Parking On Campus: Campus Public Safety Sheds Light
Reported by Natascha Lambing
Illustrated by Carla Cieza Espinoza
NEWBERG, Ore. - George Fox University (GFU) has had parking issues for years. Students think parking regulations are too strong and often feel as if there are not nearly enough parking spaces on campus. Students and staff alike have strong opinions on how parking should or should not be dealt with, especially Campus Public Safety (CPS) officers.
Commonly thought to be tasked only with policing the campus to administer parking tickets, CPS is responsible for much more. When it comes down to it, regulating parking is just a single step in the process of keeping campus safe. As Ed Gierok, Director of CPS, said, “our department isn’t only parking. ... Our guys are out there day in and day out actively patrolling ... we want to find out what’s going on for your safety.”
On-campus parking attempts to accommodate residents, commuters, staff, and visitors. There are opportunities for parking on both the east and west sides of campus. General parking policies are enforced Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, allowing students to park outside of their designated areas as long as they continue to abide by general legalities during weekends and non-business hours. Funds supplied by parking permit fees are put towards maintaining and patrolling existing lots, ensuring the promotion of a safe environment for everyone.
Elrike Shaw, the Office and Parking Regulations Manager, notes that “[s]tudents will typically complain about not having a parking space ... because they want to park in a certain place … when there is parking available you might just have to walk a little further.” Shawis likely the first face students will encounter when it comes to CPS offices. Whether you just have a question or want more information about a ticket you’ve been administered, she is there to discuss those policies and provide information and next-step resources. She describes CPS’s role in the GFU community as follows: “We’re happy to help you but sometimes there is a cost to your actions, but we can help you understand why or how to make a better choice.”
With regard to concerns about a lack of parking availability, Gierok acknowledges that there have been issues over the years, but that “over the last four years we’ve added a lot of parking because we were having a lot of problems.” This year, GFU opened an additional twenty spaces in the Bauman lot, which typically is reserved for commuters. He also said that this year “spread-out class schedules has opened a lot of parking [...] with restructure of classes. It's really helped a lot.” This is because it decreases the density of the student population on campus at any given time. He feels that this gives students more confidence that they can arrive on campus and have a place to park.
Shawand Gierok, who both love the atmosphere that GFU provides, want to remind students that “they can come into our office and it’s not a scary place to be. ... You can come here and talk about what’s going on and have people listen to you.” Their jobs are rooted in providing safety first and foremost, but they promote GFU’s foundational values through encouraging and enlightening students on policies to keep campus as safe and welcoming as possible.
Illustrated by Carla Cieza Espinoza