Mailbag

College needs to sort its parking out

“What do you mean ‘No college parking’? But I have a permit.” This is the reaction of many students when they enter the parking structure at Glendale Community College.

You would think that buying a $60 parking permit each semester would save someone the time of trying to find parking. Yet, even with the permit, it is very difficult to find parking at the college. As a result, students are late to class, because they have to park their car far away. As if finding parking weren’t hard enough, on some weekdays, and most Saturdays, the parking structure is closed. Students who have Saturday class have to hit the road earlier than regular in case the parking structure is closed or full.

Yes, there are other parking structures, but almost 20 minutes away from my class by walking. After sitting down in a class for more than an hour, walking for 15 or 20 minutes will not be harmful, but that’s for students who do not rush to work.

For a student who goes straight to work after the class is over, parking far would eat up time. For example, during the weekdays, my class ends at 2:47 p.m., whereas my work hours start at 3 p.m., so parking my car far would make me late.

There is a solution to this problem, which Glendale Community College’s administration needs to consider. Instead of closing down the parking structure on Saturdays for non-college activities, leave it open, or post an announcement on the Web to let students know ahead of time so they can get there earlier. The parking structure is very convenient for me as well as for other students, and I get very irritated to see the pink sign with bold letters saying “No College Parking.”

I think anybody would react the same way after passing by the parking structure when it is empty and they had to park far away.

LIA NAVASARDYAN

Glendale

Pension contracts can lead to downfall

Secure retirement contracts do not result in companies going bankrupt because their retirement pensions and benefits are so extreme that continuing to pay the same becomes, in the long term, unsustainable.

I am 100% in favor of retirement contracts in both the public and private sectors that are fair and sustainable for all employees.

But “sustainable” implies that the private and/or public entity will have the capability of continuing to maintain a fully funded retirement account long after all employees have retired.