The Smallness

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You're totally right about Genuardi's. The 2.0 miles is actually the round trip, only half of which would involve carrying groceries.</p>

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Good for your daughter! Guess what, I'm not her. Why should I have no ability to park my car (short of running scams) for my first two years at Swarthmore (and then a massive hassle for the last two years) because not having a car is "no issue" for your daughter?</p>

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The insurance on a used Pontiac wasn't much. Not that your parental ploy meant much, anyway, if he couldn't get parking in the first place.</p>

<p>I get it that a lot of students don't want or need cars. The personal anecdotes and arguments about such are inapposite to the discussion about my position, which is that those students who do want to have cars at Swarthmore (and whose parents are OK with it) should be able to. It shouldn't be such a colossal pain in the ass or outright impossibility for those who would actually like to have a car there.</p>

<p>My daughter had access to a car, but did not want to take it to Swarthmore until senior year.</p>

<p>Here's the god's honest truth. If you want to go to a college where all the students have cars and drive all the time, don't go to Swarthmore. Simple as that. It's the wrong school for you. There are plenty of schools where all students have cars and you will be much happier.</p>

<p>For those who think that walking a half mile to the mall is too much and wouldn't be caught dead on a public bus, I can only say, "Poor baby!" Again, Swarthmore's probably not the right school for you. Many of your friends will be looking to stretch a budget, taking the Chinatown bus to NYC instead of Amtrak. You won't be happy at Swarthmore. Don't go.</p>

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It shouldn't be such a colossal pain in the ass or outright impossibility for those who would actually like to have a car there.

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<p>I know that a Swarthmore grad, such as yourself, is smart enough to put 2 and 2 together and figure out that Swarthmore does not want a lot of cars on campus. That's why they have such limited parking.</p>

<p>If you want a college that does want a lot of cars on campus, Swarthmore is not for you. Choose a college that is a better fit. Heck, choose a college that not only lets you have a car, but does your laundry for you.</p>

<p>There is a public bus (every 20 minutes) to Genardi's SuperMarket, if walking a mile is too overwhelming. There are also college shuttle vans all day Saturday.</p>

<p>i'm typing this really fast but i have to get this out....</p>

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Quote:
Tell me about Philly again....
It's one of the nation's most miserable places.

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<p>okay i go to high school literally 2 minutes away from swarthmore and i spend a lot of time on the campus and the surrounding area. i am so SICK of people putting philadelphia down. it is a fun city once you get to know it. what are people talking about that there is not a lot of restaurants in philly???? there's TONS of every type (classy, ethnic, etc.) including a great and really delicious dutch vegan/vegetarian shop (the FIRST of its kind to open in america...and it opened in philadelphia)</p>

<p>yearly i attend the international philadelphia film festival where often times movies make their national or north american premiere. sometimes it attracts respectable directors and actors. beyond the two week long film festival, there are a bunch of independent film theaters that offer a variety of interesting arthouse/documentary/mainstream flicks.</p>

<p>god there's the kimmel center where world famous musicians, authors, international leaders come to speak/play on a regular basis. yet at the same time the city is littered with cozy concert venues (that i frequent all the time) that attract good modern rock bands. at these shows individuals have the opportunity to interact with the many college students that populate the philadelphia area.</p>

<p>there's the art museum, first fridays, festivals at rittenhouse square, live 8 (which was lots of fun by the way), musicals/plays at the merriam theater, even a renaissance fair.....the list goes on</p>

<p>okay so its not as big as new york. so it's gross sometimes; but that is to be found in any big city. I know people who live in New York and hate it there. There is more than plenty to do in Philly. Most people who say that philadelphia is boring (like some of my friends) have not truly seen what the city has to offer.</p>

<p>but that's my opinion and i'm not going to attempt to force it upon anyone in this forum. (like some people have the tendency of doing...)</p>

<p>It's crazy. Philly has one of the best symphony orchestras in the country. Great art museums. Great theater. Professional football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Tons of restaurants. Lots of arts festivals. And a LOT of college students (probably second only to Boston on the East Coast. And, if that's not enough, NYC is just two hours away (without a car).</p>

<p>Some people just like to complain.</p>

<p>I attended law school in Philly and it's a big place. Rittenhouse Square is lovely in a snobby sort of way. West Philly, less so. Like any big, Eastern city there is something for everyone. The biggest problem, as with any metropolitan center, is that unless you have a whole lot of time and money to spend, you're not much better off than the average tourist; you may go to a professional basketball or hockey game once in four years. The art museum is a national icon (thanks, to the "Rocky" movies.) But, I suspect the average Swarthmore student is not unlike the average law student, and is going to look at every moment spent walking around Philly as time they could be using catching up on work. If you feel the need to be in the middle of a crowd more irresistble than being on campus, then you probably should be at a place more like Tufts.</p>

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I get it that a lot of students don't want or need cars.

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I am glad you get it. This was my only point.</p>

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I know that a Swarthmore grad, such as yourself, is smart enough to put 2 and 2 together and figure out that Swarthmore does not want a lot of cars on campus. That's why they have such limited parking.

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They don't even use all of the parking they do have. There's always plenty of parking for anyone and everyone at alumni weekend. Beyond that, if they did need a new lot with about 50-100 new spaces, it wouldn't be very hard to accomplish. It's a myth that it's not feasible to accomodate that, and it wouldn't "put a lot of cars on campus." The cars would be on the edge of campus for students who wanted to go off campus. There's not really anywhere to drive on campus that isn't easier to just walk to.</p>

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If you want a college that does want a lot of cars on campus, Swarthmore is not for you. Choose a college that is a better fit. Heck, choose a college that not only lets you have a car, but does your laundry for you.

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Yeah, that would be cool if they did your laundry for you at Swarthmore. Instead they give you access to ancient laundry machines and let you pay to use them (or, at least, they did; I don't know if they're free yet, like they should be).</p>

<p>Fees for "free" laundry are added to room and board - just FYI. (You still have to pay at Swarthmore. I do agree that it is inconvenient, and would make more sense to just add the price to room and board, and make it "free".)</p>

<p>I was referring to colleges that provide free laundry pickup, wash, and fold for students.</p>

<p>AE:</p>

<p>You still don't get it. Swarthmore does not want more students to have cars on campus. If that does not suit you, don't go to Swarthmore. Simple as that.</p>

<p>I know, ID. I was just responding to A.E.'s "should be free" comment.</p>

<p>At least Swarthmore is small enough to walk around easily or you can take the shuttle around campus, which runs very often. I think the problem is more with large campuses that have little convenient parking and where it is hard to even get around campus because of the large size. And often at these large campuses the buses don't run reliably enough. My other child had to deal with that for years. It was a constant literal RUN between classes and lots of parking tickets. </p>

<p>And the laundry machines were not free there, either.</p>

<p>By the way, at the large campus with lots of cars (not Swarthmore), there were also students hit by cars and buses on a fairly regular basis as they dashed around campus and dodged the many cars and buses. This larger university regularly tries to build pedestrian pathways, and more bypasses, but then the construction also gets in the way.</p>

<p>I much prefer the quieter smaller campus of Swarthmore from that viewpoint. </p>

<p>And Phillie does have great restaurants.</p>

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Maybe YOU don't get it. I'm saying they're wrong to not want more students to have cars. If that does not suit me, I'll let it be known I think their policy is asinine and backwards. Simple as that.</p>

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LOL. Right. Where are people going to go on campus? Nowhere. There's nowhere to drive on campus. If a parking lot were somewhere on the edge of campus, like say DuPont lot or Cunningham lot (both of which are underused), then it would just be a matter of students walking across campus to their cars, hopping in, and then driving off campus to go to Barnes & Noble or a movie or a restaurant because they've eaten Sharples food 100 days in a row and, if they're forced to again, they'll probably kill themselves.</p>

<p>"LOL. Right. Where are people going to go on campus? Nowhere. There's nowhere to drive on campus. If a parking lot were somewhere on the edge of campus, like say DuPont lot or Cunningham lot (both of which are underused), then it would just be a matter of students walking across campus to their cars, hopping in, and then driving off campus to go to Barnes & Noble or a movie or a restaurant because they've eaten Sharples food 100 days in a row and, if they're forced to again, they'll probably kill themselves."</p>

<p>Good point. If there is a demand from students for more parking permits or spaces, then Swarthmore could look into it.</p>

<p>As someone else said though, the insurance for my Swat student would be very high and not worth it for the small amount of use, because of liking public transportation better and using the shuttle to the supermarket.</p>

<p>There really has been no need for a car in this case.</p>

<p>The other child at the large university needs one because of the size of the campus and city, but it has been an expensive proposition.</p>

<p>If Swarthmore does build the inn, it should add 50-100 parking spots.</p>