Parking Appeals Officer Mike Anderson prints out a parking ticket in his van for a car in Lot 27 next to the Music Building Monday afternoon. (Charlotte Bodak/Staff Photographer)

It’s time to stop putting off a permanent solution to the parking situation on campus.

For years, Central Michigan University students and faculty have been boiling over about a lack of parking. Just yesterday, a CMU student tweeted: “CMU commuter parking lot is a joke! #soannoyed.” And we agree.

Kim Speet, CMU Parking Services Office Manager, said the office will issue almost 13,000 parking permits this academic year, despite there being only 11,140 spaces on campus. That’s 16 percent more permits than spots. When you issue more permits than spaces, you are asking for a crowded, frustrated campus community.

Instead, the university should reassess the idea of building a parking garage on campus. It only takes common sense to recognize that when there are more parking permits than spots, the university must either acquire more land away from the main campus (which seems unlikely and of questionable usefulness), or build up.

Of course the university and community could fund and encourage more mass-transportation options, but for the moment, transportation needs a fix in the near future, not a long-term transformation.

The idea of a parking garage has been mooted in the past for being an expensive eyesore. But a concrete structure is a substantially more attractive propisition than the endless expanses of asphalt that currently occupy a majority of the open spaces on campus.

When it comes to cost, the construction of a relatively inexpensive parking garage that would benefit a majority of students seems obvious when compared to the College of Medicine or the RFOC’s planned $1.5 million Mongolian barbecue addition. The structure might not be architecturally appealing, but sometimes utility trumps artistic design and it can’t be any worse-looking than the previously mentioned lots.

The structure could even begin to pay for itself immediately. A garage would offer spaces protected from the elements, and a permit for the garage could come with a revenue-raising additional fee.

Campus has long been in need of a large-scale transportation overhaul and a new parking garage would mark a substantial step in the right direction.

The parking situation has to be dealt with before pedestrian, bicycle and traffic issues can be adequately addressed.

A school trying to raise its reputation and performance to the next level should be willing to raise its parking as well.

The offer, which adopted all recommendations made by state fact-finder Barry Goldman, maintained the initial CMU salary offer of a first-year pay freeze, and then 2.25 and 2.5 percent pay increases for the next two respective years. The FA did not negotiate down from its proposal of a one-semester pay freeze followed by a 2.2-percent pay raise next semester, followed by 3.7-percent and 3.9-percent increases in the next two respective years.

While the Central Michigan Life editorial board stands by its previous support of the FA and believes its members deserve fair and equitable terms determined through good-faith bargaining, the bargaining unit needs to be willing to budge for a compromise.

That is not to say the FA has to accept this offer, FA members could easily look at this proposal and shoot it down, and if they do, they will simply be to exercising their rights.

It is understood the group did not have to vote on this, but to be harshly dismissive by not allowing those this will directly effect to participate seems to destroy the point of bargaining for those people.

The fact that it wasn’t being voted on is surprising.

More importantly, this is the last chance for a conclusion to this conflict through negotiation. There is no reason this offer should not have gone to a vote before the FA membership. It was an unnecessarily fast, decisive and absolutist conclusion to five months of negotiations.

The bargaining team honestly believes the FA deserves the pay increases in its contract proposal, and that is respectable. However, it has not adjusted its salary proposal since negotiations began in July, and that is an unnecessary show of stubbornness in this situation.

Compromises need to be made exactly because this is about the future of the university. This is not just about the pride or ideals of either side. This is about education and paving the way for the future through the students at CMU.

“The student today is a consumer and a client and you make sure through client surveys that they’re happy with the products you’re providing,” Arum said.

The presentations — one at Charles V. Park Library and the other at Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium — focused on the researchers’ study, which concluded that standards at colleges have sharply declined in the last four decades.

Roksa and Arum also specifically referenced a similar study done by Jason Bentley, CMU’s director of First Year Experience, that found it lacking in academic self-efficacy, academic integration, advanced academic behavior and self assessments of various skills.

The education of people and preparing people to enter a valuable livelihood is not a business; it is a social imperative of the highest importance.

It is relatively unimportant to make sure students have a good time in their college experiences, whereas the real goal of a university education should be to produce successful and productive members of society.

A university’s measure of success should not be how well students rate professors after a semester ends or how much school spirit they feel. It should, instead, focus on how well alumni are performing five or 10 years after graduation in all aspects of their lives.

Some administrators might argue they are only doing their best to appeal to the greatest number of potential students, which is undoubtedly true. But this speaks to a need for a national re-evaluation of what people want from college and why.

A university education is supposed to be a beneficial and transformative experience of intellectual, social and moral standards, not a four-year resort.

We would demand much better service if we were paying to stay at Sandals Resort, Mount Pleasant.

A radical reform in education is needed to keep American graduates competitive internationally and there is no reason CMU cannot reprioritize and be at the forefront of such a change.

CMU officials repeatedly profess the goal of being on a higher level of recognition nationally, so now is the time to make effective education a priority above profit and expansion.

After all, Ivy League graduates aren’t highly sought after because their classroom buildings are really nice.

Card is accused of driving two 21-year-old women from O’Kelly’s Sports Bar & Grill, 2000 S. Mission St., to a dirt road on Sept. 11. He agreed to drive both home after attending to a nuisance party call. The women agreed and took the ride.

When arriving on the road, police allege Card said he was going to give the women a portable breath test. He said if the test results were higher than a certain limit, the women would have to expose their bare chests. The girls agreed and showed their chests after the test results were higher than the limit Card specified.

He also had the women pose for a photograph on the back of his patrol car, which was later found stored on his cell phone by investigators.

Card, who now faces up to five years in prison along with $10,000 in fines, resigned from the CMU Police Department and the university on Sept. 16.

This story is not only disgusting in itself, but it unfairly does significant damage to the strong reputation of the CMU Police.

As college students, we understand the reality of what role police officers play in the lives of young adults. Whether it is a MIP offense or a simple traffic violation, most students have had some sort of interaction with the law.

Their experiences and those of their friends mold their perception of the police.

While students may not be happy with being ticketed for any number of violations, most understand police officers are there to benefit the whole, and make sure safety is the first priority.

How can we feel comfortable in a town where an officer was found to have abused his power to such a degree when dealing with young students?

We look to police officers as those who enforce the law and protect us. But situations like this color our view and ultimately make us question the true moral character of these public servants.

The actions of one seem to affect the impression the public has on the whole department, and that not only makes the department look terrible, but it shows them in a false light and demolishes the trust built with the community.

People will ask themselves, “How can I feel protected living here?” And they are not out of line to question it.

Rather than allow this incident to create disrespect toward officers, students and community members should remember protecting oneself is imperative, but the majority of these officers hold themselves to a high moral standard.

CMU Police’s continued cooperation with the investigation and Card’s quick suspension shows the department is still concerned about the safety of students, even when that requires protecting us from someone who once wore their badge.

CM Life reported on Friday that senior defensive end Kashawn Fraser is serving nine months of probation after being convicted of domestic violence.

According to court documents, Fraser grabbed his girlfriend of three years, a former CMU women’s basketball player, by the shirt and dragged her around the bedroom floor of his residence on Jan. 9. He pleaded no contest more than a month ago.

Fraser’s legal troubles did not end there, however, as three days before his plea he was pulled over and charged for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

While these incidents fall squarely on the shoulders of Fraser, they illuminate a need for schools to keep a closer eye on athletes.

Students on scholarships are held as some of the best and brightest and athletes help carve the image of a university. These nationwide ambassadors have privileges that other students do not, with special computer lab hours, days away from the classroom for travel and early registration.

This latest incident is just another in a rather lengthy list of CMU athletes to get into trouble away from their respective teams.

In 2004, four CMU football players were charged in the beating death of Demarcus Graham outside a Mount Pleasant bar. In 2008, basketball players Marcus Van and Chase Simon were charged with felonies for stealing credit cards. In 2009, basketball player Jacolby Hardiman was released from the team after being arrested for similar charges. Wide receiver Darren Martin III was charged, among other things, with attempted sexual conduct in the third degree, resisting and obstructing a police officer and possession of marijuana in January 2009.

To be fair, CMU isn’t the only school that has had its share of problem athletes. Several Michigan State University football players have been arrested in the past year for various reasons. Chris L. Rucker, who served 10 days in jail for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, was kicked off the team and later reinstated.

But regardless of the nature of the arrests or where they occur, it is imperative that the athletes CMU recruits are thoroughly evaluated, not just on how fast they can sprint 100 yards down the pitch, how fast they can whip a ball to second or their shooting average behind the arc, but their moral characteristics as a person.

If CMU wishes to better its athletic programs with quality athletes, recruiters must take strides to ensure the candidates will bring more than just physical talents to the campus.

A fund would help ease the tension on those who are registered student organization presidents, graduate students or those enrolled in printing-heavy courses.

Currently, undergraduate students are allotted $10 worth of printing for each semester, whereas graduate students receive $15.

While those amounts might be sufficient for most students, it is clear that it isn’t enough for all. It is good to see SGA acknowledge that the new system needs perfecting. And it is this sort of initiative for which SGA is at its best.

As of Dec. 3, 7 percent of students used the entirety of their PrintQ allocation. Mouzourakis said that number rose to 12 percent by the end of the semester.

While there will always be an abuse of any system, it is crucial that CMU not punish those who really need help with printing costs. If only 12 percent of the student body exceeded their allocation in the Fall 2010 semester, then 88 percent of students didn’t, meaning  this fund would not be another frivolous financial burden placed on students’ shoulders.

Mouzourakis said she expects the funds to come from the Office of Information Technology’s budget.

And because the funds are expected to come out of OIT’s budget, the $70,000 Jeff McDowell, associate director of university services and support at the CMU Help Desk, said the university saved last semester because of PrintQ will not be affected.

Saving money in a financially strapped economy is essential, but this is a step that ensures those who legitimately require extra money to print are not going to be left paperless just because they are more involved on campus than the average student.

Mouzourakis said students would have to show they have a substantial need for money to be added to their PrintQ allocation. The fact students would have to apply to receive extra printing funds is crucial to catch those attempting to skirt the system.

SGA should work hard and fast with the OIT to figure out the best way to implement the plan, and do its best to make sure those who need the extra help receive it.

Such a facility, which would include stadium suites, will actually generate revenue for the university through its lease agreement with Lodgco Management LLC. Through the agreement, Lodgco will pay to use the land — presently the current location of the football practice field adjacent to Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

CMU funds are not locked into the construction project. The funding, design and construction will be handled by Lodgco, which will work with University President George Ross in determining a fair market value for the land lease.

Lodgco President Michael Smith said the hotel — about five or six stories — will be designed to blend into existing CMU architecture if the board approves the project. The 150-room hotel would include indoor and outdoor pools, exercise facilities, a business center, restaurant, conference space and other features, only boosting CMU’s ability to entertain campus visitors.

There is a noticeable shortage of upscale hotel space in the city of Mount Pleasant, particularly surrounding the university.

Lodgco Management reported to the board of trustees its facility will be a full-service hotel, filling a void in the community. The new hotel will help ease frustration for thousands of travelers visiting CMU sporting events and the Soaring Eagle Casino year-round who find their visit obstructed by a lack of available lodging.

Also included in the design package were six to eight suites in the football stadium connected to the hotel by a glass atrium. During the winter months, these suites could be used for additional conference space. Director of Athletics Dave Heeke said there already is a waiting list of patrons lining up to use the new suites to enjoy CMU football games from a bird’s-eye view.

The hotel and increased number of suites will prove to pay off when the football team hosts Michigan State in 2012. Heeke has publicly discussed a temporary stadium expansion for the game, and extra suites will help generate more revenue for the athletics department.

Just as importantly, there is an invested academic interest in the proposal. Smith said students will benefit from internship opportunities and hands-on learning experiences.

Lodgco Management will host classrooms in the hotel for students in the fields of business, construction management and hospitality so they can see first-hand what they are learning about.

The move makes sense for CMU, as well as students and taxpayers, who can rest assured their tuition and tax money will not go toward the hotel.

If Lodgco Management is willing to invest about $25 million on a structure that will enhance the campus silhouette and improve the experience of visitors at no cost to CMU, then the campus community must give Lodgco the assurance that they are in support of their investment.

Central Michigan University is possibly looking at a 2 percent tuition increase next year, which is small compared to previous years. But universities should not bow to the state by raising tuition rates to offset lower state appropriations — exactly what government officials consider appropriate in dire economic times.

A 2 percent increase in tuition is a failure on CMU’s part, especially when smaller schools such as Grand Valley State University and Eastern Michigan University are trying to freeze or reduce tuition. CMU isn’t Michigan State or the University of Michigan, and its tuition rates should reflect that.

EMU surprised students by announcing that tuition, room and board will stay level during the next academic year. EMU also had the lowest tuition increase during the 2008-09 academic year.

GVSU is taking similar steps in reducing tuition by promising to cut its rate by 5 percent if the state gives it $3,775 per student, the minimum level of state funding. CMU receives $4,285 per student — much more than GVSU and the state minimum.

Coupled by the fact that both universities have a comparable number of undergraduate students (17,851 students at CMU, 17,135 at GVSU), it is absurd CMU is even proposing to increase tuition.

So what’s stopping CMU from taking the same steps in not raising tuition? Yes, lower appropriations from the state make it difficult to continue operation but, if other universities are capable of continuing without increasing tuition, CMU should be able to do the same.

GVSU receives the lowest funding per student in the state and is proposing to cut tuition costs with lower per-student funding than CMU. EMU had the lowest increase in tuition last year and managed to keep the same rate.

Perhaps it’s the mentality that CMU is better than EMU and GVSU, and closer to the likes of MSU or U-M. But during struggling economic times, why increase tuition when your direct competition — which already is cheaper to attend — is not?

Someone should tell administrators that this university can’t compete on the same level as the bigger colleges in academics. CMU isn’t a giant research facility. The football team does not generate a profit. Enrollment numbers are nowhere near either of those universities. CMU isn’t recognized nationally to be as nearly as scholarly.

Why? Because the university chooses to spend money on big projects, such as the medical college, rather than on bolstering its existing academic programs. And now those programs are suffering.

CMU needs to freeze tuition if it wishes to be competitive within the state of Michigan. Show students that giving the best possible education at a feasible price is more important than earning a few extra dollars.