On Lighter Side of Crowded Lots

UC Irvine’s parking problems have their lighter side.

In a paid advertisement in the UCI student newspaper last week, David Sheldon, UCI associate vice chancellor of administrative and business services, lampooned the parking situation while providing students and faculty with information about efforts being made to solve the problem.

In a series of zany photos, the ad shows Sheldon saying, “I have some good news and some bad news.” After he unloads some bad news about parking, a cluster of people worry aloud: “What will we do? What will we do?”

Sheldon then comes to the rescue. “Not to worry,” he says. “My crack team of administrative analysts has been working ‘round the clock and here are their findings.”

The findings are shown on a map of the world. The map shows Alaska and notes: “Plenty of parking.” Greenland is marked: “Ample free parking.” But later, in a more serious vein, the ad also shows maps of new--and real--parking lots added this year to the UCI campus.

“The ad wasn’t my idea; I was just crazy enough to be part of it,” Sheldon said. “It seems to have be widely read and the idea was to get information to students, faculty and staff.”