A couple of weeks ago I left the W.T. Young Library to discover a boot had been placed on my car. I was not parked illegally, as any person is allowed to park there, permit or not.

There is an hourly charge that one must pay before exiting the lot. After having been in the library a mere 10 minutes, I walked toward my car and saw a Parking and Transportation Services vehicle behind it. I asked the woman in the green and yellow truck why I was being towed, and she responded that I had overdue citations. In order for the boot to be removed from my car I had to immediately pay a fine of over $120.

I am not simply someone who is angry for having to pay for parking citations. I was clearly in the wrong when I had parked illegally in the past. I am someone, though, who believes revisions need to be made within PTS in order to better serve the community.

Currently, I am an independent student attending UK. I am 24 years old and struggling to make it through school without any financial help from my parents. I work nights as a server to pay my bills, and I am lucky if I have enough money for food with gas prices the way they are now.

I receive student loans, but I still cannot afford to get a parking permit at the beginning of each semester. Having one, it seems, is a luxury. Tuition is always on the rise, and it is ridiculous that a student must pay more than $200 extra to simply be able to park on campus.

There is already a shortage of parking near campus, and this is frightening for female students like myself who have evening classes. I refuse to walk two miles across campus in order to avoid a citation, especially when it is for my own safety.

What is more important to UK, receiving money for parking citations or the well-being of students? The PTS is not serving the community, but rather is there to simply give out tickets.

And I thought UK was supposed to be a university that caters to its students.

Sandy Dee Martin

English sophomore