A student was given a $100 ticket for displaying a parking permit backward.
Kira Odom, acting sophomore, said she was driving when she hit a pothole and her parking pass fell off of her rearview mirror.
“Since I was driving, I didn’t have a lot of time to look at it or anything, so I kind of just hung it back on, and I didn’t realize that I hung it backward,” she said.
Odom said, when she returned to campus, parked and left her car, she later came back to find a $100 ticket on it.
Campus police-issued parking tickets list all the possible parking violations and the amount of each corresponding fine. Having no parking permit/improper display of a parking permit is listed as a $100 fine. Failure to display a parking permit is listed as a $50 fine.
Odom said she was confused as to why the fine was higher for improperly displaying a parking permit rather than failing to display one at all.
“If I hadn’t have tried to fix it, and if I hadn’t of hung it up, I would have been fined less than I would have for trying,” she said. “It’s just annoying because we pay so much for the parking passes in the first place, and I was fined for it being backwards when it was clearly an OCU parking pass,” Odom said.
OCU Police Chief Jennifer Rodgers said students are fined for hanging the tag backward because it hides the date on the pass.
“What students have done is hang up last year’s pass,” she said. “They flip it around, so they can get away with that pass for another year. That’s why we need to see the date and the number, so we know who it goes to.”
Odom said she understands police having to keep track of up-to-date passes, but thinks there is another way to accomplish this.
“They can scan your license plate and figure out if you’ve paid for a parking pass that year, so they could have just looked it up anyway. Why didn’t they?” she said.
If students who have their pass improperly displayed go through the appeal process, Rodgers said she will reduce the fine to $50.
“I certainly know that $100 is a lot of money,” she said. “I was not here when the fine amount was set. If they’re making an effort, I’ll try to reduce it the best I can. I need just a little bit of help from the students doing that.”
Odom said she wishes campus police would give warnings on the first offense, especially for students who are still learning about the parking system.
“Parking here is so confusing that I feel like warnings would be helpful for people who are just trying to figure it out too,” she said.
Odom said she wasn’t aware of all that students could be fined for.
“I didn’t think about improper display or anything like that. It would be really nice if they had a one-time warning system,” she said.
Rodgers said she is working to provide incoming students with additional information about parking regulations and permits.
“If there is misinformation, we want to make sure we get the information out,” she said. “We’re working with the communications unit to have a flyer or brochure that will go out to everyone at Stars 101.”
Campus police also are working to have an informational table set up during freshman move-in, Rodgers said.
“We can get the parents’ attention,” she said. “I think students have it last on their list of things to do, and they just don’t get to it. But with the fines being so high, it costs money to procrastinate, always, in life.”
Providing more parking information to incoming students will be helpful, Odom said.
“I’ve had so many problems with parking this year, so I think it would have been really nice to have been able to have it explained to me at some point,” she said. “It’s a lot of money for a parking pass, and you should understand what you’re getting with that money.”
The number of issued parking tickets has decreased this year because of a lack of manpower, Rodgers said.
“I researched it, and we had written half of the tickets that were written last year,” she said. “We don’t have the number of officers we had last year. Once we get back up to full speed, full manpower, then the number of tickets written will logically go up again.”
Rodgers said, if an officer incorrectly writes a ticket, and the student appeals the ticket, she will change the fine amount.
“If you get a ticket, if there’s a good reason, appeal it, so I can take a look at it and see if there’s any way I can work it down,” she said.
Odom said she appreciates Rodgers helping students.
“I did make a mistake, so I appreciate that she will lower it, and I will definitely take advantage of that. I appreciate saving that $50,” she said.
For more information about parking regulations or passes, go to okcu.edu/police. All pertaining information is listed under parking regulations.
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