In an effort to relieve students of overwhelming financial stress, the Office of Parking and Transportation at Wake Forest University announced on Sunday, April 1 that it would forgive all citations from the beginning of this semester and beyond. Students will no longer have to pay back outstanding fees and will be refunded for any tickets starting on January 1.
This decision came in part because of complaints by the student body that the Office of Parking & Transportation hindered day-to-day functions of campus life. Various students complained that they were unable to park anywhere on campus, thus had to resort to other means (roller blades, long boards, bicycles, or even walking) which disrupted their ability to perform the duties required of them as students. Walking from one’s dorm to class cannot be expected of students, and finally the administration took the side of students.
In addition to these valid complaints posed by students, others also complained about their deep debt continuing to build because of the various tickets they acquired. Some students that park in 30 minute spots for continuous days can surprisingly find themselves with hundreds of dollars in citations, unexpectedly and for no good reason. This was an issue brought to light by the students, ultimately requiring the Office of Parking and Transportation to take justifiable action.
The money lost from this endeavor will come directly out of President Hatch’s multi-million dollar salary, in a generous effort to bolster his support of students on campus. In the future, students can look forward to parking whenever and wherever they want as long as they purchase a parking pass.
Students can learn important lessons from this experience. Many took to social media platforms such as Snapchat and Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the Office of Parking and Transportation on campus, which were all seen and seriously considered in this landslide decision. Complaining about more tickets on your Snapchat stories does in fact cause change—keep it up.
