Nickle and Dime the Public

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Underwritten by the property owners of North OC

Here’s an e-mail we received from a Sunny Hills High school student that raises some good questions about the lack of communication between High School District and the NOCCCD and why FJC requires that people pay to park when nobody is using the facility.

This past Friday night, I went to the Sunny Hills vs. Fullerton H.S. School football game at Fullerton High which happens to be right across the street from Fullerton Junior College which happens to have a parking structure right across the street from the high school’s stadium.  I parked in that parking structure and ended up getting a parking ticket for not having a Fullerton College parking permit.  I did not think that at this time (7:00-9:00pm) on a Friday night anyone would be checking for the parking permit because of the event that was going on at the stadium.  There were many cars parked in the structure who were apparently also going to the game that did not have a parking permits.  The officer that gave me the ticket was named Officer Gonzalez, I believe.

Is Fullerton College really in that much of a budget crunch that they need to go out and give a bunch of high school students parking tickets to collect twenty seven dollars?  If people didn’t park in this structure we would be parking in the residential areas to the north of the stadium which would bother the residents that live near the stadium.  The group that issued the ticket is discouraging students from going to high school promoted events. Can’t someone from the High School District and the College figure out a responsible plan that would assure people can go to the football stadium, watch a football game and not get a parking ticket?

Colin Lamontagne

11 Replies to “Nickle and Dime the Public”

  1. School districts are notorious for collecting ALL the money they can steal from you! To add to the burden, the district safety officers seem to have been hired for their lack of ability to execute any professional judgment whatsoever! I have yet to meet one who would exercise any discretion. The ones that I have met and seen around FCC and other colleges are hell-bent to show you that they are the boss of you. What they fail to realize is that the greatest power they hold is the power to exercise professional judgment and use discretion. Not to over generalize, there are a few good ones but very few indeed. Unfortunately, they are outnumbered by police academy flunkies with Napoleon complexes and a badge.

    Good luck Colin and please keep us posted.

    P.S. Even us professors get tickets when we don’t display our parking permit. We buy the permit out of pocket for around $20 per semester and if we forget to hang it or we take our spouses car that doesn’t have the permit, we get to pay the ticket too!

  2. CSUF has free parking on Friday evenings for many events when students are not there. I would think FCC should do the same. I hope someone who knows the administration should follow up on this.

  3. C’mon Minard! Are you telling us that there are people in Fullerton you don’t know? Make the call buddy!

  4. The funny thing is they build the structure, jack up the price so most students just park in the neighborhood around FJC anyway. Save yourself a hassel, just park on Berkley behind the stadium.

  5. How about this Colin, you pay for the ticket that I got from the city of Fullerton for parking in the lot next to your high school’s agriculture building after your school ended for the day, and I’ll pay for the ticket you received for parking in the structure without a permit…
    I suppose you could look at your ticket for what it truly is, a lesson. You have now hopefully learned how important and valuable it is to mind your surroundings, whether for reasons of fiscal responsibility or self preservation.
    On a side note, I have and continue to have class on the nights Fullerton Union holds events at their stadium; and for some reason I have yet to understand why everyone walks to and fro at suck a painfully lethargic pace. Imagine getting out of a mind-numbing physics lecture on oscillations wanting nothing more than to drive your face into your steering wheel just to make sure it didn’t melt off from the differentials that flew past and over your head just moments ago, only to be stuck behind a precession of meandering simpletons, arms full of blankets and anything else they can fit in the back of their sport utility vehicles…

  6. How about you read the rules first before “thinking” nobody will check:

    http://campussafety.fullcoll.edu/parking_rules.html
    Except for 24-hour designated areas, all parking areas are enforced between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m-2 p.m. Saturday.
    •Staff Parking
    •Student Parking
    •Metered Parking
    •Visitor Parking

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