Senators, representatives, government budget cuts, long walks, waiting, it all sounds like a bunch of excuses to me. A car allows students the freedom to go to work, go home, go shopping, go to class or even help their friends move. Students without cars have more problems than not.

Underclassmen today did not have the privileges the current upperclassmen had when we were freshmen. When we were freshmen and sophomores, parking passes were cheap, parking tickets cost next to nothing and we did not have far to walk from our dorms to our parking lots.

A lot of students around the tri-state area come here because of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s prestigious major programs. A lot of the time, they live two or more hours away from Platteville. If students need to go home on short notice, how would they be able to do it if they are not allowed to have a car at their disposal because a senior needed the parking spot? Students, faculty, staff and community members are outraged at the current parking policies, but at the same time people need cars. Students have inhibitions when it comes to asking for a ride to work, a ride home or even a ride to class from friends or even strangers. People do not like owing debts whilst having to rely on another for something necessary they need a vehicle for.

If there were to be parking policies enforced for students, there should be different parameters other than year in school. Work and distance from home should be on that list. Need base seems more critical than age.

Just because the University of Wisconsin-Madison has outrageous costs for parking and only allows certain aged students to bring cars to campus, does not mean UW-Platteville should follow. We are not Madison, we are Platteville. Let us make our own rules.

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Parking in or around the University of Wisconsin-Platteville is one of the most common complaints voiced not only by students but members of the community as well.

With a freshman class that is growing every year and a campus that is growing with it, space is becoming more of a commodity every year. Space around campus is so limited that there is even a designated university parking lot at Piggly Wiggly.

The pervasive problem has even drawn the attention of state officials Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City. The two attended a meeting of the Downtown Parking Alliance in September.

While the university has made strides to solve the issue, how to solve the parking dilemma remains a pertinent and resilient conundrum. With government funding being cut as fast as UW-Platteville is expanding, the most viable solution to problematic parking is to take after other campuses and limit or eliminate the ability for freshmen to bring a car.

Many students complain that the city is too spread out to function without a car. Commonly voiced complaints are, “Waiting for a shuttle to Walmart becomes a chore”, “Piggly Wiggly is just too far to walk” and “I need to go home on the weekends.”

In certain circumstances students must return home to help with the family farm and that is just the nature of attending an agrarian university. Students of another variety however, should take advantage of the university’s willingness to facilitate much needed transportation.

Regulating parking would prove beneficial for the students who would have to go without a car as well. Having a car on campus is expensive. Between buying parking passes and gas used taking impromptu shopping trips, the amount of money that students would save is fairly substantial.

Understandably regulating underclassmen bringing cars to campus is an unpopular position with students. Regulation, however, is a more immediate solution to the problem at hand.