Cassie LaJeunesse, Campus Carrier Deputy News Editor

Andrea Hill | CAMPUS CARRIER

Cars parked in the lot next to Ford Auditorium. Students and faculty worry that the rows are spaced too closely.

The Ford Auditorium parking lot serves as parking for music events, alumni events and some sporting events. Collisions are common in the lot, and some students are worried that this is a result of poor spacing and overuse. 

“I’ve been coming to the parking lot for five years, and it’s so jam-packed,” junior Leif Atchley said. “The rows are so close that most cars have to do a two-point turn to get out of parking spaces.” 

Atchley’s car has been hit twice while parked in the Ford lot. When he was a freshman, the right side of his front bumper was scratched, and this year, his car received a similar scratch on the left side of the front bumper. 

“I wasn’t too mad, but I know a lot of people that it’s happened to, and it’s really unfortunate,” Atchley said. 

Sophomore Saxon Olson was called out of a theory class last year because her car was hit in the parking lot. She said that a woman who was there for Kindermusik classes was driving a new van that she was not used to. She scraped the side of her van against Olson’s Jeep while trying to park. 

“Her car was way more damaged than mine, but that parking lot is dangerous for sure,” Olson said. 

Atchley believes that the spacing in the parking lot causes a lot of the problem, especially when it is filled to capacity. Because it is used for various events, this is a common occurrence. 

“It’s overused,” Atchley said. “We need more options or a better option.” 

Fine Arts Chair Adam Hayes agrees that the spacing in the lot is a frequent issue, specifically because the rows are too close together. “Anything other than the smallest car has trouble pulling out into the pass lanes,” Hayes said. 

Several students who drive larger cars and trucks find it almost impossible to park in the auditorium lot at all. Sophomore Joseph Aucoin drives a large truck and said that his turning radius is not good enough to navigate the tight corners in the lot. 

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been able to park forward in that lot,” Aucoin said. 

Sophomore Carrie Sturniolo also drives a larger car and has difficulty parking in the lot. She said that the first and only time she parked in the middle rows of the lot, she had to ask friends to help guide her out of the space. 

“It’s very risky for larger cars to park there,” Sturniolo said. “I had to laugh at how difficult and ridiculous it was, especially after other people clapped for me after it was all over.” 

According to Hayes, the parking lot was repainted last semester, but the spacing problem was not addressed. 

“Anything that they would do would essentially take out parking spaces,” Hayes said. “But there are only so many spaces the parking lot can hold anyway.”