If you’ve taken your car to campus with you as a freshman, chances are you’ve single-handedly kept your local car wash in business. Every blue lot veteran knows there’s no escaping the dirt and grime that comes with parking in a gravel lot. What you may not know is that it’s been like this for a while. According to a Facebook post made by Bloomsburg alumni and current Bloomsburg parent Michele Donnell, the Blue Lot has been wreaking havoc on students’ cars for quite some time. “I graduated from Bloom in 2000 and the situation was the same back then. Had to park in Timbuktu on a dirt lot. Nothing has changed in 25 years!” One look at the Bloomsburg parent Facebook page, and it’s clear that Michele Donnell is just one of many parents exasperated by the parking lot conditions… Michelle PS- “That blue lot is horrible- far and lots of damage to cars when my daughter was a freshman.” Robert Seitzinger- “Her car is constantly dirty. You can wash it, park there and a few hours later it looks like it was never washed! It is a newer car and I do not want it to get ruined.” Shauna Souchuck- “My daughter came home yesterday for the first time and we were like omg what happened to your car, how did it get so dirty[?]” The sad truth for freshmen is that there’s no escaping it, it’s the blue lot or nothing. Hayleigh Adagia- “…it’s based by credit. You can’t park anywhere else besides Blue Lot when you first come in. Everywhere else is either metered or designated to other people.” Jeff Trimm- “There are no other on-campus options. That’s where freshman park.” Is all of the complaining about the Blue Lot dramatic? Probably. But when you pay $41 per semester and then have to make the hike to the shuttle stop where you can end up waiting for over fifteen minutes, some frustration seems valid. Especially considering students who park at the university apartment complexes pay the same amount for a paved parking lot.