For those who missed it, Gary Brown's letter to the editor in the Northwest edition of the paper the other day likely touched a tender nerve among some students at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and their parents.
The father from Edmond, Okla., wrote to complain about the $835 his son, Kyle, a freshman, amassed in fines for eight parking tickets. He pointed out that, in addition to being what he saw as grossly excessive, that amount represented a fourth of the cost of his son's car. The father suggested university officials review and revise the methods and amounts it fines students for parking, as well as the appeal process.
"Even the appeal process is rigged," he wrote. "They charge an additional $80 just to appeal. This is unconscionable."
I don't know how unusual Kyle Brown's case is, or what might already have been done to mitigate this problem. But this father contends his son has been doing "everything possible" to keep up with classes, fraternity requirements and a lot of additional responsibilities.
And the problems are compounded during athletic events when campus parking changes force students to move their cars, Brown said. "The result is a huge bill, including the University of Arkansas Transit and Parking Authority towing his car and charging $10 a day for storage. Now Kyle is a 19-year-old adult who should be responsible to pay closer attention to the parking change emails and requirements. No argument there," Brown continued. "Kyle is scrambling to keep up with everything and he dropped the ball."
Well, his fumbling the ball could represent the crux of this problem.
The disgruntled dad said his primary concern lies with the proportion of the violation versus the exorbitant amount of the fine when the family already has "scrimped to pay the UA close to $20,000 for Kyle's freshman year. ... The university requires freshmen to live on campus, so Kyle must live there.
Brown went on to refer to the parking-fine process as it exists to be a "shake down" of students "who can ill afford these excessive fines ... apparently, this is a major source of income to the university and there is a proposal now to raise the parking ticket fines to $100 from the current $55."
I can feel this father's frustration and pain, as I imagine many others do. Yet I also know there are good and honorable people leading the UA today who can (and likely already have) examine the Browns' parking scenario from top to bottom, including the appeal process.
For example, I can see Chancellor David Gearhart seeking a mitigating review of Kyle Brown's predicament and, if deemed necessary, implementing student parking reforms. In fact, I'd be surprised if he already hasn't done just that.
I happen to know that caring for the UA's students has been a priority of Gearhart's since he became the chancellor. So the Brown family's concerns are bound to be (and have been) his as well ... always two sides, ya know.
A hairy arrest
File this under news of the weird in Northwest Arkansas.
Joseph Haswell was a patrol officer in Pea Ridge back in January when he visited the Rogers salon where he'd had his hair trimmed for a year.
Things didn't become abnormal until Jan. 15 when police say Haswell arrived to have his back waxed. He'd set up that appointment at Salon Exclusive during a previous appointment.
A news account said that once there, Haswell changed the terms of the appointment by asking the salon employee if she'd also wax the particularly sensitive and reproductive region we all know.
The employee said the salon didn't perform Brazilian waxes and that hadn't been part of the agreement when he set up his appointment. But she complied with Haswell's request anyway, the story said. She then decided to report the incident to police on Jan. 23. Who knows why it took a week?
Police interviewed Haswell on Feb. 10 when he told them he'd once owned a salon and had suggested to the Salon Exclusive employee that waxing could provide an additional source of revenue.
And so it came to pass that a misdemeanor warrant charging indecent exposure was issued for Haswell last week and he resigned from his patrol job the next day.
In every way, this fits my definition of one big ol' hairy situation (sorry).
Hoping they stay
I believe the overwhelming majority of the Razorback Nation joins me today in congratulating the 2015 Hog basketball team for a splendid season and winning a game in the NCAA tournament. Of course, we all wanted to see them advance as far as possible, but some evenings just don't click like the others.
Twenty-one turnovers, including a host of unforced mistakes, made the difference, I believe. A lot of folks are hoping Bobby Portis will be back next year, along with Michael Qualls and their teammates, and hopefully move deeper into the field after coming so close this year. I'm sure it's what they want just as badly.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 03/24/2015