This article ran in today's Wheel. I cannot believe they ran it. I have highlighted the most amusing parts. It shows everything that is wrong with Emory. Too many kids like John.
John, a College freshman, drove up to the front of Complex Residential Center in his BMW sport utility vehicle on his first day at Emory.
His parents, who had flown to Atlanta, met him on campus and helped him unload his Tumi and Swiss Army luggage and other belongings.
But after John was settled in, his parents didn't take the car.
The BMW stayed on campus, and his parents and brother flew home.
Since then, John, who asked that his real name not be used in this story, has made full use of the mobility having a car has given him.
He has eaten at most of Zagat's top-20 restaurants in Atlanta, gets regular massages at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Buckhead and goes to bars and clubs without having to pay for a cab.
"I needed a car to have the life I had before. Otherwise I'd be bound to campus and have to use public transportation and shuttles," John said.
Emory administrators are trying to reduce dependence on single-occupancy vehicles on and around campus by providing more alternative transportation options, from increased shuttle routes to the proposed "Brain Train" that would stop at Emory on its route from Athens to downtown Atlanta.
But many students still find it difficult to get around without a car. As a result, many freshmen disregard the rule against parking on campus.
Chris, a Goizueta Business School junior who also asked that his real name not be used, brought his GMC Envoy to Emory from his hometown in rural Georgia his freshman year.
"When I was a senior in high school, I decided that there wasn't a chance I wouldn't have a car here my freshman year," he said.
Like many freshmen with cars on campus, Chris bought a parking pass from an upperclassman who didn't need it.
"I don't really consider it breaking the rules," he said. "An upperclassman could have needed a car but didn't."
Phil Sauerbrun, manager of parking registration and enforcement, explained that freshmen are not allowed to have cars because Emory's parking resources are inadequate.
"We are currently at capacity with all our parking lots, and if we had to accommodate freshmen, we'd be turning people away," he said.
But some students speculate the administration has other reasons for prohibiting freshmen from having cars.
"They probably don't want us to have cars because cars can be a sign of wealth, and they don't want it to be a social status thing," said College freshman Andy Crane, who lives in John's hall.
John agreed that having his BMW is a matter of status.
"If you have a car, then you have something the other kids don't have," he said.
But for Chris, having a car during freshman year was all about convenience, including driving home for breaks.
"It would have been a hassle for my parents to have to pick me up - I live 90 miles from Emory," he said.
But he added that he quickly became known as "the boy with the car," and friends and fraternity leaders frequently pressed him for rides.
"Once [the higher-ups] find out you have a car, the rest of the pledge class has to borrow it," he explained.
According to the Transportation and Parking Services Rules and Regulations, a vehicle found parked illegally on campus is usually booted so the parking office can determine its owner, who must report to the parking office and pay a $100 fine before the boot is removed.
Although booting may ensnare some rebellious freshmen, it does not address the problem of freshmen who hold permits under upperclassmen's names, Sauerbrun said.
"It's against the rules to transfer a permit," he said. "If you do, you're going to be responsible for all the tickets accumulated because the permit is in your name."
But getting caught parking on campus can still have consequences for freshmen. Sauerbrun said some students have been denied parking privileges following their freshman year.
But despite the general ban, some freshmen are given permission to park on campus.
Students with disabilities, freshmen who live within driving distance of Emory and students who work off-campus and out of the reach of public transportation may be allowed to have cars at Emory.
College freshman Brian Peart was granted permission to park on campus because he commutes daily from his home in Ellwood, Ga., and works 26 hours a week at the Adidas store in the Lenox Square Mall.
For Peart, the advantages of having a car on campus are outweighed by the hassles of local traffic and the costs of gas, insurance and his Emory parking permit.
As for helping his friends without cars, he said, "I like to, but sometimes they give me gas money, [and] sometimes they don't."
John, on the other hand, sees having a car on campus as a completely advantageous situation.
"I have much more freedom than any freshman here," he said. "I can go anywhere and do anything."
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