James Parker, Contributing Writer
Obscenities are used.
Frustrated at this academic year’s new parking policy requiring students to be assigned to parking lots five minutes away from their residence halls, students have turned to the one place to (anonymously) say what’s on their mind: YikYak. One of their posts became the most popular YikYak post in Sewanee history. It asked, “Where’s your assigned lot” with an attached photo of a police car parked on the sidewalk in front of the duPont Library. Students began posting photos of police cars in fire lanes, on sidewalks, and in front of academic buildings.
Another YikYak post stated, “Why are we ticketing on days that people are trying to move out? Like seriously…” This post which appeared during the final week of the 2024 Advent semester, received 170 upvotes and 18 comments. One commenter wrote, “Anytime I’ve been ticketed it’s been an honest mistake or I parked in the wrong stop for a very short amount of time. I rarely park out of my assigned lot.”
Rodgers McCullough (C ’28) told The Sewanee Purple,, “I think [the tickets] might be the most disgusting [thing].”
That’s not an isolated reaction.
The administration rolled out the policy last fall with statements that it would solve chronic parking woes, especially for faculty and staff, and would encourage sustainability. “By getting student parking under control,” Provost Scott Wilson told The Purple last fall, ”it reduces our carbon footprint, helps promote walking and biking, and I think it’s not said enough that… America is largely sedentary.”
Under the new student parking policy, The Sewanee Police Department ticket students parked at the Tennessee Williams Center on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: when most classes take place.
That, some students say, has led to ticketing mayhem, even for people who have accommodations allowing them to use handicapped-only parking spots.
James Mennell (C ’28) said he’s had to deal with tickets on his car almost daily since he moved into a ground-floor room at Hoffman after undergoing knee surgery in January for a torn ACL “I’ve gotten too many to count,” he said. “They’re really sneaky. I’ve never seen them ticketing, but I get them every day.”
He said was issued two temporary handicapped parking permits by the police department; he keeps one one taped to his rear view mirror and another taped onto his rear window. He added that he has appealed each of the tickets but gotten no response from the police department and worries that he could end up with hundreds of dollars in fines.
“When I’m parked in a handicapped spot with a handicapped pass, I think they should get the message,” he said. “It’s really silly.”
Avoiding tickets means long treks for other students. Nico Richards (C ’28), a resident of Benedict Hall, said he has to walk 10 minutes to get to his car. He said, “It makes me want to never leave my dorm. I don’t mind walking to Clurg or [to] classes on the main part of campus, but there isn’t parking there anyways, so I wouldn’t drive there even if I could,” he said. “. I spend a lot of time in the Tennessee Williams Center, which is about a mile walk from Benn[edict]y. Sometimes I have to go there several times per day. I usually just end up carpooling with someone else, which I suppose is more environmentally friendly.”
Richards said, “The fact that people from Hodge have to walk 15+ minutes to get literally anywhere on campus is unfair.”
In my discussions with Hodgson Hall residents, many said that they had to walk over a mile to their assigned parking zone. However, some Hodgson residents told me they were content because the dorm’s residents were assigned to the lot adjacent to their dorm.
When told that the parking policy assures that students should have to walk approximately five minutes from their parking zones to their dorms, McCullough was terse: “B.S.” As a resident of Hoffman Hall, a dorm located near central campus, he claims it takes him “12 minutes to walk to campus. And it’s a long 12 too,” he said. “I think when they say Sewanee is a ‘walking campus,’ yes, it’s true, but that doesn’t mean it has to be enforced in such a strict manner…Most people would walk to class if they’re in a reasonable dorm anyways. I would never find myself driving to class. I think most people are the same way.”
Many have reported receiving $60 parking tickets, a price that many students interviewed labeled “unreasonable.” “The ticketing? I think it’s outrageous. $60 is way too much,” said McCullough. “They’re too harsh on the ticketing. It very much seems like… a money grab, which is not what this school needs.”
As a reflection of students’ frustration, a 1-star Google review for the Sewanee Police Department states: “SPD lacks empathy for people. More concerned about ticketing people to reach a quota rather than the safety of the community. I’m a basketball player here and I can’t even park at the basketball gym without getting ticketed. Students pay 50 grand or more to go to school here and these police make it more. Hope Sewanee does something about this department.”
The Sewanee Police Department declined a request for an interview.