Marx left it up to the student body to determine how the funds ought to be used. "Having put that challenge out, it's up to the students if they want to accept the challenge and if so, how," said Marx. "If they are able to find 100 parking permit holders who are willing to forgo their parking, then we don't need to do anything different in terms of parking lots for next year and ... we can deliberate next year about how we want to address the problem in the future."
The 100 cars must come from current sophomores and juniors who already have cars on campus. Under the plan proposed by Zeke Phillips '05 and Dave Molina '05, students who volunteer to give up their parking permits will be entered into a lottery. Five students will receive $2,000. Another ten students will receive $1,000.
"We realize and apologize for the fact that our request is not entirely fair; we recognize, too, the problems that such an incentive may pose," wrote Phillips and Molina in an e-mail to the student body. "We are also highly concerned about, and aware of, all of the practical and ethical concerns involved in such a campaign-and continue to struggle with such concerns-but feel that this is the best solution ... given the time remaining to come up with an alternative."
Phillips and Molina hope that the necessary 100 students will be willing to forgo their parking permits. "We realize it's a lofty goal, and realize, too, that many people simply cannot give up their cars," they wrote to The Student. "However, if nothing else, we hope that this initiative will provide a forum for students to engage in constructive debate about issues surrounding everyday life on campus."
If 100 students do not volunteer to give up their parking permits, the College plans to pave the proposed area behind the tennis courts. The area currently is a gravel lot for construction workers' vehicles.