By A Concerned Student
I am writing to inform you that on March 29, 2011, I received a parking violation for parking in an “illegal” spot. First and foremost, it should be known that I have a medical condition (cerebral palsy) that prohibits me from performing certain actions, and on occasion leaves me in severe pain when my right side is over-worked. On that particular morning, I arrived at Hofstra around 9:20 a.m. and was searching for parking behind C.V. Starr for almost thirty minutes even though my marketing class begins at 9:35 a.m. I was already fairly late for my first class of the day, so I decided to park in an “illegal” parking spot, right next to several other cars (all belonging to Hofstra Students, might I add).
When I came back to my car after my final class of the day, I was shocked to see that a “boot” had been placed on one of my tires, especially considering the fact that none of the cars next to me were booted. After explaining to the Public Safety officer behind the desk about my current medical condition and the fact that I had been in a considerable amount of pain as a result of marching in the Greek Parade representing Hofstra University the day before, I was treated rather indifferently and told to appeal the parking violation to the Student Conduct Board if I desired to do so. I was not only shockedby the lack of empathy for my medical condition, but also because he refused to acknowledge any relevant points that I had brought up to him.
After all was said and done at the Public Safety office, I decided to appeal my case before the Student Conduct Board, in the hopes of receiving more sympathy and understanding from my fellow student than I had elicited from the officer. Needless to say, I was met with a fairly similar response and was also told that I hadn’t parked in an actual parking spot. Again, it was quite upsetting to see that the board refused to understand the depth of my medical condition. After all, having four surgeries on the right side of my body and walking with a noticeable limp should be a substantial amount of evidence for my case. When they asked if I had a handicap sticker, I stated that I was never asked whether I needed one and that I would never have taken one out of guilt of depriving someone else who is severely handicapped. To be quite honest, I feel that the both the Public Safety officer and the board had already decided in their minds what the outcome of my case would be, despite anything I tried to do to convince them otherwise.
On another note, I was also surprised that I wasn’t given any benefit of the doubt considering that I am an active student in good standing — I have never received a violation of any sort before this unfortunate incident — and I also currently have a 3.85 GPA at the University. As a student who is enrolled at Hofstra and as someone who cares greatly about his academic endeavors, I was utterly disgusted by the way my case was handled by both the Public Safety officer and the Student Conduct Board. I would never wish such a situation on anyone else and to be quite frank, if a student with documented disabilities is not even given the slightest amount of empathy, then I believe that this does not reflect well on the image or the standard procedures of the University itself.