students hear these phrases continually, and many have begun to wonder, “Do they walk the walk or just talk the talk?”
The most recent example of why students feel this way is the recent email received regarding student parking during home games. The department of public safety sent out an email informing students that the university had arranged designated parking for their vehicles for home game days.
Students are required to move their vehicles to the designated parking lots (Acadome, Lot V in front of the Acadome/Student Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Lot, Peyton Finley Lot, Bessie Benson/Bessie Estell Lots, Abercrombie Lot, Jo Ann Robinson Lot, Card Hall Lot) by 5 p.m. on Friday before Saturday’s football game. In addition, if students fail to move their auotomobiles to the designated areas, towing would begin promptly at 9 p.m. on Friday.
There are some who would say, “Well what’s so bad about that, at least they are giving students selected areas to park?”
The problem is that students pay a parking fee to park on campus. Parking is not free, and students are given designated areas that they have to park. Since students pay for parking, why would students not be given an explanation, consulted with or considered about this arrangement before it occurs?
Would it be so difficult for university administrators to contact all students who own cars and arrange a meeting so that students can be informed of the reasons why students will need to move their cars to the designated parking areas, and why they feel that their recommended course is the best course of action?
It is actually demeaning to students to receive an email that does not take the time to greet us (Good morning, Good Afternoon) but has the words “High Importance” and follows with the words “Please take note of the following parking instructions for students.”
While the majority of on-campus students are between the ages of 18 to 24, we consider ourselves as young adults and would love to be treated in that fashion. If students are really the university’s first priority or the reason why the faculty and staff are here, why is it that our opinions are never considered in the decisions that are made?
To enlighten you even more, so that there is no confusion, what if the employees who work in William Hooper Councill Hall were told to park behind the stadium on Harris Way for the next three months, even though they had purchased parking for their desired lots in front of Councill Hall? Those employees would become angry and frustrated and believe that an explanation is owed, and owed immediately.
Our point exactly!