Towing. Towing. Towing. I have served on the Student Representative Council (SRC) and dealt with this issue, I have talked to students, parents, city council meetings, the whole works. And I’m sick of it. The only thing that puts a bad taste in my mouth about this city is this towing issue. It’s wrong and it needs to be fixed fast.

What they are doing is legal, of course. If it wasn’t, this matter would have been resolved a while ago. The managers have a contract with the towing companies giving them the right to take care of all parking issues in their apartment complex, and they have taken that power and abused it.

Even though it’s legal, it doesn’t make it right. Tyrants pull unjust, legal actions all the time. The quartering act the colonists had to deal with was legal, and they had to fight a war to prove what they were doing wasn’t right.

Of course these towing companies need to make a living and most of these guys are just doing their job. They also have to deal with liability if they damage anyone’s car. But prowling around each night trying to snag as many cars as possible isn’t respectable business.

A major problem is that many old apartment complexes on campus can’t accommodate for guest parkers or for their own tenants. Even if there are enough parking spaces, people without a parking sticker get towed anyway.

That’s where the towing companies come in; every night they sweep the parking lots and haul away anyone without an authorized sticker. Bishops, home teachers and FHE groups have all felt the effects.

How much does it cost to pay for a tow-job? $150. That’s right, $150, which for some students is the equivalent of three weeks of groceries. Guess what? While your friends are down dealing with the tow company, Rexburg residents have two complimentary “R” passes for their visitors.

Can a student obtain a city “R” pass? No. Discrimination? Yes.

So where do students turn to get this problem fixed? The city council? Amendments keep being brought up to help ease the burden of the towing escapade, but each time it’s shot down by managers, towing companies and city council members.

It’s  interesting how this towing issue has gone on for so long. Even though just a few hundred are for it and a few thousand are against it, those thousands of voices are always muffled.

Another question arises. Do towing companies have the right to be law enforcers? Don’t managers call the cops when they see a suspicious person lurking about? Why don’t they just call the cops when the have trespassers?

I would much rather have a certified law enforcer who receives their wages from the government enforce trespassing laws instead of tow truck companies trying to pull as many cars as possible to get a bigger paycheck.

How does one go about trying to knock down a tyrant?

The best fix to this problem is for owners and the towing company to give up the contract. It’s time the managers stop thinking about their precious parking spot and towing companies stop making their living off students. What will it take to get the managers attention? It all depends on how loud those thousands of voices yell foul.

 Also, responsibility lies on the shoulders of the university. If the university is putting restrictions on where students can live, they need to make sure students are treated fairly in each complex as well as their visitors. If students aren’t treated fairly, as is the case with towing contracts, they need to enact a policy that won’t allow complexes to house BYU–Idaho students.

If students are pleased, or treated fairly with an rule or regulation, shouldn’t be approved.

The power for someone to decide whether there is a parking issue or not should lie on the shoulders of the managers and the tenants — not the towing company. If there ever is a tow truck in an apartment complex, it should be there from a phone call of someone who resides there.