Welcome to the latest edition of my life: the never ending search for a parking space all my own. If you are not caught up on the latest craziness, you should definitely read the past week of posts, so much has happened!
Friday evening the Assistant Dean of Students sent me an email saying “unfortunately you will not be able to live in your car on campus any longer.” I’m not happy about it but I found a mall that seems to be pretty safe and have been sleeping there this weekend. I understand why they would not want people sleeping in the parking lot; can you imagine a bunch of 18 year-olds in RVs with a keggerator? So, in response to his email I wrote
Thanks for looking into this for me and getting an answer so quickly... Could you send me the rule that states [that I can’t live on campus] so I have something to show the state later on (or you can just tell me where to find it)?
Honestly, I don’t need proof for anyone, but I really wanted to know how I had missed such a specific rule after all my research. Who knows, maybe there was a whole rule book I didn’t know existed! What do you think I got back? Go on, guess. I bet most of you saw it coming.
There is no 'rule' per se... It’s a practice of the University that no one is allowed to sleep in their car while on campus.
I wasn't really sure how to respond to this. I didn't want to sound belligerent but come on, you've got no rule and I still have to leave? I tried to sound as non confrontational as possible when I wrote back this morning.
I guess I'm confused. If I'm being told to move then there must be some sort of rule or policy to back it up. Are you able to send me anything official that says I can't live in my car while on campus?So here we go, get ready for some rough waters people. Before anyone asks: yes, I could just drop this and live at the mall. The points are that 1) if I get kicked out of the mall I have nowhere to go, 2) My car should not be driven so I want to park it, leave it, and bike and 3) I'm ticked off now and after a month of them making my life difficult I'm feeling vengeful. Immature, I know, but I feel it's warranted.
Good stuff. My guess is you're ultimately going to force them to create a rule. Well worth pushing them to that point if necessary, I think. You gotta love bureaucracies.
ReplyDeleteI imagine there must be a local business owner there who would actually welcome having someone on the premises after hours. This is something I've thought about looking into if I ever decide to spend a really extended stretch in one place. Free parking in exchange for keeping an eye/ear on things. Just a thought...
I've put a call out on Craigslist for basically just that. It would make life so much easier!
ReplyDeleteCan you get a refund for your parking fee?
ReplyDelete