Photo by Kailee Shores
Story by Sidelines Editorial Team
Parking on campus is notoriously bad at the beginning of each fall semester. Sidelines staff meetings over the past couple weeks have been riddled with complaining about not being able to find a reasonably close parking space. Our adviser is tired of hearing it (Of course he is, he has a white pass. Insert eye-roll emoji here), so we decided to take our whining to the worldwide web. Here are our parking diaries. Please, everyone, start skipping classes. Everyone’s lives improve significantly when people stop coming to campus.
Shauna Reynolds, Lifestyles and Features Editor
Aug. 29
About 15 minutes from campus I spied a green MTSU parking tag hanging in the car behind me. The competition. They’re all competition.
I envied the pedestrians and cyclists I saw on Womack. I can’t imagine such a carefree life. I headed to the Rec Center Lot to circle around and hope for the best.
I sent kind and gracious thoughts to the drivers around me. I don’t know if karma is real, but it’s worth a try. But I had no luck at the Rec Lot. A girl pulled into a spot I didn’t realize was open and I thought, “Good for her. I am so happy. For her.”
Next stop, Softball Lot. I paused at a crosswalk as an ocean of pedestrians flowed by. I mentally wished them all the best. A girl stopped and waved me through. That is not how crosswalks work.
Closer to the Softball Lot a long line of cars crawled from the opposite direction. I didn’t have trouble finding a space, though. I will say that last year I could get here at 8 and park wherever I wanted.
At 7:39 I found a spot. Not great, not terrible. Maybe karma is real?
Aug. 30
I left a little later on Friday, so I had to fight thicker traffic. I didn’t have an early class though, so that stress was removed.
It was Don’t Use a Turn Signal Day on Broad Street, I think. But I quit road rage cold turkey a couple weeks ago, so it was fine.
The scene on campus compared to Monday was like night and day. I almost hate to admit what an easy time I had parking. How I pulled into the Rec Lot and there was a spot waiting for me. I parked nose to nose with a car just like mine, which was very cute.
I headed to Bragg, and some asshole sped up so he wouldn’t have to stop for the crosswalk.
I wished him the best.
Jenene Grover, News Editor
Sept. 3
When I arrived on campus at 8:53 a.m. Tuesday and passed by the Livestock Lot, I noticed it fairly empty, as per usual. Just for fun, I decided that I would go and try my luck at the parking garage near the Softball Lot. I noticed the massive line outside the garage, and I opted to turn around in the Softball Lot.
Wrapping back around to leave the parking lot, I somehow found an empty spot on the FIRST ROW. I fear that I might have used up all of my parking luck for the semester in one fell swoop. Within two minutes of getting on campus, I found a prime parking spot for my short(er) eight-minute walk to Bragg.
Sept. 4
Wednesday, I got to campus and the Livestock Lot at 10:07 a.m. I don’t typically run down the aisles in desperation for a space; I park wherever I see an empty area in the parking lot.
The closest space I found was near the back of the Livestock Lot, leaving me a long, unpleasant walk in the warm weather. It took me 18 excruciating minutes to walk from where I parked to the James Union Building.
Bailey Brantingham, Features and Lifestyles Lead Reporter
First, I would like to note that I have been blessed to live in a house that is literally directly across the street from the southwest corner of campus. However, the walk to Bragg is just a little too far and a little too excruciatingly sweaty, so I drive to campus for one out of my four classes this semester. That one class does happen to be on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, though, AKA hell on earth in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. So parking thus far has been less than ideal.
Aug. 29
I was scrambling to finish writing an article, so I left the house a bit later than I should have (9:30 a.m.) for my 9:40 a.m. class. I drove up from the bottom of campus past the STU, so I paid my penance at the dreaded crosswalk in between the Rec Center and the STU (which usually tacks on at least another two minutes of waiting to my parking journey at the beginning of a semester.) I would like to briefly shout out the ABSOLUTE HEROES of MTSU who can see when the traffic is getting backed up and stop the crosswalk-goers in order to let cars pass (I love you.) After finally making it past the STU crosswalk and roundabout, I rode the bus lane (no shame) all the way to the turn in for the Softball Lot. Now, I know how to fight my way into a space in a full parking lot, so I scoured until I found an unsuspecting student walking back to their car. I flipped my blinker on to wait for the spot until, low and behold, here comes another car opposite from me stopping to wait for the same spot. Needless to say, the Southwestern corner of the Softball Lot turned into an old western style standoff for a minute, complete with slow head-shaking and intimidating eye-squinting on my part in hopes of scaring the other car off (I’m not kidding). But, you snooze you loose, and as soon as the car pulled out I literally SNATCHED that parking space. The other guy was pretty disappointed, but, if it helps, I’d like him to know that I was over ten minutes late to class that day, anyways.
Sept. 3
I think the first day back to class after Labor Day Weekend was grueling for all of us. Me, especially, as I had just returned home from an eight hour car ride the night before followed by a two hour car ride that morning from my hometown to make it to class on time. I left my house at 9:20 a.m. feeling pretty confident, and I took the chance of pulling into the Rec Center Lot just to see if there were any spaces in the tiny but closest green tag lot to Bragg (which is a gamble I’m always willing to take and *usually* fail.) It seemed I wasn’t too lucky that day, so I continued on to the Softball Lot. I waited at the STU crosswalk for a good three minutes (no crosswalk heroes today, unfortunately) and rode the bus lane to the abysmal Softball Lot. I managed to find an empty spot fairly quickly with no fighting, though, so it appeared my luck hadn’t disappeared just yet. I parked at 9:35 a.m. and walked at a leisurely pace to class feeling accomplished. I texted my friend to meet me in Bragg somewhere to chat before our class, to which she subsequently replied, “Girl, I’m already in the classroom.” It was then that I realized that my class did not, in fact, start at 9:45 a.m., but at 9:40 a.m., and I was already late. In my defense, my brain was still turned off and, in my mind, 9:45 a.m. is a much more logical time to start a class than 9:40 a.m. (that’s just random).
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