Once again criticisms surrounding the assignment of available parking permits have been brought to the attention of university parking committee members for debate.

Even with the creation of 1,091 additional parking spots by the ad hoc parking committee, which was formed to create a comprehensive parking plan to be initiated by the end of the fall, graduate assistants and teaching assistants have a justifiably moot complaint.

Under the ad-hoc committee’s new proposal, Bill Parker the committee chairman said, “TAs will be treated as students, not faculty, for parking purposes,” and “graduate assistants are expected to be allowed parking in some additional faculty/staff lots” on a space available basis. Graduate assistants are now allowed to share spaces in two of the faculty lots.

TAs and graduate assistants are expected to perform many of the same functions as full-time faculty while working to complete their own classroom responsibilities as students. Both serve NIU in positions necessary to students as well as faculty.

TAs and graduate assistants should have a comparable amount of parking space to faculty and staff. Parking space should be handed out on the basis of need, not status.