Courtney Kelly
Ms. Hardy
Eng.101-007
11 November 2014
Too many Students, too Little Parking
Thesis: In order to create a less chaotic atmosphere, and reduce frustration amongst students, Liberty University administration should: build more parking garages, create better bus transportation, and not allow freshman students to bring cars on campus.
Audience: Liberty University Administration.
Purpose: For students, the chances of finding a parking spot on the Liberty University campus is very slim. If the Liberty University Administration wants to create a less chaotic atmosphere and less frustration for students they should consider: building another parking garage, creating better bus transportation and not allowing freshman students to bring cars on campus.
Main Supporting Points:
I. By building a parking garage there would be enough parking spaces for Liberty University students.
A. Parking garages are big enough to guarantee parking spots for all students living on and off campus.
B. If students knew that there was ample space for parking their cars, it would create less stress for them.
1. Wendling supports the claim that for students, when trying to find a parking space, it can be very emotional.
2. Students already have the huge responsibility of staying on top of class work and being on time for classes; they should not have to deal with the extra amount of stress when trying to find somewhere to park.
II. Liberty University Administration should create better bus transportation.
A. If there were a convenient bus route on campus, students would then not have to struggle with the difficulty of finding available parking space.
B. It can be very appealing to students to not travel by car if their school provides easy and direct access to buses on campus grounds.
C. Reasonable bus transportation would help create less air pollution.
1. Jake Jeppesen and John Dorsett state, “Parking resources can play a vital role in advancing the campus mission of becoming a better environmental steward”.
2. Jeppesen and Dorsett present their design plan for a “greener” and healthier parking garage for people and the planet.
III. Liberty University freshman students should not be able to bring cars to school.
A. The freshman class is the largest class at Liberty University.
B. It can encourage freshman students to be more involved on campus.
1. There are many weekend activities that are in walking distance for students like: movie nights, skiing, snowboarding, and tubing at Snowflex, trail races, major events like Coffee House and Block Party, concerts, bonfires, and many sporting events
2. It is important for freshman students to get involved because it helps them to stay active on campus and also helps them to build stronger and healthier relationships with other students.
C. It gives the upperclassmen a sense of relief knowing there will be room for them to easily find a parking space when getting to classes.
1. It should be an upperclassmen privilege to be able to park their cars on the Liberty University campus. 2. It gives freshman students something to look forward to in the near future when they are allowed to bring cars.

Courtney Kelly
Ms. Hardy
Engl.101-007
11 November 2014
Too Many Students, and Not Enough Parking For students, trying to find a parking spot at Liberty University campus can be daunting, at best. Through the past several years, as campus has become more crowded, this problem has increased, and will continue to increase as Liberty University grows at rapid pace. Although administration has recently built a parking garage, it still has not fixed the problem. In order to create a less chaotic atmosphere, and reduce frustration amongst students, the Liberty University administration should build another parking garage, create a more convenient bus transportation system, and not allow freshman students to bring cars on campus.
On campus there seems to be a greater need for parking spaces than accessible parking spots. In the article “Parking Smarter” Bridget Gorman Wendling supports the idea of a structured parking system at colleges by stating, “Evaluating parking needs, developing a strategy, and implementing a sound plan can enhance a students’ college experience while boosting a community college’s revenue and reducing expenses.” An improved parking garage would be big enough to guarantee a parking spot for every student living on and off campus, helping students avoid the emotional distress that occurs when searching for somewhere to park. Wendling makes another statement saying, “Parking is very emotional. Ask anyone late for class who can’t find a spot. People have opinions, horror stories – even rage – about parking.” For students, college is very stressful alone and parking should not have to cause students additional stress. If students knew that there was ample space for parking their cars it would spare them a huge amount of stress and irritation when rushing to get to class.
The convenience of a parking garage would not only save students the frustration, but it would also save them a crucial amount of time each morning. In the article “Building sustainable parking lots with the Web of Things” it states, “About 70 million hours are spent a year by motorists in France looking for parking” (Matthew, Atif, Sheng, & Maamar, 895). This example could be easily related to Liberty University where students undoubtedly spend hundreds or even thousands of hours in total every year searching for parking. In Sara Lipka’s article “No Parking? No Problem” she also addresses a teacher’s frustration about the time spent when looking for available parking. She states, “For Scott R. Creel, professor at Montana State University, driving and parking his car would take about 30 minutes. Mr. Creel says he ‘can use that same half-hour to get in a five-mile run’.” The amount of time students spend trying to find a parking spot could easily be solved if they had access to another parking garage.
The problem of a lack of parking is so great that those searching for parking spots often take extreme measures. Lipka takes a comical approach on the issue by stating, “Rather than commuting to and from college classes by car school members would rather opt to travel by airplane, skis, or by foot instead.” The time consuming process of trying to find an open parking space should not be so complicated. Without a doubt, more studies and research on the parking at Liberty must be done, but if the Liberty University Administration were to simply agree on building another parking garage, it would save many students unnecessary time and frustration. Another way to create a less chaotic atmosphere for students trying to find available parking would be for the Liberty University Administration to create a more convenient bus transportation system. If Liberty University would provide easy and direct access to buses on campus grounds, students would be more likely to refrain from traveling by car. Currently, Liberty University does have a bus transportation system, but the busses are often very crowded and inconvenient. There are certain places on campus, like the Square or South Tower that are nearly impossible to reach on a bus route. More bus stops and bus routes should be added in order to create a system where students can easily get around campus without having to walk a long distance to a bus stop and then having to transfer to another bus. Traveling by bus can also significantly decrease air pollution, noise corruption and traffic jams. In the article “Colleges and Universities Are Taking a Fresh Look at Campus Parking”, authors Jake Jeppesen and John Dorsett state, “Parking resources can play a vital role in advancing the campus mission of becoming a better environmental steward.” As global warming becomes more of an issue each day the idea of using public transportation is highly encouraged. Creating a more convenient bus transportation system would not only benefit the students attending Liberty University but it would also “contribute to a cleaner and healthier planet for everyone to live on” (Jeppesen & Dorsett). If the necessary changes were made, hopefully fewer students would feel the need to have cars on campus and would simply rely completely on busses. Another position Liberty University Administration could take would be to not allow freshman students to bring cars on campus. Lipa reports, “As colleges continue to experience record enrollments, administrators must face the challenge of growth.” Normally, the freshman class is the largest class at any college or university. Limited campus parking would drastically improve if freshman were simply not allowed to bring cars on campus. An interesting aspect to freshman students not having cars on campus would be that they would be more encouraged to get involved with on-campus activities and meet new people. Although some students may think they need a car to fully enjoy their college experience, there are many fun and exciting activities going on every weekend for students here on campus. The activities that Liberty University offers includes everything from movie nights, skiing, snowboarding, and tubing at Snowflex, trail races, major events like Coffee House and Block Party, concerts, bonfires, and many sporting events. None of these activities require having a car, but instead provide opportunities for students to get involved and take advantage of all that Liberty University has to offer. Not only would this rule benefit the freshman, but it would also benefit the upperclassmen. The upperclassmen would be able to experience a sense of relief and a decrease in stress just by knowing that they will easily be able to find a parking spot. At Liberty University, it should be a privilege for upperclassman students to be able to park their cars on campus. It really gives freshman students something to look forward to in their near future. If freshman students were not allowed to bring cars on campus it would not only resolve the parking problem, but it would also be beneficial for freshman students needing to get more involved on campus. In many aspects Liberty University is an exceptional campus that is well thought out and very functional. However, unless changes are made, looking for an available parking space on the Liberty University campus will continue to remain impossible. Though this problem needs to be studied and researched more thoroughly, Liberty University Administration can begin to take important steps in helping create a less chaotic parking atmosphere. Whether Liberty University decides to build a parking garage and create extra parking space, create a better bus transportation system, or refrain from allowing freshman students to bring cars on campus, action must be taken. School alone is a stressful responsibility for students and students should not be burdened with additional stress by the constant worry of not having a place to park.

Work Cited
Jeppesen, Jake, and John Dorsett. "Colleges and Universities are Taking a Fresh Look at Campus Parking." Planning for Higher Education 42.2 (2014): 33-6. ProQuest. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Lipka, Sara. “No Parking? No Problem.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 51.17
(2004): 0-A4. ProQuest. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
Mathew, Sujith Samuel, Yacine Atif, Quan Z. Sheng, and Zakaria Maamar. “Building
Sustainable Parking Lots with the Web of Things.” Personal and Ubiquitous
Computing 18.4 (2013): 895-907. Springer Link. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Wendling, Bridget Gorman. "Parking SMARTER." Community College Journal 81.5
(2011): 62-3,65,67,69. ProQuest. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.