Much of the history of the Scholars stems from a discussion list (now revised, and effectively killed if traffic is any indication). That list discussed many issues, but one of the first was parking on campus. The Cranky Professor this week links an article from CNN that says it is still a problem. It's pretty clearly a peak demand problem, one not well managed on many campuses, according to the article.

"It would be great if the people who teach a class, and the people who take a class, and the people who decide when classes are offered," realized they all need places to park -- and thought about staggering class times, said Beth Glaus, the manager of parking and transit at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.

Good luck. Most faculty think it's a birthright to teach between 10 and 2; last night I heard an ESPN Radio announcer say that nobody should have to take classes before 10am. Personally, if I have a difficult course to teach, I prefer it early in the morning. Get it over with, and discourage the sleepyheads from registering.

But, as Cranky points out, the decision by Univ. of Arkansas to sell 14000 permits for 8300 slots smacks of airline overbooking.

On a related note, after six years of waiting, I finally got a parking spot in the lot next to my building. All praise to SCSU Public Safety!