Freshman George Passas commutes to campus daily. He parks on a side street near Taco Bell to avoid what he finds to be an excessively priced parking pass.
But in lieu of a parking pass, students like Passas may see a mandatory $100 transportation fee on their bills in the fall.
“I’m pretty upset,” Passas said. “I guess there’s really nothing we can do about it.”
Gene Grilli, vice president for finance and administration, said the mandate for students enrolled in six or more credit hours will be discussed at the June 5 board of trustees meeting for integration into the fiscal year 2013 budget.
“It would enhance the services a great deal,” Grilli said. “But I think it needs to be fleshed out more.”
This is similar to a plan discussed in spring 2011, which was subject to the Ohio Board of Regents’ exemption from an increase in tuition cap, delaying its implementation.
“We went through that process, and we were notified it would be exempt from the tuition cap,” said Ron Cole, director of university communications.
Students won’t be subject to additional costs, as parking passes are already $100 after this year’s increase.
Deterring that cost by parking off campus will no longer be possible, though, and Grilli sees this as a good thing, as many students who park off campus then hop on a shuttle to transport them to the campus core.
“There’s a lot of safety concerns,” Grilli said about students parking in seedy neighborhoods and walking to campus. “This will pull students into safe parking areas.”
Passas has never used a Penguin Shuttle.
“I feel like there’s so many YSU police and cops everywhere. I don’t feel like I’m in any danger,” Passas said.
Grilli admitted it may be slightly unfair to dorm residents and other non-commuters, but with the six-hour minimum, he said it would apply only to students who are on campus a fair amount.
“It’s hard to single out students that didn’t take the shuttle,” Grilli said. “Students enrolled in under five credits will have the option of purchasing a parking permit.”