The priority registration window has been open for all current UK students since 8 a.m. Wednesday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone can register for classes.

The university has 89 holds, from various departments, that they can place on students’ accounts making them unable to register for courses.

UK’s Department of Parking and Transportation has the ability to place a hold if a student has more than $30 of unpaid parking citations — a policy that has been successful in encouraging students to take care of their fines, according to Chrissy Tune of UK Parking and Transportation.

The process itself is a burden all students have to worry about every registration window, but the Kernel believes this process, while it has been effective in producing payments for citations, is not formatted with students’ needs in mind.

“This is not a new process,” Tune said. “We send (an e-mail newsletter) out about a week before the priority registration window begins, just to remind students — to say ‘Hey, check your student account. Make sure you don’t have any unpaid parking citations or any other unpaid fees that might affect your ability to register for classes.’ We really try to let people know well in advance.”

There is no other option for students who want to register for classes than to pay the citations – whether online or by mail, in person or mailed in.

Of course this leads to problems: students who are trying to graduate in May can’t get into classes, students who received tickets by mistake — such as when a friend borrows the car and gets a citation — are responsible for the hold and it becomes a financial strain for most students, some of whom are self-supporting.

Instead of being responsible for the tickets every semester at registration, the Kernel editorial board believes the tickets should be accumulated until a student’s graduation and that the penalty of refusing to pay them should be an inability to graduate.

This option gives students plenty of time to pay the tickets. There is no excess burden put on their academics and, as responsible adults, students understand that withholding diplomas is a severe penalty that will convince students to take care of our tickets.