Embarrassed by Colleague's Behavior

[mamselle]

Yes, and in a way, that's probably the most upsetting part of the whole thing.

Where money determines value, the whole setup is skewed against the instructor in this case.

I'd still have been careful about how I spoke to them, but I would have definitely been upset about that.

M.

[backatit]

I'm siding with the faculty member on this one. We pay hundreds of dollars a year for permits to our assigned lots, and come to work only to discover that students--who aren't paying for those lots--have taken all the spots we pay for. We can call parking, but by the time they arrive and put a ticket on the windshield, the students have disappeared and we're late for class or work, because we can't find another place to park. How is telling the student this embarrassing?

Oh, I'm not siding with the student in saying that I wouldn't get involved. Whomever referred to this as the electrified third rail, though, was spot-on. In this state where nearly everyone carries a gun, no way am I getting in any kind of parking dispute with anyone over anything. They aren't supposed to have guns on campus, but I don't really want to be the test case for that one...

[Antiphon1]

As a faculty member in a campus concealed carry state, my advice would never include confronting a student over a parking violation. 

Call campus security.  They can tow the car.  The lesson is much more effective when the student must pay for their bad decisions in cold hard cash.  Not that I would be ever so slightly pleased while watching a BMW be towed from my spot.  Nope.  Never done that. 

[AvidReader]

While I personally would try to avoid jumping to conclusions about students, my angry colleague has another story. He said that when he told the student that they'd ticket for being in the faculty lot, the student said, "Who cares? It's only $150." Maybe the student was being flippant or sarcastic, but that was yet another thing that my colleague was ranting about.  Ugh, I hope I don't run into him this morning. He's such a grump.

I misunderstood that the $150 comment came from the student. Yikes. As other posters have noted, that is a lot of money. On the other hand, if assessed daily, perhaps it could be distributed among the inconvenienced faculty members?

(kidding, but wishfully.) I hope your encounters with colleagues stayed positive.

AR.