On October 22 and November 5, 2015 Appalachian State will host Thursday evening football games. This is an unusual time of the week for football games at Appalachian, but joining the Sun Belt Conference last year has caused some changes in football scheduling. On August 21, 2015 Chancellor Everts sent an email to all faculty, staff, and students, stating there would be a few parking changes to accommodate these Thursday football games. The new policy states “Students will not park on campus for the academic day with the exception of valid parking permits for the Rivers Street Parking deck. All permit holders to this deck will be allowed to enter and park to attend class. . . . Rivers Street Parking Passes will be honored until 4 p.m. for students.” This fix-all is part of a “green initiative” and Chancellor Everts encourages students to get to campus these days by utilizing public transportation, riding a bike, or walking. This “solution” does not take into account students who don't live near a bus stop, or who can't walk or bike due to physical limitations or because of unsafe road conditions. Many students in the Boone area and beyond live on winding, rural, or mountainous roads with no shoulder for walking or biking.

This unsafe and unfair proposal simply tells us, "Here at Appalachian we value athletic revenue over our students’ educations." Students pay thousands of dollars for their college tuitions, and hundreds more for parking passes. These passes are supposed to guarantee campus parking in designated lots in order for students to attend classes. Telling students that they (basically) can't attend classes these days so that big-money spenders can tailgate before a football game is really counterproductive to the purpose of college in the first place.

Please sign this petition if you agree that it is unfair to take away the parking privileges of students who need to attend classes on football game days. If this petition receives enough support it will be sent straight to Chancellor Everts in the hopes that she will acknowledge the extraordinary inconvenience this causes all commuting students and that she will rectify the situation. Let's make change and remind Appalachian that we pay to attend classes and won't be banned from doing so!

Disclaimer: While sports scholarships do offer opportunities for many students, the educations of student athletes and non-athletes alike should not take a back seat to athletic revenue.