Parking at NIU has inspired a Facebook group.

Through the uniting power of Facebook, NIU student Jonathan Stolarski, a senior communicative disorders major, created the Facebook group NIU Parking Resolution NOW! as means to petition for better parking conditions on campus.

“I started the group because I had a wealth of frustration built up from the time I was with NIU, and I chose Facebook because it’s free and most people have it and it’s a place where everyone can participate,” Stolarski said.

Stolarski, who is a commuter student from Sycamore and lists his name on the site as Jonathan Heron, started the group in January and so far has a membership of 290 people.

On the group’s site, members post their words of praise and horror stories about their experiences with NIU parking.

Kara Brinkmeier, a senior English major and member of the group, made known on the site her difficulties with finding a place to park.

“I missed an hour and 15 minute class more than once cause I couldn’t find a place to park,” Brinkmeier said. “It was ridiculous.”

Also on the site is a link to an electronic petition on www.ipetitions.com where 99 signatures have been collected so far. Stolarski said he hopes to collect 1,000 signatures by the end of the semester.

Stolarski said he has opened up communication with Kristin Waddell, the director of Parking Services, to keep a flow of information going between the two. Waddell, however, said the group is unknown to her.

“I don’t know anything about the group, but we take all concerns very seriously and will take time to address them,” Waddell said.

Waddell started as director of Parking Services in September and since then has been adjusting to the NIU parking situation.

“We’ve been working with the University Police and doing a review of all parking circumstances, looking into reports and queries,” Waddell said.

There are over 8,000 parking spaces at NIU and concern for them has been ongoing for months.