Matt Weir/The Collegian

Students are experiencing shorter lines in the Joyal Administration building, and lighter traffic upon returning to campus for the first week of the spring semester.

The lines at the Joyal Administration cashier’s window contained between 10 and 15 people at 9:00 a.m. on the first week of school. Additionally, the hall leading to the Financial Aid office was nearly empty.

Nathan Weckwerth, a business and marketing major, waited in a shorter-than-expected line to purchase his parking pass.

“Last year, the line was all the way down the hall,” he said. “It’s a lot better, and traffic’s not bad.”

Financial Aid Director Maria Hernandez stated that things so far are going very smoothly, and she attributes a lot of the ease into the new semester to the students getting things done in a timely manner.

“The faster students take care of things, the faster we can take care of things,” Hernandez said. “That makes a big difference.”

According to Hernandez, approximately 60 percent of students receive some kind of financial aid award every semester, regardless of how many students are in attendance.

Traffic and parking also seem calmer as students venture to the first day of their classes. Ray Bargas, public safety assistant for the University Police Department, noticed a smoother transition into the new semester.
“It’s not as busy as it has been,” he said. “There haven’t been too many problems.”

Bargas stated that the biggest problems for parking this year have been malfunctions of the daily parking pass machines, along with the removal of several 30-minute parking spaces near the Joyal Administration building to accommodate the new round-about.

For those who have yet to purchase their parking permit, Fresno State offers four different ways to purchase parking permits: the cashier’s window at the Joyal Administration building, the police pavilion located downstairs at the University Student Union, at the police station located off of Barstow Avenue and online via the My Fresno State portal.

If students do purchase their passes online, the University Police Department advises students that it takes seven days for the order to be processed. Additionally, students should make sure their address is correct in the system because the parking permits are mailed to the address that is listed online.