Heather O’dell // Staff Writer
It was an early Monday morning, and Amanda Lorenzo, a junior majoring in logistics, was rushing to make it to her first class of the day.
In addition to living in Broward County, Lorenzo is constantly frustrated with the traffic on the Turnpike.
But nothing irritates her more than the never-ending search for parking at FIU.
“I’m not sure if it’s my two cups of coffee in the morning or the anticipated anxiety from trying to find a spot before my morning class, but I am always on edge come Monday morning,” Lorenzo said.
FIU is notorious for parking and traffic issues for students that commute.
Although the University has improved parking by adding a new parking garage, students are still stressed over finding available parking.
Lorenzo said her worst parking experience happened during the fall 2016 semester.
“I was circling around Red Garage for a while, and I finally saw someone backing out,” she said. “I didn’t hesitate and put my blinker on right away. As soon as the car backed out, another car came and was waiting for my same spot; I was furious.”
But Lorenzo said she was clearly there first, so she pulled in the spot.
“Next thing I know, a plum was flying at my car,” she said. “Yes, a plum.”
Lorenzo wasted so much time searching for a spot, she said she ignored the purple goo dripping from her back windshield and proceeded to her 9 a.m. class.
“As soon as it happened, I felt the blood rush to my head,” she said. “Then I thought to myself, ‘Did someone really just throw a fruit at my car over a parking spot?’ It sounds funny when you put it like that.”
Lorenzo said she and her mother, Darlene Lorenzo, usually have bad road rage. But after hearing her daughter’s plum story, Darlene Lorenzo realized it is not worth it.
“Sometimes you just have to let it go,” her mother said. “It isn’t worth getting upset over parking spots or traffic.”
This semester, Lorenzo hopes to avoid any “fruit wars” with any fellow panthers.
“Fighting for parking really isn’t worth it,” Lorenzo said. “But hey, I did get my spot and survived a plum ambush.”
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