On Tuesday, Sept. 7, Parking Services announced that residential parking zones five and seven will now be combined into one larger lot. The new zone now combines parking spaces in H, Mendelsohn, Chavez and Tubman communities. 

Permit holders of either zone will have immediate access to use any space in the two former zones, according to an email sent by Parking Services earlier this week. 

Prior to the announcement, faculty and staff had access to most of the parking outside of Tubman Hall. Now, that space has been reduced to increase residential parking in front of the building.

“Over the first two weeks of the fall semester, we have been able to more concretely determine the number of residential students who park a vehicle on campus,” University officials said in an email sent to The Statesman.

The move comes after both residents and commuters expressed concerns regarding the Fall 2021 semester parking map, in which more lots were reserved for faculty and staff.

This announcement also comes right after a small group of students lingered near the fountain in front of the Administration building on Wednesday afternoon in an attempted protest against campus parking policies and housing conditions. Some administrators and security were also present. 

Molly Fowler, a junior marine sciences major and commuter, was one of the few attendees at the protest. “I just wanted to see what was going on and I wanted to see who would show up,” she said. She came with her friend, Adam Alberski, a junior information systems major.

Both found out about the protest and the current situation from a post on Reddit. Albersci said much of the content present on the unofficial SBU subreddit contained “Just a lot of universal complaints.”

“I really just don’t understand why they can’t give students more parking,” Fowler said.

The Statesman has reached out to Stony Brook Parking Services for more information regarding the recent changes. No official statement has been received yet.