The new parking pass distribution system implemented by the Student Government Athletics Department has caused discontent among the NC State student population, as not everyone is guaranteed a pass through the new lottery system.

Students are now required to request parking passes for football games online, as opposed to the old system of standing in line and waiting for passes the week before the game. While this method was created to cut down on parking pass wait times and prevent students from missing class to obtain a pass, many students are upset that the old method of waiting in line in the Brickyard has changed. 

For students such as Ryan Baldwin, a fourth-year studying computer and electrical engineering, waiting in line for the parking passes to be distributed is something that he views as part of the process of going to football games.

“I think that being able to wait in line for something that you really would want that’s important is kind of the whole point,” Baldwin said. “I feel as though there should be initial lines for distribution and then a secondary online process mainly because that would be a bit of a hybrid between first-come first-serve and people who can’t make it to the in-person distribution. 

Daniel Mock, a fourth-year studying computer engineering and director of athletics in the executive branch of Student Government, said that the Athletics Department is still currently working on sorting out certain complaints students have with the distribution method.

“This is the first year we’re doing it, obviously some group has to be the guinea pigs for an online distribution system just like people were when tickets went online,” Mock said. “That might be something to look at in the future for implementation purposes, making some sort of weighted lottery, but the athletics committee in Student Government last year was trying to push for this new online system.”

Baldwin, who has been attending football games since he was a first-year, said that he was surprised when his brother, who is a first-year transfer student, received a parking pass and he did not.

“I have been going to games since I was a freshman as a student,” Baldwin said. “I had wanted to tailgate last week but I did not and the only reason I didn’t is because I did not get a parking pass, but my brother who is an incoming transfer student, who’s a sophomore, did receive a parking pass despite having a literal blank slate of no loyalty points.”

Mock said that the system is not set up for loyalty because the two distributions are separate from one another. 

“There’s a couple different reasons, the main one is because the lottery system is not tied to the ticket distribution for student tickets at all, it’s completely isolated from if a student gets a game ticket through the lottery system,” Mock said.

Mock said that the biggest difference he has seen is with the amount of people waiting in lines to obtain their parking passes.

“This year, even just the first two games, you have no wait line at all at any distribution throughout the first two games, which in my opinion is exponentially better than what it was last year,” Mock said. “The problem with seniors being left out during parking pass distribution, obviously people are going to be upset because of that but it’s a give and take, to cut down on the long lines, that’s a sacrifice for that.” 

Other students think that if students can request parking passes online, students should be able to receive them online as well. Deepak Pahwa, a fourth-year Ph.D. student studying industrial engineering, said that the long lines themselves should be avoided.

“I think it should be online, you should not go stand in a queue of 100 people to get a parking pass, I should be able to just request it and get it online,” Pahwa said. “If it’s not available, it’s not available but I should not have to go somewhere and stand in a queue because when you’re getting the ticket online you should also be able to get the parking pass online.”

Baldwin expressed that his peers also are not content with the new method of distribution and said that he would like to see the data of the actual number of students that use the parking passes they were awarded.

“I know a lot of other people that probably feel the same way,” Baldwin said. “Considering that I know that they all said that waiting in line was great because they could get a parking pass. What I’d like to see … we can see who’s using the tickets, we have the numbers on those, but we can’t really see who’s using the parking passes. That data would be pretty beneficial, but overall my peers were pretty disappointed.” 

Ashton Davenport, a fifth-year studying English literature, said that she thinks that while giving parking passes to seniors would be nice, being guaranteed a parking pass is something she enjoys and thinks that all students should have the opportunity to enjoy as well. 

“I think everyone should get a chance to tailgate,” Davenport said. “I think it’s an essential part of being an NC State student even though tickets to technically factor in loyalty, it’s still a lottery, you’re still giving everyone a chance.” 

While not all students are happy with the new distribution method, Mock said that the athletics committee is open to feedback and is trying hard to make it as effective as possible.

“I believe the system is a lot better than it was,” Mock said. “Obviously a lot of people are going to be upset, you can’t please everybody, but we are trying to do the best we can to make it the best approach possible.”