N.C. A&T’s students have to face a difficult choice every year: whether or not to purchase a parking pass. 

Purchasing a parking pass not only hurts students’ pockets but it also leaves them with frustrations when they can’t find parking. Countless times this has made our peers late to class or have their cars towed.

Is it even fair to make us pay for unguaranteed parking spaces?

The answer lies within the question of whether colleges/universities are businesses.

N.C. A&T has given the African American community opportunities that many colleges historically did not. Even though it was made for a good reason it still needs money to operate like any other colleges. 

“I don’t see anything wrong with paying for a parking pass, but it shouldn’t be so expensive,” said Aiyahna Edward, a junior finance student.

Yes, college students should pay for parking passes and Ms. Edwards is absolutely right. The prices for a parking pass at N.C. A&T is $242 for an entire academic year according to ncat.edu. N.C. A&T dimes us every time we turn around. We have to pay for poor professors, textbooks, and unorganized housing. 

They don’t use the money they take from us wisely. Because of the lack of parking spaces, parking passes shouldn’t cost $242. Some students are traveling one hour away just to drive around the parking lot for 20 minutes looking for a place to park. 

Sometimes they have to risk receiving a ticket or getting towed just so they can attend class.

“I had to park on the side of the street illegally just to get to class on time,” said Trenté Dickens, a junior animal science student. “Then there are tons of reserved spots that some professors don’t seem to use.” 

For a business to not meet the needs of the customers is shameful. N.C. A&T has a high demand for parking and hasn’t sacrificed anything to accommodate the students. 

They should have more parking lots installed so that parking isn’t so scarce. Until those parking lots are made, they need to lower the parking pass prices because charging us the same amount that a textbook would cost is problematic. 

A business should not be allowed to sell a product that is not worth the cost. Having a parking pass allows you to park on campus grounds without getting a ticket.

However, most of the time you can’t use the parking pass because all of the parking spots are taken. 

Until this parking crisis is fixed, the parking pass price should be lowered because students still  have other expenses to pay for. Paying $242 for something that is unreliable is foul. We don’t have that kind of money to waste. 

Even though it is good for our luxurious campus to make money so it can continue to thrive, it’s not worth the pain of paying a substantial amount of money for something that is unstable.