Six parking spots outside the Living Center were transformed to faculty-only spots for the start of the semester.
Gabby DeMarchi
Editor-in-Chief
When students living in the Living Center (LC) returned from winter break, lugging all of their suitcases, groceries and accessories, they made the unsettling discovery that six of the closet spots to the actual entrance of the LC had been turned into “No Student Parking” spots.
“I was really surprised when I first heard of these parking spots being designated to faculty only,” said junior, car owner, and LC resident Connor McGuire. “There are barely enough parking spots on campus for us students to park in.”
The spots were apparently designated for faculty who teach in Blake Hall, but the students living in the LC are confused as to why those six spots were taken away from them, and why the faculty can’t park where they used to.
“I was under the impression that the faculty had their own parking lot on Wilbraham Road behind Cheney,” McGuire said. “I find it hard to believe that all members of the faculty have a difficult time finding room to park in that lot. I think that if a professor is unwilling to park in their usual parking lot and walk to their class in either Blake or Locklin in inclimate weather, then they should just cancel their class.”
While there are several parking spots in the LC lot, the six that were designated for faculty only happen to be six of the closet to the entrance of the Living Center.
“If you have groceries or anything like that, then you have to travel the entire length of the parking lot,” explained junior, LC resident and car owner Erin Linskey. “You can’t get a close spot, which makes it extremely inconvenient.”
Many students living in the Living Center feel as if they are being put below the faculty and staff with this new move, and do not foresee the school changing their minds on this decision.
“I do not believe Springfield College will go out of their way to change this decision because it appears that the student body was not their main concern initially in their decision,” junior, LC resident and car owner Kevin Hughes said.
“I do feel that the school should revise their decision to take away these six parking spots from the students,” McGuire reiterated. “Parking in the LC parking lot is difficult as it is. I try to leave campus as little as possible just so I can maintain my mediocre parking spots. I would still be very surprised if the school revoked their decision because if the students were their No. 1 priority, they would not have made this decision in the first place.”
Whether the students like it or not, the six faculty parking spots are here to stay for now, and it is a new addition that Living Center residents will have to start getting used to.