Parking services reorganizes lots

The expected student enrollment numbers cause University officials to change parking rules on the SDSU campus.

Strong enrollment for the year is being driven by a large class of first-year students and high retention. Official enrollment numbers for SDSU and the other state universities are expected to be released in September.

The anticipated enrollment increases spurred university officials to adjust parking to accommodate students living on campus. The following changes were made Aug. 16.

• The south half of Lot 144, located on Eighth Street across from Daktronics Engineering Hall, will be used for students in the southeast residential halls and will no longer be a standard commuter lot.

• The southeast section of Lot 159, located on the corner of Jackrabbit and University avenues, will change from economy commuter to resident parking for southeast residents.

• Lot 117, located between the Meadows Apartments and Hansen Hall, will change from economy commuter to resident parking for northwest residents.

Students who commute to campus daily were told to use parking lots west of Medary Avenue and north of Briggs Library.

Lot classification changes can be viewed through the SDSU campus interactive map.

Permits for the 2024-25 academic year became available for purchase beginning, Aug. 1, via the SDSU Parking Portal.

For questions regarding this change or other general parking-related issues, people should contact the Card and Parking Services Office at 605-688-7275 or email [email protected].

Information from an email sent by SDSU Parking Services contributed to this reporting.

SDSU named 2024 safest large college campus in South Dakota

South Dakota State University again tops the list for safest large college campus in South Dakota, according to a new report by SafeHome.org.

The recognition reflects the rate of violent crime per 1,000 students of which SDSU scores 0.24. SDSU is also the safest in the region when Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska are included.

“We are fully committed to providing the highest level of professional police and public safety services to the university community,” University Police Department Chief Tim Heaton said. “The protection and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors is and always has been our top priority. The department emphasizes the importance of accreditation, training, consultation, teamwork and open discussion with campus constituencies on law enforcement and related safety matters.”

The city of Brookings and SDSU have consistently been named among the top safest campus communities in the nation and state.

SDSU is home to a full-time, fully accredited police department dedicated to ensuring the safety of campus.

The University Police Department offers services including:

• Educational presentation and programs
• Safety escorts
• Victim services
• Firearm storage

SafeHome.org utilized data from the U.S. Department of Education regarding campus safety and compared institutions with an enrollment over 10,000.

— University Marketing and Communications