The Prospector (Helena, Mont.) 1916-2015, March 01, 2006, Image 15

T h e P rospector W W W .CARROLL.EDU LIMITED AND EXPENSIVE PARKING Above: The “ A Parking Lot\ close to the science building and Trinity Hall. by molly gardiner intern writer . 4 3 3 N . L a s t G u l c h H e l e n a , M T 5 0 6 0 1 ( 4 0 6 ) 4 4 3 - 0 3 7 9 : Mon-Sat 10am~5:30pm Sunday 12-4pm Specializing in: dent & rare beads anc ................„ .... ... , vintage beads delicas, seeds Also: “Go Saints” jewelry, Make your own jewelry for gifts, sports, and self-adornment. Bead-parties, group classes, and personalized help available. www.crazywomanbeading.com jane@mt.net As a poor student, the reward of a little pink slip of paper on the windshield of my car had me questioning Carroll College. I had been fined for coming to class. The seemingly hostile accommodation to students living off cam­ pus made me speculate, \Are they really not happy with the thou­ sands o f dollars I dish out to them each year?\ Surely I was not the only student with a car and no parking per­ mit. I had to wonder then, 'Is the school really punishing us,' or am I just being melodramatic and lazy ? Call me a penny-pincher if you must, but I wanted to prove it wasn't necessary to pay the extra fees. I conducted some small-scale research online and compared colleges. Sure enough, the majority of colleges I found similar to Carroll also had similar fees, such as Concordia in Minnesota and Morehouse in Georgia. However, I also found that Tri-State University in Indiana said on their Website they actually issued free parking permits to students, only requiring that all license plates were registered for safety pur­ poses. Determined to set things right, I set up a meeting with Dr. Jim Hardw ick, the vice president for student life. As many have already observed, there is not adequate parking for the volume o f students, faculty, and members of the community that visit the campus each day. Hardw ick did not deny this but he did present some convincing facts despite my opinion and research. Parking permits are considered \user fees,\ Hardwick said when I asked him why it wasn't covered in attendance costs. Hardwick also said the college is only able to list a limited amount of things as \mandatory fees\ for education, and Carroll has always viewed it as separate because it \falls out of the overall cost of education.\ Hardwick said that the money obtained by parking permits goes into the upkeep of the lights, re-striping o f lines, and replacing the asphalt, which is done every year. In 2000, an engineering firm determined the $30 then charged for permits was not sufficient in covering the expenses o f maintaining the parking lots, and suggested it be raised to $95. This price was not met until 2005 when Carroll designed the system currently in use. PARKING continued on page 16 VOLUME 89, NO. 5 W ednesday , M arch I, 2006