Over 50,000 students attend Michigan State University, including undergraduate and graduate students. Parking on campus is $2 an hour, and most of it must be renewed by the hour. In 2018, MSU Parking Services collected nearly $2 million in parking tickets, and only 20% of that money goes towards upkeep on parking system, such as repairing meters, and the rest of that money goes into East Lansing’s treasury for use as needed. MSUPD issued nearly 99,500 tickets in 2018, compared to only 23,200 that East Lansing Police gave out. Although, I am sure many students avoid paying for parking and risk a ticket, the amount of money they are making off students is ridiculous. Parking violation costs include $20 for metered parking, $40 for reserved areas, and $115 for disabled parking. Tickets will accrue $10 after 7 days of no payment, and another $10 if the ticket is not paid for after 28 days.

The average cost of in-state, off-campus tuition is about $8,000 per semester, averaging around $64,000 for four years (before receiving any financial aid). To add to this, according to jobs.sle.msu.edu, starting pay rates for student working ranges from $11-$13, depending on the position, and can only work up to 29 hours per week during the school year (but, up to 40 hours during fall, winter, spring, and summer break). To put this into perspective, students would be paying $58 a week in parking, which is, at max, about 15% of their pay for the week (not including taxes taken out of the paycheck).

On top of this, first-year students who live on campus pay around $12,000 per year in food and housing, on top of the $16,000 they pay in tuition and other fees, coming to about $28,000 for one year, and $112,000 for four years, also not including any financial aid. Lastly, tuition increases each year for students, so, freshman students pay about $8,000 for one semester, where junior and senior students pay $9,000. Parking permits range from $107 to $236 for one year for students, depending on living locations, but most of these permits are only valid in lots 109 and 89, on the very outskirts of campus, meaning students will likely have to bus from where their vehicle is parked to go to the residence halls or classes.

Hopefully that all made sense and you have a better understanding of how much students pay in tuition, housing, food, and other fees. The lack of parking lots on campus defers plenty of students from going to classes, as well as the fact we must pay to park on campus. Most off-campus MSU students drive to class, as weather is not always safe to bike in if you are close enough to campus to do so. On top of the minimum $64,000 students pay for tuition for four years, I think it is unfair we must pay for parking as well, let alone the small amount of parking on campus that is accessible to students. I know students are frustrated with PACE at Michigan State University, and we would all support free parking on campus for students. MSU is greedy with their money, but many students cannot afford the unnecessary fees (money and loss of education from not being able to attend class due to parking circumstances). Even if nothing comes of this, it would be great to see how many students, employees, parents, and other community members agree with this petition. Sign your name and give a reason why you support this petition!