On a campus turned ghost town not offering any in-person education, one of the only significant attractions is the University Recreation (UREC) center, which provides students and faculty with a high-quality environment to workout and pursue fitness goals; a fantastic means of relief from the stress of life and academics magnified by the current pandemic. 

However, the University is still enforcing payment for parking on the campus, even with no in-person education, and only slightly discounted (~12% less) from the heavy price of a parking pass ($424 for a year, $262 for a semester). An alternative option is to simply pay for a day pass at $8/day, however, don't be fooled as this amounts to $160 a month for an individual who wishes to utilize the UREC facilities 5 days a week. Failure to purchase a pass continues to plague students with heavy fines, even in lots/decks with abundant parking spots available. UNCC's Parking and Transportation Services (PaTS) even boasts on their website that an average of 90% of parking spots are available in all parking decks on campus (data observed on a Tuesday at midday).

We, the students of UNC Charlotte, request free access to Union Deck, the closest deck to the UREC center, in order to access the facilities we have already paid for with our tuition payments. The following is our justification for this change to occur: 

• We the students have paid for access to the UREC center within our tuition; it is only appropriate that we should be able to access it without paying nonsensical additional fees (Would it make sense to pay for a gym membership, and then be required to pay an additional fee just to park?) 
• There is no competition for spots or need for facilitation of parking; all lots and decks are nearly completely empty, even during peak hours of the day
• UREC employees have been offered 100% reimbursement for parking fees associated with commuting to their worksite. They play an essential role in keeping UREC up and running; are we as the consumers not also essential in the success of the product? 

In summary, UNC Charlotte and PaTS are unjustifiably charging students high prices to access a single facility on campus which the students have already paid to access. We are requesting access to a single parking deck currently under minimal occupancy, at no cost, every day of the week, so that we may utilize our facilities without the burden of significant additional costs or fines.