Thousands of students flock to the campus of Sonoma State University in search of a space to study and prepare for the upcoming week of finals.  

this time, the 9300 students of Noma Nation crowd the library, study rooms and cafes for hours on end to get as much cramming in as possible, which is also causing a crowding in the parking lots around campus.  The lack of parking spaces available and the amount of students on campus has become an issue that has captured the attention of Associated Students of Sonoma State.

In a Senate meeting held Friday, Dec. 11, Associated Students decided to hear the resolution.  Every year, students have something to say about how to improve parking at Sonoma State, so Associated Students has decided to give their fellow Seawolves a voice.  The resolution calls for the extension of general parking passes to include reserved evening parking pass spaces and hours, as well as making parking available all weekends.

Out of the 9,414 students that attend Sonoma State University, only 29 reserved evening parking passes have been purchased, as of Oct. 30.  

Modern college students are hounded with various financial burdens, whether it be tuition, transportation, books or groceries, so extending the boundaries of the General Parking pass will help ease some of that burden.

“I could afford the $98 general parking pass, but the $175 reserved evening pass was just out of my financial ability,” said freshman environmental studies and planning major Nick DiMario. “Having available parking spaces should not be the student’s worry, it should be provided.”

Besides the financial factor, the safety of students is also a big reason for Associated Students being the voice of the campus community on this issue.

According to a release put out by Associated Students, students have expressed their concern when walking to and from their evening classes from General Parking lots, citing poorly lit walkways and long distances as the main reasons for feeling like their safety is at risk.

“Walking to class at night, especially after the time change, is that much more sketchy,” said Alyssa Mejia, junior kinesiology major at Sonoma State. “And during finals week, parking becomes more and more scarce, and even further away from campus each time.”

Of the five closest parking lots to buildings on campus that involve the least amount of walking for students, four are reserved lots.  This includes Lot A, parking closest to Carson Hall and the Art Building, Lots B, C and D, which all surround the library and are closest to the Student Center and the Recreation Center.  These areas, especially during the last two weeks of school, see the most foot traffic on a daily basis and are the areas students would prefer to park in.  

“I have received two tickets in the last month of the semester because no general parking was left,” explained Junior Business Marketing major Thomas Lynch. “So I chose to park in reserved lots because after spending twenty minutes going up and down the general parking, I was fed up.  I have only done this twice, and both times I got a ticket for it.  There just is not enough parking.”

Parking services is constantly working towards making parking easily accessible to students and will continue to find ways to alleviate parking struggles during times where students are on campus most, particularly during finals week.  The school has already allocated for more study spaces on campus, but that is only half of the battle.  

For any further information or to clarify any outstanding questions, visit Police and Safety Services on campus or visit sonoma.edu/ps.