La Voz

Issue date: 5/27/08 Section: Editorial

On top of all this, many De Anza staffers have complained that their staff-reserved spaces were taken from them without their approval to make room for the alternative fuel spaces. The staff have a legitimate and dire need for parking that is readily available, easily accessible and as close to campus as possible. Otherwise classes may begin late, which would negate whatever benefit a student may have gotten from parking close.

So why have they limited the spaces to hybrid and electric vehicles anyway? Some older non-hybrid cars get excellent gas mileage whether on freeways or city streets, and they can be bought much cheaper than any hybrid. A better system would be to designate parking spaces by fuel efficiency, the spaces closer to campus being reserved for the cars that get the most miles per gallon. Such a system would be just as infeasible as the current, however, as officers cannot be expected to know which cars belong where; the only advantage of doing it this way is that it would be far more effective in terms of encouraging environmentally sound behavior.

All in all, the "alternative fuel" parking was an attempt by De Anza College to do the right thing, but there are so many negative aspects to the system that it would just be better if the spaces were given back to the staff. As the policy now stands, De Anza students who happen to be well off are supplied with premium parking privileges, while the students who are broke are left to fend for themselves.

Earth-conscious students should be rewarded for their efforts to improve the environment, but not for whatever cars they may drive - if people really want to make a difference with what they drive, they can buy a bicycle.

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