<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0FpkAN_1H18mavy00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0FpkAN_1H18mavy00" width="2000" height="1414" >An email sent to the student body on Oct. 7 by Assistant Athletic Director Kassi Butcher offered students a chance to win a parking spot for the remainder of the school year.“What if you could choose any parking spot in a student parking lot on campus and make it yours for the rest of the school year?” Butcher wrote.The $4 million tennis court being constructed by UNC Asheville was first announced in 2024 as part of the “ALL IN” comprehensive campaign for UNC Asheville Athletics. It is being constructed on top of a parking lot originally intended for first year students, leaving residents with less options.UNC Asheville’s Student Government Association took to addressing the email the day it was sent to students.“Be. Fucking. (For real.) Bruh,” the SGA Instagram story read. “We know students have issues with parking, so instead of making new parking spaces and listening to students, we’re gonna make them play Squid Games.”According to Butcher, the initiative was not meant to frustrate students, but rather offer initiative to encourage students to participate in campus activities.“From an athletics perspective, our goal with this giveaway wasn’t to address or solve the broader parking challenges on campus,” Butcher said. “We simply saw an opportunity to offer something that could make one student’s day-to-day experience a little easier while creating some excitement around our basketball games.”Butcher said based on her own experience, parking spot scarcity is something that she understands the frustration around.“I can completely empathize with those frustrations based on my own college experience,” Butcher said. “I know how stressful it can be.”Some students didn’t have a problem with the raffle itself, but rather felt that the reward shouldn’t be so limited.Freshman Cohen Dunstan said student parking spots aren’t as desirable as the spots reserved for faculty and staff, which often appear empty.“I was kind of disappointed that it was just stuck to student parking, but being able to park wherever we want whenever we want to, that’s cool,” Dunstan said.According to Dunstan, athletics could use more initiatives like the parking raffle to get students to attend sports games.“The environment inside the arena is really good,” Dunstan said.Lucas Ellis, a freshman and SGA senator, said the student population needs to attend more games.“There’s a group of really committed students that are really cool to hang out with, but it’s a very small percentage, and I wish people did get out more, because what else are you doing on a Saturday?”Freshman Micah Fineberg agreed that students should have more care for on-campus sports.“People need to care more about sports, you know? There’s a lot to offer,” Fineberg said.Freshman Vivian Cardillo loves to support UNC Asheville’s athletics, but said that the parking issue needs to be addressed further.“The parking raffle wasn’t on my radar at all until I got (to the game),” Cardillo said. “I originally saw the opportunity on Instagram and didn’t really think a whole lot of it other than (the fact that) they’re offering one spot when the problem is a lot bigger than that.”According to Cardillo, after she was made aware of the raffle, other students’ criticism became a lot more apparent on both the university’s anonymous social media app, Yikyak, as well as student’s personal accounts on Instagram.“I saw a lot of the opinions that briefly popped into my head. It was actually a lot more aggressive. Mostly, it was, ‘hey, this is stupid,’” Cardillo said. “I’m very glad I wasn’t the only one who had those opinions.”Cardillo works the closing shift at an off-campus job, which results in her arriving to campus around 10 p.m., and finding that the parking garage adjacent to her dorm building is entirely full.“It’s a pain in the ass. I usually end up in P28, which is a good fifteen minute, half hour walk from my dorm,” Cardillo said. “There have been times where I’ll drive around so much that I won’t get back to my dorm until 11 p.m.”According to Cardillo, she understands that the raffle was meant to drive student engagement, but also acknowledges that the parking situation needs to be addressed.“I believe the campus is trying to do a good thing. I just think that the good thing needs to be a lot bigger,” Cardillo said. “I think we really need to look to campus leadership and say, ‘hey, this is a problem, and it’s going to continue being a problem.’ Giving us one parking spot isn’t going to make a difference.”At the men’s basketball game on Saturday, the winner, Noah Shappley, was announced during the second half of the game, where he acknowledged nuance before celebrating his victory.“I don’t think we should be giving one parking spot away,” Shappley said. “There should be more parking on campus in general. It’s pretty stupid I have to win a prize to get anything. I am happy, though.”</div></body>

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An email sent to the student body on Oct. 7 by Assistant Athletic Director Kassi Butcher offered students a chance to win a parking spot for the remainder of the school year. “What if you could choose any parking spot in a student parking lot on campus and make it yours for the rest of the school year?” Butcher wrote.

Students question game attendance, parking lottery fairness

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An email sent to the student body on Oct. 7 by Assistant Athletic Director Kassi Butcher offered students a chance to win a parking spot for the remainder 

Students question game attendance, parking lottery fairness

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