All students of St. Bonaventure University who own a vehicle and plan on parking that vehicle on campus need a student parking decal if they want to avoid receiving a ticket from campus security, as found in current university policy.
Some people, like Amber Canbek, a graduate student in the IMC program who lives off campus on East Union Street, find that security has been a little too rigorous with its ticketing of vehicles.
“They should be more lenient though when giving parking tickets, however,” said Canbek. “For example, if you’re parking in faculty/staff parking at night when there’s several spots still open, why bother with a ticket?”
Canbek also points out that the reality of the decal situation is far different for undergraduate and graduate students.
“I do have a decal,” said Canbek. “Keep in mind it costs way less for grad students.”
Hamaad Khan, a senior psychology major who also lives off-campus, said he has a decal and thinks that the ticketing policies are fair.
“I feel like it’s no different here than it would be anywhere else,” said Khan. “I think students should be very certain to make sure they know the rules for where they can get ticketed and why so that they can avoid it.”
Gary Segrue, the university’s security director, is the official on campus who coordinates the security forces that issue parking tickets to vehicles without a decal.
“Every student who parks on-campus needs to purchase a student parking decal regardless if the student lives on or off campus,” said Segrue. “There are no designated spaces for students that live off-campus.”
Segrue said students have a voice in these matters.
“The Student Government Association has representation on the university’s parking committee,” said Segrue. “The committee will be meeting in late October to begin discussion on changes for the next academic year. Suggestions for parking policy modifications should be brought to the student’s SGA representative.”
All revenue gained from parking tickets goes to the university’s general fund, according to Segrue.
Segrue also gave guidance on how a student goes about obtaining a decal.
“A student can log into my.sbu.edu and go to one stop, student account, parking decal application,” said Segrue. “The student can enter their vehicle information and the decal should be ready for pick-up the next business day. A student can also obtain a temporary parking decal 24/7 at the security office.”
Canbek provided her thoughts on the process of getting a decal for student vehicles.
“If you look online I feel like the process of getting a decal is pretty straightforward,” said Canbek.
Khan also said that getting a decal was a fairly easy process.
“I think it is pretty accessible,” said Khan. “Security is open 24/7, and you can just ask them for help. Typically, they do decals during business hours only though, I think.”
Canbek summed up her feelings on the matter.
“Though the decals are pricey for undergrads, I think that whole process is pretty fair,” said Canbek.
Segrue said that if students are interested in refreshing their knowledge of parking policies, they can find more information at https://www.sbu.edu/life-at-sbu/campus-safety/parking.
By Landon Allison, Associate editor
allisolj17@bonaventure.edu
