A limited number of parking permit exemptions were available for first-year residential students this year, as they are not automatically allowed to bring a car to campus, according to Assistant Vice Chancellor of Public Safety Adrian Andrews.
According to the TCU Parking and Transportation website, first-year students who submitted a parking request were entered into a lottery.
“Not having my car here has definitely been an adjustment,” Lauren Oshita, a first-year speech pathology major, said. “At home, I was able to drive to the grocery store or drive to the pharmacy and pick up my medicine, but now it’s hard because I have to find a ride or I have to spend money on Uber.”
Out of 900 first-years who applied through the lottery, 500 students received parking permits. That is significantly fewer than last year, when TCU issued about 1,000 first-year permits, Andrews said.
“It’s hard as a first-year student, because sometimes you get homesick, but you can’t really leave without spending money,” Faith Reilly, a first-year general business student, said.
Uber rides can be expensive, with rides ranging from around $8 for nearby destinations and $24 when traveling to the Fort Worth Stockyards, not including tips, according to the Uber app.
Although some students cannot park on campus, others still brought their cars to Fort Worth.
“I park my car off campus because an upperclassman offered to let me pay to park behind her house,” Hana Riley, a first-year nursing major, said. “It’s frustrating because walking to that spot takes a lot more time than if I were able to park on campus, and I have to pay for this spot monthly instead of paying for the TCU permit only once a year.”
Students who live nearby are having a hard time without their cars, especially when it comes to visiting home.
“The downside that affects me the most is not being able to go home when I need to,” said Leah Gartrell, a first-year strategic communications major. “Being from Houston, the drive home is only about four hours, so it’s been frustrating to see people from states away who have their cars, but I can’t have mine.”
Bringing their cars to campus gives students a sense of independence. Without one, they often rely on others to get them from place to place.
“Having my car would kind of allow me to escape college life if I wanted to,” Reilly said. “Sometimes I wish I could go for a drive or go places by myself, but I’m just stuck on campus, surrounded by people 24/7.”
This change to cars on campus brings forth positive opinions about building community, not just negative ones.
“Not having my car last year was a really good opportunity for me to be able to get to know older girls better because I was relying on them for rides,” Brynn Bowman, a sophomore criminal justice and psychology major, said. “If I were able to drive myself everywhere that I went, then I wouldn’t have had as many interactions with older girls in my sorority.”
Whether it’s a pro or a con, the new parking and transportation rules force first-year students to navigate independence at TCU. It may also, however, lead them to create more community on campus.
“Honestly, I think that it’s not absolutely necessary to have your car on campus,” Bowman said. “I think that it’s definitely a benefit, but I do think that it is a good opportunity to learn about what you truly need to use the car for when you don’t have one your first year.”
