Tempted to park behind Mass Row without a permit? With a $50 parking fine awaiting you, you may want to think again.
With 10,000 parking tickets issued every year at Dartmouth, many students complain that the parking fines, ranging from $25 to $50, are rather expensive compared to other colleges.
At other institutions such as Harvard and Middlebury, maximum parking fines do not exceed $25.
However, many other schools in the Northeast have parking fines similar to those at Dartmouth.
The "NESCAC Parking Report" consists of parking information on the 11 liberal arts colleges in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, plus Dartmouth and Smith College. According to the report, only four of the 13 listed colleges -- Bates, Connecticut, Middlebury and Smith -- had maximum parking fines of less than $25.
In addition, other Ivy League schools assess similar parking fees to students. At Princeton, fines range from $20 to $50. However, "The high fines are not discouraging students," said Connie Hensley, manager of parking services at Princeton.
At Cornell, parking fines range from $12 to $50. David Lieb, communications manager for transportation and mail services at Cornell, referred to a parking spot as "providing customer service." He added that, "parking in someone else's spot is taking away that service," and is a reason why fines are assessed.
At Brown, parking fines start at $25 and increase with each additional violation.
Not long ago, fines for Dartmouth students were double the current amount. Last year, the Student Assembly helped restructure the parking fine system to reduce fines in "core" areas.
Core areas include parking spaces behind Massachusetts and Dartmouth Halls.
Under the new plan, a first offense leads to a $25 rather than a $50 fine. For subsequent tickets, the fine fell from $100 to $50.
While the new plan decreased parking fines, the fee for a student parking decal more than doubled -- from $11 to $25.
However, even after the reduction in fines, "the number of fines didn't go up [but] pretty much stayed the same," said Bill Barr, assistant director of Facilities, Operations and Management.
When asked whether the main purpose of the fines is to serve as a deterrent for violations or as a source of revenue for his organization, Barr explained that "the hope behind the fines is to act as a deterrent."
Even with the recent reduction in fines, many students still feel that a fine of $50 for a parking ticket is very high.
Annabel Raebeck '04 recalled getting ticketed while parked behind Zimmerman to pack up her car to leave for the weekend.
"It's really hard for me to reconcile myself to paying the $50 fine, especially when my work-study paychecks here for eight hours of work only total that same amount," she said.
Andy Hanauer '04 also thought that $50 was a too much to pay for a ticket.
However, Hanauer pointed out that because the fine of $25 does not differ from the price of permits, he understands why students would illegally park in A-lot.
Some students point to other problems concerning the parking situation.
"The problem is not the regulations and fines. It's the general lack of parking space on campus, so the students get screwed over for it," Romero Hayman '02 said.
Dave Lincoln '02 said that he once received a ticket at 7 a.m. on the day he returned to campus from vacation. Lincoln was frustrated that he was unable to register, because he got back to campus at 4:30 p.m., and the parking office had closed at 4 p.m.
In another incident, Lincoln recalled almost getting his car towed in front of Thayer Dining Hall.
"A parking officer said it was a fire lane and that I was just supposed to know that, even though there was no sign," Lincoln said.
Brian Potter '02 acknowledged that students should realize that Dartmouth is not an automotive campus and that they shouldn't park all over the place, but added, "I suppose whoever is in charge of enforcing the rules could post more signs to make the policies more well known."
Adam Feffer '02 described his attempt to park for just 40 minutes -- but still illicitly -- near the Thayer Engineering School.
"The parking guy literally followed me everywhere I went, waiting for me to stop so he could ticket me. He refused to let me park the car anywhere for any length of time," Feffer said.
There are other students who believe that the fines are reasonable.
Mindy Au '03 stated that though she usually gets mad when receiving a ticket, it is deserved because she understands the rules.
Though she believed the fines are not effective, Christine Flagg '02 also said that the fines are reasonable.