Chancellor Collins inherited a legacy of decades of negligence and apathy from previous administrations. It stretches far and wide across the structure and administration of the school, but nowhere more visibly than in campus parking. We applaud his decisive action in meeting the crisis head-on with an alternate parking plan that should serve as a stopgap until a better answer can be found, though it’s unfortunate that it’s gotten to the point that it has. Let’s face it, we can’t have cars parked on the front yard of our school forever.

Commuters are not a large part of our population, but our entire population. While makeshift gravel lots are fine for addressing an emergency, such as we have, the administration must see that this is not a sufficient long-term solution. There is, we understand, a broad-scale rebuild in the works that will, we hope, form that long-term solution, but it is not likely that this generation of students will be around to enjoy it. In the meantime, we park on the yard.

T fares are rising, gas prices are up, commuting is time-consuming, and our parking quality has declined while the cost remains stable. We’re paying $6 – $12 a day for a less than premium product.

A less than desirable commuter program in a commuting college will not retain current students or lure prospective students. It’s not only unfair to students and faculty, but it simply doesn’t make good economic horse sense. Who wants to pay for an inferior product when many students are more than able to transfer to another local school without these problems?

At the same time, lowering the parking price would not solve anything. It would increase volume in the lot, which is not what we need given the existing crisis. We suggest that the administration actively encourage students to take the T. The T-Pass discount offered is no more than what any college student in Boston receives as part of an MBTA program. What does the administration contribute to our program? Can the existing program be improved?

For those leery of paying the $6 fee to park for an hour, or the confusion and aggravation of the makeshift lot, the alternative is to find off-campus parking. A ten-minute walk from a local street-side spot may be feasible for those who must drive. Courtesy for the neighborhood residents in these cases is expected.

In a city where in the best of times transit is difficult, there’s little surprise that our own corner of it should meet with its own unique woes. That so many of them could have been prevented with the exercise of due diligence in the past is the cause for some vexation, and these are oversights the current administration now must rectify.

Chancellor Collins must remedy the mistakes and oversights of the past. We certainly wish him well, for our sake as much as his. The current parking transportation issue is but one challenge among many.

Hopefully Collins meets it with managerial skill and vision. Should he do so, he can rightly stake claim to a reputation as a problem-solver, and UMass Boston students can experience a normalized parking situation. Not the most exciting of outcomes, but there’s been excitement enough already.