Printed in last week’s issue of The Chronicle, on March 14 a Public Safety officer reported that all the Rent-a-Spot signs in the parking lot on the south side of Gittleson Hall had been ripped off their posts.

The Rent-a-Spot program was launched in November by the Zarb School of Business Department of Management, Entrepreneurship, and General Businesses and Capital One Banking. Three groups of students were given the chance to build their own businesses based on a startup fund from Capital One.

Because of the tone of general dissatisfaction of Hofstra University’s student body in regards to parking, one group’s goal was to offer students an alternative to arriving hours early for class in hopes of finding a parking spot.  Twenty parking spots on the academic side of campus were selected to be auctioned off to Hofstra students, with bidding starting at $50. All profits were donated to the KIVA organization, which provides loans for entrepreneurs across the globe.

“The project was approved for many reasons. It supports Hofstra’s students’ quest for knowledge. In this case, the challenges are in securing venture capital and starting a business, even if it was for two months,” said Patrick Socci, Dean of the Zarb School of Business.

What the Rent-a-Spot team didn’t foresee was the drastically mixed reactions from the student body and faculty.  Many believe that Rent-a-Spot isn’t solving problems, but creating further difficulties for Hofstra commuters.

“Honestly, I think that reserved spots are an inconvenience to commuters who already dole out more money than they should to go here,” said junior Eric Murphy, commuter.

Other students felt cheated out of spots they had been using for years.

“At first I was outraged at the fact that they would take our spots but I understand it’s for a good cause. Still I don’t agree with them using those spots since they were already designated for us; they’re just taking spots away from commuters,” said Hofstra commuter Aamir Vikas Moharir.

One of the spot holders, senior Erica Serrazina, expressed her reasoning for participating in the program.

“I got a spot for two reasons: One, to support my friend who was a member of the team starting Rent-a-Spot, and two, obviously for convenience—I’m basically on the academic side every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., sometimes later. So it worked out nicely just to have a spot I can go to,” said Serrazina.

In regards to the fairness of the program Serrazina had no complaints.

“Rent-A-Spot is like any other service – to get the better things, sometimes you have to pay. I can understand why some people wouldn’t like it but we don’t have to pay for parking so it’s not too bad,” said Serrazina.

Hofstra junior Jeridith Wallace agreed: “I actually think it’s a good idea. Hofstra is the first school that I’ve seen that does not charge students to park their cars. A friend of mine when to [North Illinois University] and there it’s like $400 a year.”

Still, many Hofstra students disagree with the Rent-a-Spot program and purpose.

“I don’t think they’re solving anything here. It would be much more beneficial to The University and its constituents to build a parking garage. Add spots, don’t just take them away!” said Moharir.

Public Safety and group members refused to comment about the vandalism.