Those who have had the courage to attend classes early in the morning should be prepared for the ensuing battle they will have to wage in the parking lot. The university has a sprawling parking lot in West Campus, with all the things one would expect in a parking lot. However, the parking lot is farther from my house than my department. To those ignorant to parking permits, I am talking about the much taunted WC parking permit.

Having bought an antique car for an equally antiquated price, I started basking in the glory of having pulled off the deal of the century. I was unaware of the predicaments that were to follow. The car is fine, except, like a wailing child, it makes a huge noise from its muffler. The embarrassment that follows, especially when I’m in a parking lot, has made a huge dent in my philosophy of thriftiness. A toothy smile is all I can manage to ward off probing eyes.

Coming back to the issue of the WC parking permit, the Transportation and Parking manual has laid down guidelines of what to do with a car which you would like to park when you do not have a bulging wallet. Take the car to the WC parking lot, park it and take a bus from the parking lot to your destination. Clinical, to say the least, except the buses never seem to take into consideration the starting time of classes. Did I miss out on the notoriously famous practice of the buses making mincemeat of their schedules?

Here I am, having bought a car to make my life easier, but actually spending considerable resources simply to park it. My work horse has suddenly become a white elephant!

As a saving grace, the WC permits do allow you to park in the restricted zones on weekends and late nights. However, last Saturday, during the OSU-Wisconsin game, I took my car to the restricted access between the chemistry and material science departments. I was proudly displaying my WC permit and scoffing at others who were literally running pillar to post to find a parking spot.

Successfully warding off the glaring eyes of my hopeless fellow drivers, I was greeted at the gate with a “Howdy?” I showed the attendant my permit and he smilingly let me in. I went straight in, confident having made my mark. However, I soon found all the spaces were taken. I had to come out of the restricted zone and re-enter it. After doing this five times, I finally gave up all hope of parking on campus. I went back home and walked my way to the stadium.

The situation becomes particularly tragic when I have parked my car in the C parking lot and the 5 a.m. deadline approaches. The image of a parking ticket and a gloating officer gets superimposed on my homework, causing me to bolt out to my car’s rescue. I have given a thought to upgrading my status to a C. Tales of horror and bloodbath in the C parking lots during peak hours have so far dissuaded me. Moreover, the difference in prices between a C and WC sticker is so ridiculous I will have to pay a visit to my tailor to shorten my pockets after buying it.

Parking spaces are the sorrow of OSU students. I hope in coming years the situation will improve somewhat. Until then, I guess CABS is my best bet.

Jay Mukherjee , a graduate student in electrical engineering, can be reached at [email protected].