Florida A&M University students were outraged Thursday because of parking restrictions.
With the stadium parking lot being blocked off because of Thursday’s football game, many FAMU students were left with one of the largest parking venues unavailable for use.
“I am very upset at the school as a whole because of the lack of consideration for students,” said Adrian Spence, 22, a senior business administration student from Miramar.
Spence said even after waking up early enough for class, he was still forced to park illegally just to make it to his class on time.
“Something needs to be done immediately to ensure that students can park and receive their education, which they paid for, in a timely fashion,” Spence said.
Although most students were angry, Chief James Lockley, Jr., assistant chief of police for FAMU’s police department said they kept students’ best interest in mind.
“To be fair to the students we only closed down the stadium,” Lockley said. “The parking garage and other general parking areas continued to stay open.”
Lockley said the majority of parking spots, over 2700, were available to students. Also, students were able to park on both Eugenia Street and Perry Street as an alternative.
Because of the parking limitations, most students had to bear with traffic in the parking garage. This problem forced students to be late for classes, meetings and other engagements.
“FAMU should take the time and think about the convenience of their students,” said Sheldrick Parke, 19, a chemistry student from Fort Lauderdale.
After searching for a spot for an hour and a half, Parke was finally able to make his meeting, which was scheduled 30 minutes before he arrived.
“It was not fair that I was late for my meeting because of parking. FAMU should find a better solution for their students, so we won’t have to experience this problem again,” Parke said.
Jasmine McKenzie said that it only took her 15 minutes to find a parking spot but she had to continually ask people when they were leaving.
“FAMU needs to get their act together and get more parking available for students,” said McKenzie, 19, a sophomore pre-nursing student from Lakeland. “They should make a central area for students to park so people won’t have to park so far away from their classes.”
This all day parking problem discouraged students and also left most feeling unmotivated.
“I woke up this morning in a good mood but as soon as I got on campus, these parking issues just made me not want to go to class anymore,” said Shalaner Pompey, 19, a sophomore chemistry student from Bradenton. “It’s frustrating to feel that my education was disrupted due to the lack of parking spots,” said Pompey.
Lockley said that the parking problem had never occurred before and created its own unique crisis.
“Even though this issue was slightly disruptive, just continue to be patient and this too will pass,” Lockley said.