Trade a can for a ticket
Forget peanut butter and jelly – for the next two weeks a jar of
peanut butter will go best with a parking ticket.
Today through May 7 students can bring a canned food item to
Green Hall and reduce the amount of their parking tickets,
beginning University Parking Services’ annual University Parking
Citation Amnesty.
“We do amnesty every year and it is a two-fold thing. People
being in a can for a citation and it will help them clear their
record and we are donating the cans to the Food Bank for Larimer
County,” said Cindy Leinweber, assistant director of University
Parking Services. “It helps both the community and students.”
Students may donate one canned food item per unbilled parking
citation and parking services will reduce the ticket by $3. If a
ticket has been doubled, the canned food item will decrease the
fine to the original amount.
Luke Richmond, a senior speech communication major, said the
annual amnesty has a good message of service for students and may
also benefit the image of parking services on campus.
“I think it is very smart,” Richmond said. “It actually might
show students that they care somewhat and they are not just
interested in money, that parking services has a heart.”
As a student who received multiple parking tickets at the
beginning of the year, Lacy Murray said the program will help in
two ways.
“It is great considering the horrible parking situations on
campus and I think it is a great way to get us involved,” said
Murray, a junior apparel and design major.
This is the first year that the amnesty program has been
extended to two weeks and Leinweber hopes that it will not only
give students twice the amount of time to clear their accounts at
the semester’s end, but also that it will double the donation of
food given to the county food bank.
Sabrina Arch, the office and volunteer coordinator for the Food
Bank for Larimer County, said the parking amnesty food drive
collected nearly 700 pounds of food last year.
With each pound of food equaling one meal, the food drive
provided enough food to feed a family of four for two months.
“We have estimated that we serve 40,000 low-income individuals
within Larimer County,” Arch said. “Every food drive that people do
for us is added to our local donations, America’s Second Harvest
Donations (the food bank’s umbrella organization) and the
government to equal 4.3 million pounds of food distributed a
year.”
While Erin Morrill, a senior English literature major, said she
does not believe in the use of cars, she said people should engage
in their community more often.
“I think that it’s sad that people need an incentive like that
to help out their community. I wish there were other ways to
motivate people to get involved,” Morrill said.
Still, Leinweber and Arch said every donation counts, regardless
of the motive.
“We will take any and all donations,” Leinweber said. “Some
people even bring in food when they don’t have citations and ask
that it be given to people who don’t have a canned food item to
reduce their ticket. We are hoping with the extension we can make a
really good donation.”
BOX:
Food Bank for Larimer County is asking for…
* Canned items
* Tuna
* Fruit
* Tomato products
* Peanut Butter
* Cereal
* Canned Dinners
* Personal Care Items
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