On May 21, I rode my bike to the MSU Veterinary Medical Center. After a long day, I walked outside to discover that someone had stolen my bike!
I walked inside the clinic to get the number of the campus police from the receptionist, only to find out that she had seen an MSU truck with numerous bikes on a trailer pass by. If I hadn’t talked with her, I never would have known my bike wasn’t stolen by a random person, but by the university I have been attending for more than nine years.
I called MSU parking services, but they had closed at 4:45 p.m. I walked the two miles home in a rage comparable only to a volcano that is about to erupt. I cannot believe it is acceptable MSU policy to allow the theft of someone’s transportation!
The next morning I called parking services again, and they told me that I had to pick up my bike before 4:30 p.m. and that it would cost $8.
That’s right — they were charging me for the theft, calling it an “impound fee.”
I went down there to rescue my bike from their spring cleanup (aka mass legal thievery). While I was there, I met with Lynette Foreman, manager of parking operations for MSU police, and we had a very unproductive discussion.
I mentioned that bike registration on campus was a nuisance. She told me it was a rule put into place so they could make campus greener — “Spartan Green,” in fact.
How is it she thinks that the parking service is “Spartan Green?” Is it the trucks they drive around campus ticketing people instead of a more fuel-efficient option?
I went online to register my bike this spring only to find that you aren’t able to simply do that. There is a note on the Web site telling you to go to the Parking Office to receive your “free” registration. The hours of the parking office are 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. I am at the Veterinary Medical Center from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.
When am I supposed to register my bike? Why aren’t they offering weekend or evening hours?
Answer: They don’t care about students. In the 2007 police division report, I found only about 5,000 bikes were registered.
How many people are on this campus? I once read that more than 45,000 people are on campus every day. Compliance with the bike registration ordinance is obviously not happening.
Are you tired of the lack of respect students are getting while we pay huge tuition fees every semester?
Why are we allowing parking services to have so much power and a budget of almost $2 million without responsibilities to serve MSU students?
I, for one, am tired of this, and I will be writing a letter to our trustees suggesting some necessary changes.
Jenna DenHouter
fourth year veterinary student
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