Students could take an active role in finding solutions to parking problems under the Undergraduate Student Government's new parking task force.
USG will hold two forums where students can voice any complaints or recommendations they have regarding parking at ASU. Students will then have the opportunity to be part of a task force made up of about 20 students working with USG to improve ASU parking.
"Parking is one of the number one complaints on campus," said Ed Hermes, USG's government relations director. "We encourage alternative forms of transportation, but we realize not all students have the opportunity to use other modes of transportation."
The task force would be effective because USG will give students' suggestions directly to ASU President Michael Crow instead of going through a bureaucracy, Hermes added.
Shon Zelman, a USG government relations spokesman, said he thinks it is important to include students in decisions affecting ASU policies.
He said the forums would be a time for students to "provide some general recommendations they might have and just haven't had the opportunity to tell anybody."
Forum topics should include what other universities are doing to solve their parking issues, what the ASU administration is doing, the possibility of increasing structure levels and how much different solutions might cost, Zelman said.
"We want this to be more like a general research project than a one time [forum] where [students] spout out their ideas, and we never see them again," he said.
Zelman said students and USG will eventually submit their reccomendations and research to Crow.
Hermes said students do not have to be part of the task force to submit recommendations.
Marketing sophomore Candace Yazza said the task force is a good idea.
"It's a good idea to have students involved because it's the students who are the ones experiencing the problems," Yazza said.
The first forum will be today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Schwada Classroom Office Building, room 201. The second forum will be held Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union, room 212. Free food will be available at the forums.
Reach the reporter at jourdan.rassas@asu.edu.
