Parking Permit Stickers Should be Replaced with Placards

Maryam Shama, Co-Editor-in-Chief

As the amount of student drivers increases, students are required to buy parking permits for their cars at the cost of $40 per semester. Each permit is a sticker with the bulldog face, placed on the right hand side of the rear window of the vehicle to easily identify student drivers. Although student driver identification may promote a safer environment on campus, the sticker aspect of the permit causes it to be a hassle for many and a disadvantage for students off-campus.

“There should be more options for the parking permits because a sticker ruins the car; especially if you have a new car, and you don’t want to put a sticker on it, you have no other option,” junior Alex Maroufi said. “Some students may not officially own their own car yet, but they still need to have a sticker on it, which makes it difficult.”

Rather than a sticker, students should be given placards, similar to what staff is required to place in their vehicle, to allow for it to be removed when necessary. The placards could include student identification, such as their ID number or license plate number in order to avoid students sharing them.

The sticker permit is an issue as many students share cars with other family members, and the family may not be in favor of having a permanent sticker placed on their car. It additionally becomes problematic as it causes students to be easily identifiable in public. When off campus, the bulldog face on the rear window makes it clear to others that they are a student driver, making them more vulnerable as it is more aware to the public that they are of a younger age.

By simply changing the permit to a placard, it allows security to continue to identify student cars easily, while avoiding issues for the driver as well.