Problem of Shortage of Parking Space for Students - Case Study Example

How Different Genres Effect message and Audience: a case study of parking at UNCG PART As a at the of North Carolina at Greensboro, I take this early opportunity to thank the university management for the significant growth that the university has experienced in the last few years. As a result of this growth, the university has become a part of a dynamic metropolitan area that continues to make a substantial contribution to the region’s expansion and development. However, I wish to use this opportunity to present a critical issue that needs immediate attention from the university management. My issue is premised on the apparent shortage of parking space for students, leading to extrapolation of prices for the few available parking slots. This has meant that students have to pay substantially high charges (up to 2$ for the first hour then 1$/hour, and all day 7$) if at all they are very lucky to find an available parking space (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro 1-2). The result of this dire situation has been the incessant lateness to classes as students struggle to find empty spaces to park their vehicles. Even as the university strives to achieve its growth and expansion objectives, I strongly believe that the expansion of parking spaces should go in tandem with the overall growth of the university (Ison & Rye 23-29). There is a need for a new thinking on how people get into and out of the university. According to a survey conducted on commuting students and staff, it was found that about 80% of people now drive alone into the university. The fact that the university allows any person to purchase a permit and secure a parking slot in the university parking facilities means that there is stiff competition among freshmen, on-campus students and individuals residing near the campus. The overall effects of lack of parking space have not been seen in the increased instances of lateness for classes and tutorials but has also affected student participation in extra-curricular activities. For example, a recent study on student participation in the Student Recreational Center showed that lack of parking space has been a leading cause of cancelled memberships. In the midst of the current crisis regarding the parking spaces on campus, it is plausible that the conduct of the parking officials in mitigating this problem has fallen short of student expectations. As personal testimony, my experience with these officials has demonstrated to me that the officials are completely unprofessional and incapable of addressing this dire situation in a manner that upholds the dignity and professionalism that define the university. It has turned out to be clear that the parking department is not answerable to anyone. Indeed, they have the liberty to write ludicrous tickets, sell the tickets and confiscate it the following day. The matter is exacerbated by the fact that all appeals regarding the conduct of these officials must be addressed to their office, where the issues are summarily denied and the culture of impunity allowed to flourish unabated. The only conclusion that one can make here is that the situation will not change in the near future if at all there is no external accountability for these officials. As a matter of immediate attention, there is a need to initiate measures aimed at bringing some sense of sanity in the current parking menace at the University. First and foremost, ticket patrol should cease during spring and fall breaks, as well as during all other holidays. It is clear that parking is not at a peak during those periods, and the cost of parking police can be minimized. Secondly, the provision of more parking slots must go hand-in-hand with the rise of new structures around campus (Hess & Shoup 22-26). The management needs to find a way of accommodating the rising student numbers rather than increasing parking charges as a means of limiting the number of people driving around (Shoup 6-12). There is a need for change in the way that buildings at the University are designed. For instance, the flat structures around campus could have been built vertically. Another important thing would convert the Peabody Park into a parking yard. It seems that a lot of students have no knowledge what this park is all about. I am sure that it would help a great deal if a parking deck were established on this side of campus. In fact, students are tired of parking far from where they live, and this creates additional pressure as students have to walk long distances to their parking. They are denied a chance to drive to class, and then walk a long distance from the available parking slot to the classroom. It seems a bit illogical that some professors and elitist students can make it their objective to preserve some park while thousands of students are paying for parking. This makes them walk a mile and a half from the Tower Village. Lastly, the idea of reserved parking spaces appears unfair to students and other staff. On many occasions, these spaces are left empty as many faculty members only come to campus in a limited number of days every week. Furthermore, these slots are left vacant during the summer sessions. It is unfortunate that only the faculty members have the financial ability to pay for the reserved spaces. Perhaps parking decks could be a good solution although the additional cost of parking in the deck would be way out of line. Thus, what the students and members of staff need as a matter of urgency are more parking decks at a reasonable cost. Kindly consider reviewing these recommendations with a view to making radical and drastic changes that will address the menace of limited parking spaces once and for all. PART 2: The major objective of using rhetorical appeal is to present an argument in a very effectively way. The rhetorical appeals entail various strategies that a writer employs in their text to persuade the audience to adopt a specific idea or consider the recommendations presented in the argument. In the argument presented above regarding the issue of parking spaces at UNCG. Several aspects of rhetorical appeal have been employed with an aim of driving the university management into taking keen consideration on the issues presented and hopefully, adopt the recommendations presented by the student. The major elements included in the argument above include; word choice, examples, diction, statistics, tone, and illustrations. All these aspects can be regarded as the elements of pathos, ethos, and logos that form the backbone of any successive argumentative piece of writing. Even though, there are many forms of rhetorical analysis, the focus of the above argument will be in the classic analysis. In this regard, the above argument can be perceived purely on its persuasive effects on the intended audience and the likelihood of the success of the strategies and recommendations presented by the student. Firstly, the aspect of the ethos is very evident in the argument presented by the student. The ethical appeal presented here is aimed at convincing the university management that the author is somebody worth listening. It is noteworthy that a critical issue in argumentation if to create an impression to the audience that the author is someone worth listening. In the above argument, the author gives the impression of a concerned student, and the management has the responsibility of listening to the issues presented as they affect the whole student fraternity. When it comes to Pathos, there is a lot of persuasions aimed at appealing to the audience’s emotions. The manner in which the student presents the issue of lack of parking space at the University presents at strong emotional appeal to the management. The student goes ahead to state the major effects that the lack of parking space has caused the student population and members of staff. These issues include lateness to class, inability to participate in recreational activities, and the heavy toll that high parking charges have on the students’ financial well-being. Finally, the use of logos in the above argument can be seen in the manner in which the student tries to convince the management by use of logical reasoning. There is a deep sense of internal consistency in the issue that the student presents to the university management. The whole argument revolves around the limited parking spaces that have become detrimental to both students and staff members. The use of supporting evidence by the student serves as the logical appeal of the overall argument. Works Cited Hess, Brown & Shoup, Donald. Fare-Free Public Transit at Universities: An Evaluation, Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2003, 23 (1); 11-76. Ison, Stephen & Rye, Tom. The Implementation and Effectiveness of Transport and Demand Measures: An International Perspective. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing, 2010, Print. Shoup, Donald. The Politics and Economics of Parking on Campus. California: Department of Urban Planning, University of California, 2012. Print The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Parking Operations & Campus Access Management Parking. uncg.edu. Web. 09 February 2015C:\Users\HP\Downloads\. Uncg.edu.Web. 09 January 2015 http:\campusrec.uncg.edu\member-services\parking-pass\ Read More