Why does a university with a nationally ranked journalism school have so many internal PR problems? I’ll concede that the school’s communication efforts are excellent in regards to Carolina Alert’s 20 different communication methods, the Blackboard messaging system and the wide array of student media, social media pages and websites available. Still, the university consistently fails in one specific instance: notifying students of parking lot, computer lab and other common area closings.
I’ll never forget how an unannounced parking lot closure at the B.A. Hipp building resulted in me being 35 minutes late on test day, despite arriving on campus 15 minutes early – just to park. And this is not an uncommon, or infrequent, occurrence. Since matriculating here, I’ve frequently lost access to my paid parking without advance notice for this not so minor inconvenience. And I would think from all of the university’s propaganda, about this year’s extremely large freshman class and the new motto “No limits,” that the number one stakeholder is the students. And I’m not alone in this sentiment. Yes, the university does everything with us in mind except for making our number one concern less of one. It’s noted by students, faculty and staff that parking is a frustrating situation. Even teachers park illegally just because they can’t find a space. Since 2003, I feel each year I return that USC performs a magic trick and parking spaces are the subject of a disappearing act.
My solution: I would like a campus-wide notification system for parking lot closures. We already have the infrastructure to implement a solution. The solution is to add a parking lot closure component to the NextBus app, or create an app. Understanding that this is a third-party app, it may not be open to developers; however, a proprietary app could be created, as well. Ideally, parking lot closures would be in the system at least 24 hours before the expected date. Each building with a parking lot would send weekly schedules for the lot to the university Vehicle Management & Parking Services office. From there the parking services will compile a master schedule and enter the information on the NextBus Information System. This way students, faculty and visitors will be be able to plan accordingly. Now, this doesn’t fix the crux of the parking issue. However, this is huge step in mending a touchy subject with students. Now, fancy that.
Namaste,
J. Rochelle Lowery
(Pronounced Che)