All the end of spring semester tasks – packing up, returning used books, studying for finals and finding a new place to live – may be stressful, but finding parking doesn’t have to be.

“We still have meter officers out giving tickets during finals week, no exceptions,” said Loretta Nichols, parking services enforcement officer. “It’s just like any other time – if we didn’t give out tickets, people will park anywhere they want.”

During finals week, students assigned to any of the following lots can park in any C lot: Summit East, Allerton, C-Science, C-Ice Arena and C-Rec Center. On-campus drivers assigned to any other parking lot on campus are expected to park their assigned lots.

Resident hall students with stadium parking passes should park at the stadium the first two days of finals week but can park in any C lot after 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Tickets will be issued until May 11, the last day of final exams.

“If students would pay their tickets when they get them, they would be better off,” Nichols said. “Some just throw them in their backseat and come to realize at the end of the semester they need to pay them.”

Each unpaid ticket will result in a $5.00 late fee. If not paid witin 10 days, the cost will be transferred into the student’s account.

Ticket appeals and voids are still being accepted, but drivers shouldn’t expect Parking Services to comply with every ticket this late in the semester, Nichols said.

“This is our busiest time for appeals, and we don’t have time to do them all,” she said.

Nichols said students should pay attention to parking violations and check with Parking Services to ensure all tickets have been paid.

“Tickets will catch up with students at the end of the semester,” she said. “Students don’t always know how many tickets they have received until the end of the year when it may be too late for us to do anything about them.”

Summer parking permits are for sale online at www.kent.edu/parking or at the Parking Services office in Room 123 of the Michael Schwartz Center.

Fall 2007 and Summer 2008 parking permits will be available beginning June 4 for graduate students, followed by seniors on June 7; juniors on June 14; and sophomores and freshman on June 21. All sales begin at 8 a.m.

Contact commuting and transportation reporter Christina Tesar at [email protected].