Parking forum addresses campus concerns
Thursday, March 13, 2008, 19:30 EST
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The artist that Concerts Committee has tried to get for some time, Common, was announced as the spring concert to Program Board on Monday, Feb. 25. The date for the concert is set for April 3 at 8:30 p.m. [following the Council on Presidential Affairs (CPA) rally] in Clowes Memorial Hall. The exterior doors will open at 7:30 p.m. and the concert hall doors will open at 8 p.m. Spring Sports Spectacular will be having two give-back nights near the end of March, it was announced at the March 5 SGA assembly meeting.

The annual 12-hour athletic event supporting Special Olympics Indiana will have a portion of the dining money spent on specific nights donated to the philanthropic event. The first give-back night will be March 20 at Mongolian Barbeque from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the second on March 24 at Bazbeaux Pizza. Terrance Hayes writes poems about being a young black boy or man, he said. While his theme stays the same, Hayes claimed one factor progresses among his first, second and third books.

"The poems get more and more strange," Hayes said. A large number of sorority women from all houses and grades were fortunate enough to hear Mari Ann Callais, Ph.D. speak on March 4. The topic of the event was “From Ritual to Reality,” and it was obvious that every sorority member in the room took to Callais’ message because of her unique methods of presentation.

Callais spoke of doing the best every Greek brother and sister can do to live the true meaning behind Greek rituals, objects and letters. In a large display of his effects on popular culture, Michael Pollan spoke to two crowds on March 3, one in the Reilly Room and one in a Gallahue lecture hall via closed-circuit television.

Both locations were filled to the limits of their fire codes due to the fact that people from all over the state had come to hear Pollan’s thoughts on "The New York Times" and the "Washington Post" best-seller “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Judging by the performances at Freshman Skits on the evening of Feb. 29, you might have thought the theme had something to do with ribbon dancing. The annual event, organized by Blue Key, gives the new members of every Greek house a chance to entertain.

Hosts Clark Taylor and Mackenzie Murnane, both seniors, presented the show as each new pledge class performed a 10-minute skit for a panel of judges and an audience full of students in the Health and Recreation Complex (HRC). Professor Aurelian Craiutu described the roots of democracy and the problems it has faced to an attentive crowd in the Reilly Room on Feb. 27.

Craiutu is an associate professor in the department of political science at Indiana University and said the subject of the lecture, “Dilemmas of Democracy,” held a very strong personal element for him.

Between Fall 2007 and Feb. 18, BUPD gave out 3,091 parking tickets -- 1,129 were to commuters, 818 to residents, 387 to Greek residents, 410 to village residents and 362 were faculty and staff tickets.

These facts, along with more, were shared as Vice President of Operations Mike Gardner and Assistant Police Chief Andy Ryan held a parking forum on Feb. 28 at Atherton Union.

Students, faculty and staff were invited to voice their concerns, ask questions and share their feelings on the issues of parking on and around Butler’s campus.

Gardner and Ryan addressed issues such as neighborhood versus city ordinances, terms of ticketing and the process of appealing.

When a professor asked about the likelihood of a ticket being appealed and the extent to which mercy is had on first-time offenders, Ryan responded, “I am not heartless.”

Ryan estimated that about 60 percent of appeals are granted to those receiving parking tickets.

“It is up to each individual to be informed of policies on Butler’s campus,” Gardner said.

Gardner explained that the pedestrian mall created outside of the library was one factor that greatly affected the parking situation and eliminated spots on campus. With more registered vehicles than spaces available, BUPD is trying to be equitable when it comes to the parking situation.

“The $35 paid to register your vehicle is a hunting license,” Gardner said. “It doesn’t give you a right to a parking place.”

Attendees were given a parking allocation map, a list of regulations and the breakdown of how many spaces are made available for each particular group of individuals. The following chart depicts how many spaces are allotted to each group compared with how many registered vehicles are in that group:


Group Registered; Vehicles; Allotted Spaces

Faculty & Staff; 1162; 713

Residential Halls; 947; 712

Apartment Village; 369; 516(Surplus)

Commuters (Includes University Terrace); 921; 557


When asked where the money from vehicle registration and parking tickets go, Gardner said that it goes toward police cars, up-keep, gas and maintenance and lighting around campus.

After one guest suggested the possibility of a transportation system or parking structure being made available, Gardner said that Butler does not wish to spend its money creating more spots just so that everybody may park exactly where they want to.

“On top of a $40,000 education, [these things] are not feasible and are not good uses of university resources,” Gardner said.

After questions and comments ceased, Gardner concluded by saying that by students, faculty and staff coming forward and voicing their opinions, changes are more likely to occur. However, he said that with the two different parking forums and four hours made available for parking discussion, only about 20 people attended.

“This was their opportunity to vent and to make a change,” Gardner said.