CSUN students face a frustrating problem in their everyday commute to class –parking.

This problem doesn’t affect the entire student population, but it does affect the majority.

Approximately 80 percent of CSUN students commute to campus, according to a report by the Institute for Sustainability. That’s 35,600 students out of the roughly 44,000 enrolled.

This is my fourth year at the university and I have faced this problem since my first day in fall 2012.

If CSUN invests in building another parking structure it will help with the congestion of cars that go in and out of the campus on a day-to-day basis.

We as a student body must stand up and fight for a better campus experience, which is hinged because of the fact that we cannot find parking.

If more students buy parking passes, which can be on the expensive side, the school should have enough money to build more structures. Buying a pass shows the high demand.

The problem with this issue is students don’t find the price of the parking pass is worth the hassle of the traffic congestion.

Therefore many park on the bordering streets. They save money, but it shows the school that another parking structure is not needed.

When weighing the pros and cons of purchasing the almighty pass, some do not believe the actual cost is worth it. I tend to differ.

Parking on the neighboring streets, comes with worries about street cleaning, angry neighbors and limited parking. Besides those challenges, students have to get to school early to find parking and walk to the campus.

CSUN’s parking allows students to park on any lot or structure for the entire school year. Given there’s traffic, there is no need to go through the hassle of getting a parking ticket, arriving late and having to walk nearly a mile to get to class. Or possibly getting towed for parking too long.

Weighing out the costs for both, the $360 seems like a small price to pay. There is also the option of splitting the cost into two payments of $180 per semester, in case you only have one semester left.

Once the majority of the commuter population has bought a parking pass, CSUN will see the demand for more parking is high. A new structure would open up hundreds of spots and would decrease traffic congestion.

Although purchasing parking passes may raise enough funds to build the new parking structure, some will never get a chance to experience the finished outcome and therefore not bother purchasing the pass. It may be our last semester or last year on campus, but we must also think about graduate school and incoming students.

If we don’t do anything to solve our problems now, things will never change.

Parking is a serious issue and affects over half of the student population. It’s not getting any better.

It’s time that we, as the student body, make a stride towards a better campus. If you have already purchased a parking pass, you have done your part towards getting CSUN to realize that there is a high demand for another parking structure. If not, you can purchase one for next semester here.

–Anna Murillo, 21, is a CSUN communication major.