August 25, 2008
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Freshman Car
The University of Miami has banned freshman from using cars during their first year at the school.
The reasons are to “encourage public transportation, ride sharing and biking.” It is also part of the effort of the University to go green. Here is the link: Link
Do you think freshman should be banned from having cars their first year of school?
Comments (107)
if you don’t like it, don’t go there.
I wonder, how many students they will lose because of this? You know some of these kids visit their parents in Idaho.
I don’t know what it honestly solves. maybe a cut down on underage drunk driving. come their sophomore year, they’ll be driving again.
i do know that the freshmen at my university rarely drive, because everything is in walking distance.
Eh, I had mine but didn’t use it all that much other than for going out of town. I’d say let them have it nearby but make parking on campus a pain… oh wait is already is for everyone.
Eh, the concept is good… but it’s not great in practice. I had a job when I was in college, and it was far enough way that I wouldn’t have wanted to walk… and the town had virtually no public transit. I guess it just depends on the location and feasibility of the decision.
They already do it at many places, it isn’t that big of a deal. Make friends, use public transportation, and suck it up.
No.
No. They should think of other ways to go green, like having discounts on public transportation and good bike paths.
Total bullshit to me.if they have to pay to go to the damn school like others then they should be able to drive…….better yet if they dont drive give them a 50% discount on their first year of school…………..really is getting bad having dick-tators decide who what and when people can do what they have a right to do………….
I don’t care myself. If I was a freshman again I’d say no. Like someone else said, go to a different school if you don’t like their rules. Find one with rules you can live with.
just freshman?…that’s lame. Even high schoolers drive to school.
You had to be a junior to have a car on my college campus (if you were dorming), but we had our own bus system. (Commuters could bring their cars.)
If University of Miami is banning freshmen from bringing cars, then I hope they at least provide some other transportation solutions/assistance.
i assume this is miami of ohio, and if so, this has been a policy there for years.
Quite a few colleges do that actually. I think UC Davis does.
crazy! most parents buy their kids their first car when they graduate hs for college. so no i dont think it should be banned!
A lot of colleges in MI do that. I guess it’s just something you get used to. I think it’s stupid, but really, freshman are known for not having cars so they find ways to get around. This really isn’t news to me…lol.
Encouraging people to “go green” and take public transportation is one thing. Banning freshman from having cars is another. I know that you don’t have to go there. There are plenty of other schools. Still, I think that it’s a ridiculous ban. Most people need cars for going into the city, especially if you have a job off campus. Taking public transportation at night isn’t always safe.
Most colleges here in Michigan don’t allow freshman to have cars on campus. I totally agree with the idea. My kids found they really didn’t need a car anyway…the public transportation on campus is really good, and there’s usually no place to park anyway.
does no one else find it fairly age biased? hello, welcome to your first day of adulthood. By the way we won’t allow you to drive despite the fact that you are at the age to legally do so and may already own a vehicle for the specific purpose of traveling.
On one level, depends on the layout of the college neighborhood.
There is an inconvenience to public transportation, and this inconvenience is magnified if there isn’t a convenient college town for hanging out, eating out, and grocery shopping.
But quite seperately, the school should really mind its own buisness. A student’s conduct outside school walls, as long as it isn’t criminal or particularly egregious, shouldn’t bother school administrators and policy makers.
My university doesn’t allow freshman to have cars because it’s really not necessary in this town… everything is pretty centrally located around the university, and because there aren’t enough parking spots. And really, it’s not that hard to walk, bike, catch the bus, or find someone to carpool with. It helps encourage both environmental awareness and communication with others.
A lot of schools do that and I think it’s generally a good idea as long as they make exceptions for out of state students.
On-campus freshmen who have cars steal parking spaces from commuters.
@TiRocKiinPiinK - They already do it at many places, it isn’t that big of a deal. Make friends, use public transportation, and suck it up.
Especially for public universities, many student commute home over the weekends. With the frequent stops of public busses, it’s neither time efficient nor pleasent to commute home on busses.
freshmen weren’t allowed to have cars at my undergrad and it wasn’t really a big deal.
Next thing you know they will be making people have licenses to drive, and they will probably have to register their cars too.
It’s all going down…
@sigma_C_eq - if you don’t like it, don’t go there.
Most of us are not high school seniors having applied to or looking to enter U of M. We, as bystanders, can seperately weigh the fariness and reasonblility of the policy even if we have no practical stake in it.
My school lets them… but several schools I was looking at didn’t, not for any big philosophical reason, but simply because there wasn’t enough parking for everyone, which sounds like a fine reason to me.
@ocelot61 - UCLA jacks up the price for the parking permits and use the money for free bussing.
Supply and demand in aciton. =D
I know a lot of colleges that don’t allow freshman to have cars. What would suck on the otherhand is if you were in a city that wasn’t all that great to live in without a car.
As long as the students can get around easily, I don’t see why not?
As for going home every weekend, if you’re going to do that, why not just live at home?
@GhostBenjimon - Ha ha.
It’s fine if the college is willing to pay for the public transportation for the students. Oh, wait, that won’t happen because colleges consume money like no one else.
Sounds kinda lame for the Freshmen, but really, if you don’t like it, don’t go there.
Good job for the university for taking action though
Most schools don’t let freshmen drive to school.
I don’t think they should be though. It seems pointless.
Don’t freshmen have enough problems? Everyone picks on the frosh.
we were
yeah. as a future college freshman, i would rather not have to worry about taking my car to school.
I think it’s pretty ridiculous for a university to tell you you “can’t” use your car….but hey.
Sure. Except, of course, in cases where it can be proven that they need one.
I don’t think it’s really fair that only the freshmen are basically forced to go green; upperclassman can just as well take public transportation, share rides, etc.
That’s how it was when I went to college. No big deal. Gives us commuters more space to park. Everything at my college, if you lived in the town, was just a bike ride away, so I don’t think students really minded.
I’m going to school in Boston, so I really don’t want to drive anyways.
They did that at my high school, well Sophomores couldn’t park on campus, but if someone wants to drive they will find a way….
nope.
I know a lot of schools that do that, mainly to save on parking, etc. I’m pretty sure mine did that; not a big deal, really.
It sounds like a twisted way to encourage people to stay on campus……
No, because some people are very shy and wouldn’t have the courage to ask upper classmen for rides. Also, a person needs groceries.
This might work if the univesity provided reliable transportation to grocery stores, clothing stores and other areas of entertainment.
i don’t even drive, so i’ll live.
I don’t really agree with it, but Miami has nice public transit, I hear.
My school “strongly discouraged” us having cars our first year.
I ended up being the only one not driving to school.
No. That’s pretty controling.
a lot of schools do that, except their reason is that having a car is more of a distraction… it’s actually private schools that have that rule…
What’s good for one ; is good for all .. so all should do this .. not just freshman. And, true, even high school students drive to school … If they are going to establish this, it needs to be fair.
They’re going to use them anyway and it’s going to piss off the surrounding community because their parking spots will all be taken.
I don’t know. I don’t think this is a big deal, but I do feel like freedoms are just being taken away day by day.
America isn’t free anymore.
Is this a part of a socialist act to make people support something that they may not?
With as bad a drive as my older daughter is, I don’t think the school should allow her to have a car there….EVER!
Alot of colleges around here started that. I think it’s just an annoyance; I plan on using a bike to get around on and near the campus, but no cars at all? Seriously, that’s just stupid. What if I have to go to the market (say it’s across town from school)? Am I supposed to spend the money I’d spend on gas to be dropped off at a location closest to the market and then walk the rest of the way AND pay to come back? Please, if I’m capable of doing it…don’t tell me I can’t. I don’t feel like pissing away money on inconvenience.
No. That’s ridiculous.
yes, unless they’re commuting… there’s always upperclassmen who can drive them around anyway
Good idea!
At my former University, Freshmen & Sophomores weren’t allowed parking permits..they were reserved for Jrs & Srs…It was a space issue..too many students, not enough parking lots..
i suppose the idea of the impact is good, but whether or not the possible outcome occurs is another story.
No.
lots of colleges do that. santa cruz doesn’t allow any of their students to have cars, i believe. =)
at ucsb i justbummed rides off of upper classmen.
I have a question? What if they are an adult going back to school and have a job and children? I think it might be better to offer a better tuition rate for those “who can use public transportation instead”
I would be very hesitant to go to such a school.
larger universities are sometimes just not large enough for all of those vehicles. i live in a college town & i sure wish there was a rule like that here when ever i want to go somewhere those first few weeks of classes when all these kids are trying find their way around…
At my husbands college freshman weren’t allowed cars, but that was because it was in downtown Minneapolis and there simply was no place to store them!
No. I don’t.
At my school freshmen aren’t allowed cars except in “extreme circumstances” or if they live in the new residence hall (where I live) because it’s 2 miles from everything else and not an easily walkable distance, but it’s always been a matter of the lack of parking on campus. They’re actually constructing a parking ramp now so maybe that will change now.
I’m glad I still get to have my car, because I still have my job back home, which is only about 20 minutes away by car, but 2 hours by bus.
I think doing it to encourage going green is a little bit unfair, though, simply because upperclassmen have the choice and freshmen don’t. If the lack of parking is the reason, seniority makes sense, but why aren’t the sophomores, juniors, and seniors being forced to “encourage” public transportation, ridesharing, or biking if that is in fact the reason for the shift?
@danlang - Agreed. In cities with good public transportation and things within walking distance it’s not such a bad idea. In cities that are widespread with nothing within walking distance and little good public transit (like Houston) it just doesn’t make sense. My car was recently totaled (not my fault!) right before I started my Freshman Year at Houston Baptist University, and I’ve been paying for it ever since. I’ve lost my job, am unable to shop, and have no means of getting to my doctor’s appointments on time (according to the offical METRO site it would take me 120 min to go 6.1 miles). It’s been a nightmare. People often take for granted the access to public transit in major cities, in Houston, it’s just not there.
Here’s the link to a google map showing where I need to go and the estimated time needed to get there.
Here’s the link to the METRO map taken off of their trip planner.
Should’ve changed it from age to proximity to the school
No.
A lot of schools do this. It’s really nothing new.
Mine did it, and it wasn’t a big deal at all. The freshman didn’t have cars on campus unless they paid for parking, which left more parking available to everyone else. In a city, it makes a whole lot of sense. If you’re commuting home every weekend to mommy and daddy, then you probably didn’t have the balls to pick a school all that far away anyway, and your mommy can come pick you up.
Freshmen weren’t allowed to have their cars on campus at my school, either. I tend to think it was a parking space issue at my college; there wasn’t nearly enough parking for everyone, so I guess the administration figured that could cut the usage by not allowing freshmen to park their cars at school.
I wonder if it’s a space issue at other schools that do this.
However, I should note that, if a freshman were to provide a valid reason for having his or vehicle on campus (such as, a job), they were granted permission.
So, all this to say that I think it’s no big deal. Those who NEED to have their car can probably work it out with the powers that be to make it happen.
Besides, it’s a way of preparing them for the cruel world they’re going to face.
((kidding))
Why not? If they dorm, they don’t necessary needs cars to get from one part of the campus to the next. If I have to pick I will choose the freshman too! Its just common sense. The freshman student body take up the largest portion of the school. This will help the environment and prevent fewer car accident within the school campus.
I rode the bus for the first 2 years of college, I could not afford a car at the time. It was just fine.
It’s a nice thought, but I’d be pissed if I were a Freshman going there. Sometimes having your own ride is the better option.
I think it’s not a bad idea.
i guess it depends on the campus and the surrounding area. i just started college and i didn’t bring my car, but now that i’m here, i definitely know that next time i go home i’m going to bring my car back with me just because it’s so inconvenient to walk anywhere around here. but my school is built on hills and is almost in a forest, so if it was just a regular college campus where it wasn’t difficult to get places, i’d say banning cars would be okay.
Hm, looks like I’m not applying at the University of Miami.
wow that sounds really ridiculous especially for those who don’t live near the school, but i guess it helps with PARKING. first day of school = ~ an hour to find parking.
reply to your message: i’m just not an active public blogger
I actually like this idea
I don’t know many students with cars anyway.
it’s like High School, all over again.
Yes, It promotes resourcefulness………and helps lighton our Carbon footprint.
My parents imposed that rule for myself and my sisters and I was glad to have it. Sometimes it got annoying but it forced us to learn the area around us and not be tempted to go home. It forced us to get comfortable at school.
Probably not to the extent of banning, but active discouragement.
if you’re paying to go to college, you should 100 percent have the right to bring your car. At least make a parking lot for them or something. Don’t exclude them…Aren’t colleges supposed to make it very welcoming for freshman? I do know a college by me that does this. It is not fair though.
It’s not really that unuasual. And it’s not like they can stop you from owning a car, you just can’t have it on campus. Sometims it’s a campus congestion issue.
On a related note, Freshmen are sometime required to live on-campus. That, to me, seems more intrusive & meddling that regulating the number of cars allowed on-campus.
I think freshman should have the option of having a car. You can’t depend on someone else to get where you need to go all the time (especially if you are already used to having your own car and driving yourself around). Plus there are those that work and go see family.
I know I wouldn’t go to a college if it wouldn’t let me bring my car (at least I don’t believe I would).
Nope.
My college does the same thing… only upper classmen can have cars on campus. I never had a problem with it really. It was a little inconvient, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.
What if you’re an older adult coming back to college and you are a freshman. They better let you drive!!!!!!!
If the public transportation is good enough, then it sounds like a great idea.
If not, it could cause some real problems.
Why just freshman? You can’t single out just one grade. You’d have to do it to all of them.
If it was just a matter of overcrowded facilities, etc.- that would be understandable. And, of course, a private university has the right to set its policies. This, however, should be noted. The University of Miami’s president is none other than Donna Shalala- the same woman who invented “political correctness”. This is a person who believes that colleges (and government) have the intrinsic right to coerce and propagandize others into her radical notions of ethics and lifestyle. That is obviously what this automobile ban is all about.
It’s just another reason why arrogant leftist zealots shouldn’t be running institutions of higher learning. Their main thrust is to turn out kids as ideological carbon copies of themselves, not to provide them with a quality education. It’s one thing to encourage bicycles, carpooling, etc. It’s quite another to enforce them on young adults for purposes of the dean’s own ego.
nope! very, very bad idea.
i personly think going “green” is starting to be overkill. sorry that is me. >.<
freshmen need to have their car to go to work and visit their parents. i think the university is going to loose their students becouse of this.
those people need to think twice on how much of a pain it is to take public transportation and on the fact that they might be late for classes (been there done that) and how much trouble is to share a ride and how people try to get a free ride where gas cost so much…
and biking? it depends on how far away the students are staying.
they are going to have a lot of late students… so i think it’s a very bad idea they would ban them to use their own car.
No, that’s none of their business. If they want to go green they should focus on other aspects.
can’t hurt, but the thing i care more about is “freshmen” being spelled properly
Every school I’ve attended (3 total) has banned freshman from having cars a) for parking space and b) to encourage the students to get to know each other and the campus. I think it’s a good idea
i think the real issue is that the university is short on parking and long on complaints, so rather than build more parking lots, they are banning freshman cars. cheap solution.
I guess this means that more pizza delivery guys will be taking the bus to go on their runs.
Um, MOST larger schools do this, and the reason definitely isn’t to go green. Nice publicity stunt, though.
I’ve always thought that was dumb.
Freshmen weren’t allowed to have cars at my college, either (unless they lived more than 500 miles away). The university stated that it was done to encourage freshmen to stay in and around campus and bond with their classmates. We had very little parking space too, so the administration had to put a limit on the number of cars.
It wasn’t that big of a deal…I didn’t have a car until I was 22 anyway!
No. This is America, not some socialist hell.