The following is an opinion article and opinion articles do not reflect the views of The Tulane Hullabaloo.

The opening of the new stadium has come with many hassles, but though irritating, the implementation of the gameday restrictions went better than expected during the home opener on Saturday. On gamedays, students with residential parking permits must move their vehicles to the fifth and sixth floors of the Collins C. Diboll Parking complex by 10 p.m. the night before a home game in Yulman Stadium.

Jon Barnwell, superintendent of the Tulane University Police Department, said there are 1,200 on-campus parking spots for game day, but he did not release the number of permits sold to Tulane students because sales are ongoing at this point in time. Tulane modeled the regulations after other colleges with on-campus football. Barnwell said all students had a spot in Diboll and if residents parked off-campus it was because they chose to.

On the night before the game, students assuredly found out they did have a parking spot in Diboll. Students pay the high price of $575 for a residential parking permit for the ability to park on Tulane’s campus and to know their vehicle is safe. Tulane’s game day restrictions kept students out of risk by ensuring that they did not have to park off campus and walk back to their dorms at night. Tulane has done well by accommodating all of its students in light of the huge challenge stadium parking presented.

The policy, however, still has room for improvement. Tulane should make the fans park on the top two floors of Diboll and let students park on all the remaining floors, or implement a similar policy. Students who call campus home should receive priority. 

Though some students have complained that their cars were towed when they were parked between the fourth and fifth floors of Diboll, Barnwell said cars TUPD only towed cars parked there without a permit.

All in all the parking policy was sufficient and served the community in the best way possible, considering the limited knowledge of how game days would function at the time. Since Tulane has had its first home game, the university will surely examine what worked, what didn’t work and how to address these problems so the parking experience will improve overall in the future. 

Brandi Doyal is a sophomore in the Newcomb-Tulane College. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].