UH should put current students first

It seems like all UH officials ever talk about anymore is how the University is striving to meet up to Tier One standards to attract the best and brightest students and athletes.

We’re trying to build a new football stadium and renovate Hofheinz Pavilion while also trying to build new residence and dining halls — not to mention our attempt at raising admissions requirements. But has anyone stopped to think what students at UH students actually want?

It’s not news to anyone that parking on this campus is terrible. It can take students more than an hour to find parking between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Sure, students receive e-mails at the beginning of the semester, warning them about the situation, but it’s not realistic for students to plan to come to school an hour in advance to make their hour and a half classes.

Furthermore, during game days — even for non-UH teams — parking is even more restricted. Should we really be putting more importance on sporting events than we are putting on education?

So what is the University doing to fix this problem? The construction of the new parking garage next to Robertson Stadium is a start, but when did UH start construction on it?

UH is also planning to build more residence halls, completely ignoring that the ones we have are unable to reach full occupancy. And don’t think an increased number of students in dorms would alleviate the parking situation.

With most dining options closed and a lack of things to do on campus during nights and weekends, students need their cars on campus just to entertain themselves.

Because UH is in the Third Ward with no viable dining options off-campus within walking distance, it forces students to either drive somewhere else or hope they don’t have a history of heart disease in their family. Maybe the University should be less focused on attracting new students and focus more on satisfying its current students’ needs.