Students Respond to the First-Year Parking Pass Lottery
By Alexis Doyle, Staff Writer
Student parking on campus is now open to first-years who apply for a permit (Photo Kate Borosky/The Gettysburgian)
On Friday, Sept. 23, Campus Safety emailed the Gettysburg student body that a certain number of first years would be allowed to receive parking passes on campus.
The first-year students were chosen through a lottery that they could enter through a Google form. The passes cost $100, and all students were notified during the week of Oct. 3 if they had received a spot.
Executive Director of Campus Safety stated, “All students who submitted their name for the parking pass lottery received parking passes this time. The total that submitted to the lottery was approximately 120.”
In recent years, first-years have not been permitted to have cars or other vehicles on campus, with exceptions for certain conditions. Now, almost 120 freshmen have been granted spots, in addition to the first-years with special accommodations prior to the lottery.
Wiltz said that the reasoning behind these parking permits is that “every year, [campus safety] evaluate[s] how much student parking is being used on campus in coordination with the number of permits we have issued. There was a significant amount of open student parking still available by the end of September, then allowing the College to issue permits to first-year students.”
Many first-years were ecstatic to have a parking pass, including Dejah Hill ’26.
Hill said “having a car makes my life easier because I am able to go where I want when it is convenient for me…I believe that having a car makes life on campus much more fun because you are able to leave and get your mind off of the everyday struggles of grades and a heavy course load.”
Alternatively, upperclass students exhibited frustration toward the sudden increase in competition for parking spots.
Cora Beyer ’23 is one of the students housed at the Seminary a mile away from campus.
She expressed that “driving to campus daily is necessary. Therefore, it is frustrating and unfair that we not only had to pay for a campus parking pass, but are now unable to find parking spots on campus.”
Beyer is not the only student worried that the money she spent on parking passes was wasted due to the lack of spots. Other upperclassmen feel that the parking lots are harder to navigate with added first-years.
Ella Seaman ’25 said, “I think [the parking pass lottery is] fine as long as upperclassmen are guaranteed to be able to find a spot in the parking lots…My roommate and I have often had to drive around in her car looking at all the parking lots that you can park in…because our parking lot is small and is often full.”
Similarly, Abbey Jemison, ‘24 stated, “I don’t have an issue with first years being allowed to have cars on campus. However, I do think there should be a cap on the amount of first years who can have a car to prevent the parking lots from becoming super congested. I also think more of the parking spots should be reserved for upperclassmen, but there should still be some available to first years…I have noticed the parking lots have been super crowded and it can be difficult to find a parking spot sometimes, which I’m sure has something to do with more first years having cars.”
Savannah Metzger ’25 commented, “I think some first years should be allowed to have cars on campus out of absolute necessity, but other than that it should be an upper-class privilege. The majority of upperclassmen were not able to have cars on campus as freshmen.”
Hill also recognized the feelings of upperclassmen, stating, “I would say that first years do take up a lot of space only because a majority of the parking lot is blocked off for teachers and employees rather than accommodating the large amounts of student drivers.”
In response to the frustration from upperclassmen surrounding the lack of parking spots, Wiltz stated, “About three years ago, a significant number of additional student parking spaces was added around the Central Energy Plant. These added spaces is one of the reasons that more student permits can now be issued.”
Wiltz also said that this will not be a guaranteed occurrence every year and that “each year [Campus Safety] will evaluate available parking and make a decision on whether first-year students will be offered parking.”
