For years, literally, four years, I dodged the parking police as best I knew how. I tried the various tricks of the sticker-skirter – taking full advantage of the “two week courtesy” for expired or decal-less cars, parking my car rear side in (to cover my rear window), and parking in no-person’s land (which in the last few years since I’ve been away has evolved into a mile hike. I’m kissing gopher tortoises goodbye as I walk to class.).

But recently I was privy to some really great news, parking decals are free. Well, I mean we pay for them with our tuition fees but now we don’t have to fork over yet another $25 during the financial blitz associated with the start of every semester.

I visited the campus police and made the decal pilgrimage. Mildly unconvinced that I wouldn’t have to shell out the decal fee, I interrogated the gentleman behind the desk. “So what’s the deal with this? I don’t have to pay?” “No” replied Senior Clerk, Bryan Arkin, “The fees have been included in tuition. They are part of the transportation access fee, paying the access fee provides you with a free decal.” I was absolutely elated, “Free!” I shouted aloud.

Excited now, I asked him more decal questions. “I tried getting a decal on-line but wasn’t able to do so” I whined. He told me that there was only a certain amount of time that one could access a decal on-line, that they had been available on-line for at least two months before the start of the semester but the option was no longer available. That’s what I get for being a cheap sticker-skirter I guess.

Mr. Arkin handed me my decal and gave me a rundown of its new features – stickers are now transferable (they peel off) and they are good for a year (Double yeah!). I thanked the Sticker Saint with genuine gratitude and set off to figure out which side of the rear window was my left.

The decal has set me free. Truly it has for I can now park anywhere, well almost anywhere without having to strategize where to park without getting caught. For all my fellow sticker-skirters, join me in this new found freedom, to park and go to class without fretting that you will, after a sweaty trek to your car, find a cute little envelope nestled under a windshield wiper.

For more decal-related information, visit the Traffic and Parking building and pick up, “Traffic and Parking: Rules and Regulations,” a handy brochure that gives you the decal low-down.