Now that the first two weeks of classes are out of the way, the stress level of SF State students should have leveled off. After all, those little white add stickers of mercy have all been handed out, so students pretty much know what their schedule is for the semester.

However, for those who drive to school, there lingers that annoying and unavoidable ritual of desperately searching for a parking space on or as close to campus as possible.

Parking spaces are slim pickings, particularly for those whose classes commence in the early morning hours between eight and ten.

There are close to 29,000 students currently enrolled at SF State, according to Jo Volkert, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Planning and Management. Yet, there are only a combined total of 1,967 student parking slots in Lots 20 and 25 to be shared on a first-come, first-served basis. And parking on the street is no picnic either due to the strictly enforced one-hour, and if you are lucky, two-hour parking limits along SF State side streets.

This dreaded hunt for car space can add hours to a student’s weekly class schedule.

"I leave home an hour before my classes start because I know I have to find parking," said senior accounting student Mitchell Young, who ventures to SF State three days a week.

The problem a lot of students have with time limit parking is that it does not coincide with their class schedule.

"I still have classes today,” said Fayola Welsh, a junior business student who left home forty minutes early to find a parking spot on the corner of Arellano and Holloway Avenues. “But I have to move my car from this spot so I don’t get a ticket."

After receiving two $35 tickets in one day, Jamar Clayton, a creative writing senior, decided he could not afford to park on the street for free because his classes are longer than the time limits allotted.

“The parking situation here sucks," said Clayton. “I just park at Stonestown Mall for the day and walk the extra few minutes."

The students are not the only ones suffering from the lack of parking spaces. Residents also have their complaints.

"I live here, and I can’t find a spot," said Arellano Avenue resident Robert Martinez. "Sometimes I have to park half a mile from my house because students park on these streets from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday."

Martinez stated that, to avoid acquiring tickets, he and his neighbors look out for each other by wiping off the blue chalk lines on their car tires that are put there by SF Department of Parking and Transportation (SFDPT) officers trying to track how long a car is parked in a timed zone.

"At $35 each, they add up,” said Martinez. “Last year, I paid more money in parking tickets than I did in tuition at City College."

On average, a single officer can write over fifty parking citations per day.

One officer, who wished not to have his name printed, said he has heard every excuse in the book.

"If they are nice, I won’t give them a ticket," said the officer, as he filled out a $35 citation for a silver Honda Accord on Tapia Drive. "But I threaten to give them a ticket next time."

The other parking option to SF State students is Lot 20. The four level parking structure built in 1962 can host 1,548 cars, and is part of the main campus. It costs $1 per hour or $5 per day to park.

"I spend $25 a week parking here," said freshman biology student Jean Baptiste Akre, Jr. "I am very pissed that semester permits are not available."

"We don’t have enough spaces," said Sergeant Jennifer Schwartz of the SF State Police Department. "We could not guarantee those who purchased semester permits could find parking every time they came on campus."

Some students complain of the lack of security in the dark lower levels of Lot 20.

"I never see security in the garage,” said Katrina Pangilinan, an undeclared sophomore. “The only people I see are the guys who walk around checking to make sure you have a permit in your window."

Schwartz countered by noting that Campus police patrol all of the parking structures 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. And if students do not feel safe for any reason, they should call Campus Alliance for a Risk-free Environment (C.A.R.E.) at 415-388-7200 for an immediate escort from their car to class, or from class to their car. This service is free of charge, and offered on an unlimited basis.

The consequences of a parking violation in one of the campus parking lots are more costly than the punishment from the SFDPT.

"On average, 7,500 parking citations are issued per semester," said Schwartz.

An invalid hourly permit citation costs $55. However, if a student chances their luck at parking in a disabled spot without a valid permit, the penalty is $275.