The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

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Brian Richardson, Contributor • March 28, 2024
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SMU’s sorority parking dangerous

Parking near SMU’s sorority row is all about luck and is turning into something more on the dangerous side: long walks in the dark with life-threatening scares.

Fall classes at SMU were in session for three weeks and there were five assaults reported. Three of these five assaults were sexual assaults that occurred on campus during nighttime hours.

Due to the recent rape cases on SMU’s campus, it is not safe for sorority residents to walk far distances at night because of a lack of available parking spots.

Airline Garage is an alternative to the outside lots. However, the garage is almost always full during the week especially during regular class hours. At night, walking from the garage tends to be frightening and hazardous because of the intersection at Airline Road and Daniel Avenue.

The crosswalk lights at the intersection do not work, which makes this alternative an even more dangerous option.

In the past, when criticized about the lack of parking, Director of Park ‘N Pony Mark Rhodes said, “Location, location, location is everything…People want to park next to the front door.”

Without a doubt, sorority residents want to park near the front door to help prevent possible dangerous attacks or life-threatening situations.

On-campus residents purchase parking passes that cost $280 in hopes of being able to find parking spots close to their residence. However, this is not the case for sorority residents who struggle everyday to find open spots.

The lack of parking is partially because of the construction of the Chi Omega house located next to the Faculty Club building. As a result, there are about 14 parking spots located in the construction zone that cannot be used for parking.

Another reason for the lack of parking availability is because University Park changed about 40 parking spots surrounding Sorority Park from public parking to two-hour parking. This makes it nearly impossible for sorority residents to use these spots during the week because of the difficulties faced trying to relocate one’s car between classes.

University Park should change their two-hour parking spots back to regular parking for the safety of SMU students. This will open about 40 parking spaces that sorority residents will have access to. These parking spots are close to the sorority houses and can possibly prevent nighttime assaults from occurring.

SMU plays a role in this as well. The SMU administration needs to make this appeal to University Park.

University Park: it is time to change the two-hour parking back to regular parking. Help prevent sexual assaults one parking spot at a time.

Burst is a senior majoring in journalism and statistics.

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