Outside of the B.D. Philips Memorial Building at Emmanuel. Photo by Jordan Burch
Parking is an issue that many Milligan students hold close to their hearts, whether it be fighting for a spot at Hart Hall, or not being able to park at Derthick for classes. This is a struggle that our neighbors at Emmanuel face as well. Just up the hill from Milligan, a growing program struggles to provide parking for students and faculty.
Emmanuel Seminary school is located on the opposite side of Milligan Highway. Although it is often referred to, and thought of as just a seminary school, it serves as much more than that. The Emmanuel campus also hosts Milligan engineering and several graduate programs, such as the occupational therapy and physician’s assistant programs. All of these classes and programs take place in a single building, the B.D. Phillips Memorial building. Along with classrooms and offices, it contains various laboratories and a library. All the programs and resources offered by Emmanuel puts pressure on the finite amount of parking spots.
In total, there are 152 spots. These spots are divided up between faculty, students, and visitors. There are 169 total students that attend classes at Emmanuel, and these students are divided up between three main concentrations. The occupational therapy department contains 64 students, the engineering department contains 55 students, and the physician’s assistant department contains 50 students. According to Brett Nipper, the director of Property and Risk Management at Milligan, “Parking was never really an issue until the PA and OT graduate programs moved to Emmanuel.”
Although the parking at Emmanuel is seen as a problem, it is one that much thought and planning is being devoted to. Last spring, Nipper added a gravel lot with 44 more spaces to help ease the growing process.
“As Emmanuel continues to grow, we will have to continue to assess the parking needs,” Nipper said, “At the end of this semester we will look closely at our options and decide on the best course of action.”
Traffic and parking issues reach its peak during the 11 o’clock rush hour.
This is when lots of classes are being held. “The parking and traffic are worst at the 11 o’clock hour,” Dr. Greg Harrell, professor of Mechanical Engineering said. “There are people leaving from class, and others arriving for class, which causes some congestion.”
Like on Milligan’s campus, there are certain times in which finding parking is harder than at other times.
The majority of people affected by the parking study full-time at Emmanuel. However, there are a few students who make the commute back and forth. These students are the engineering students. One such student, Luke Poff, splits time between both campuses. “I drive up to Emmanuel for class, and it can be hard to find a spot. I sometimes have to park in a guest spot,” said Luke when asked his opinion on parking. There are options for engineering majors who don’t have cars. Before classes, there is a shuttle that leaves from the McMahan Student Center and takes students up the hill.