By Jacqueline Hlavenka

As parking lots on the South side of campus quickly filled up during the morning rush hour, seasoned commuters who expected to find their usual vacant spot near the residential dorms, were met with an unexpected inconvenience. Saira Bajwa, a sophomore who commutes from Queens started her first day of classes on a sour note, when she saw that the University had gated off more than 200 primo parking spaces outside of Constitution Hall. “I used to park there [by Constitution] all the time. It’s so annoying. I have to get here 15 minutes earlier,” Bajwa said.The guarded space will be the site of a new five-story, suite-style graduate student dormitory. The 80 x 240 square-foot residential complex will have 225 beds, and is projected to be completed by January 2008.This latest addition to the construction on campus is part of the University’s plan to modernize the North side of campus, combining both the living and academic factor as a means to create a greater sense of community, according to Melissa Connolly, Vice President of University Relations.Connolly stresses that the current construction area will contribute to the betterment of the University as a whole, turning the campus into a more connected and livable environment than ever before. The need for more residence halls is a looming issue, as more students are seeking residency in towers and dormitory suites, 48 percent of them coming from out-of-state. As this number grows, which the University expects to occur as it attracts more students from outside the immediate surrounding area, additional housing for graduate students will be necessary. Niema Mansouri, 22, who graduated from the University in May with a finance degree, said the addition of a new graduate dorm would “absolutely” influence his decision to continue his graduate studies at the University. “That would definitely sway me, them building the dorms,” said the Huntington native who is currently working for a mortgage company, but plans to pursue an M.B.A.While the plans for the new building may excite many current and prospective graduate students, many commuters, who were already forced to give up about 70 parking spots where the new academic building now stands, expressed their discontent over the disappearing parking throughout campus.”There was a huge line this morning on California Avenue waiting to get into the commuter parking lot,” Mike Aharoni, a junior who commutes from Great Neck, said. “So I’m waiting, and waiting, and then I parked over by [C-Square] and it’s not even wintertime yet, where commuting becomes tough.”With students altering their schedules, waking up earlier and scrambling for a parking space, Connolly tells motorists “sorry for the inconvenience,” but adds that the University parking problem is not “unusual” for a college campus.Connolly explains that it is impossible to accommodate 13,000 students and 2,500 employees with adequate parking space, especially when considering the needed space for academic and residential buildings. “Because of the enormity of resources on a college campus, you have to have science labs, a communications building, a library, residence halls, dining facilities–you can’t put them all between a three-minute walk between each other,” Connolly added. “This is a 242-arce campus, and it has to maximize its resources to provide for 270 academic programs.” With about 4,500 commuters, congestion is expected. “It also gets better the second or third week of school. People start figuring out their routine,” Connolly said.As for now, the morning hours are flooded with hasty drivers and on-the-go students rushing to their 9:05 a.m. in Brower, 9:35 a.m. in Dempster, or 10:10 a.m. in Breslin. The demand for parking continues to grow, with no new plans for another lot on either side of campus.