During the past two years, going to the bookstore to retrieve the necessary materials has been an experience that left students dissatisfied and downright angry. This is not due to the good people who work for hours on end. This is due to broken promises university officials have delivered to students in regards to the construction of the bookstore.

It should bother the typical student that officials decided to delay construction until this past summer, considering what the situation has been like for the past two years.

The bookstore’s parking situation epitomizes everything that is wrong with the university’s overall parking problem. How can students be expected to buy the books, pens and, yes, polo shirts they need when finding a parking spot is one of the hardest things to accomplish in a typical day for a commuter?

While officials have done a respectable job in trying to provide transportation to places such as the bookstore, people who parade out with laminated signs telling students they cannot park in what looks to be the bookstore’s parking lot need to figure out a better way to use their time.

The lot that serves as the parking area for places such as The University Pub, Dutch’s and Texadelphia is located directly behind the bookstore but could easily be mistaken as a parking lot for, well, the bookstore. But that makes too much sense.

Since officials have already inconvenienced students with the delayed construction of what figures to be a beautiful piece of architecture, the least they could have done is come to an agreement with the strip owners of when to allow students to park in the lot. The hours between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. during the beginning and end of each semester when the bookstore’s traffic is at its peak would be fitting.

Instead, students are left with a bad taste in their mouths thanks to a situation that could have been handled in an easier, more respectable fashion.

Sports editor Tim Bella for the editorial board.