SARAH WUELLNER, Copy Editor—Many students bring their vehicle to campus to have the opportunity of exploring outside the small town of Granville. Living on campus all four years also means that a car is not necessary. However, many Deni- sonians enjoy the privilege of having a vehicle to escape campus. The only problem is finding parking. Some universities do not allow freshmen to have a car on campus due to limited parking. Luckily, Denison has space for all undergraduate students.
Parking is separated by designated zones on campus. Parking stickers coordinate class year with a specific color. The parking map shows how each zone is laid out. In my opinion, the zones on campus are not distrib- uted well. This year many first-years have been parking in the Shorney and Smith parking lot along with the Curtis lot. These lots are marked for seniors only. First-years are to park in the Ebaugh lot by the Mitchell cen- ter. It would be convenient for the first years to park closer to their resi- dence halls.
The seniors parking arrangement could possibly be moved to the Sil- verstein lot. This parking lot is un- derused as the back half of the lot is always empty. This brand-new park- ing lot should be taken advantage of. Moving all senior parking here would keep the seniors closer to- gether. It would separate the seniors from the first-year residence hall life. This would also benefit the freshman since they would not have to walk to and from North Quad to use their car.
Also, there is an issue with safety if a first-year came back from their car at night and had to walk up the hill alone. First-years who live on North Quad would probably prefer park- ing by Ebaugh pond, but those who live on West Quad probably do not enjoy the hike. Also, some students may only have classes at South Quad and therefore they are never at North Quad to use their car.
They may have brought their car, so they do not have to hike from West Quad to South Quad. Now they must choose between adding the extra time to get their car from Ebaugh and drive it to South Quad or just to do the South Quad steps. No matter what they choose, there is a hike involved. This can be a challenge for those with preexisting health concerns. Some students bring a car to campus and barely use it because they do not want to take the hike to Ebaugh. I be- lieve there are ways to compromise and make parking better on campus for all students. Seniors are probably struggling to find spaces when the first-years park in their zone. I be- lieve it is unfair for both sides. There is a limited amount of parking spaces behind Shorney, Smith, and Curtis. I do not believe Denison would expand these lots, however I do believe they could reevaluate the parking map.
Moving the seniors to Silverstein would work well since the Sunnies are not far from it. Even allowing the freshman to park at the Silverstein lot would be less of a hike and safety is- sue than parking at Ebaugh. Dension staff members park in these spots as well so sharing between the two small groups would work perfectly. Many first-years who have been parking on West Quad in recent weeks have re- ceived parking tickets for doing so. I believe the first-years are grateful to park their cars anywhere on campus, but having their designated lot closer to their residence halls would be ben- eficial to all.
Sarah Wuellner ‘24 is a theatre and educa- tion major from Hillsboro, OH.