New stadium sacrifice

University of Houston's bad parking to get worse: School's eliminating 1,900student spaces

University of Houston's campus will still look good, but finding a place to parkto get to class will be tougher than ever.
Courtesy photo
Here is the map provided to University of Houston faculty, highlighting thesoon-to-be eliminated parking sections.
Go Coogs? 1,900 student parking spaces will be eliminated while RobertsonStadium is replaced by a new state-of-the-art facilty.
Houston Zoo

Anyone who's spent time at the University of Houston is well acquainted with the school's tragicomic parking situation.

No matter how early you arrive for class or work (I've dabbled in each through the years) and no matter how many hundreds you spend on a parking pass, you'll inevitably find yourself endlessly circling three or four lots before either:

a.) Making your own space in a faded old tow-away zone
b.) Parking in a creepy light industrial zone
c.) Going home

Just in time for the holidays, Coogs are getting an early "gift" from the university parking authority: Even less parking. It turns out that the construction of the new football stadium to replace Robertson Stadium will temporarily eliminate "approximately 1,900 student parking spaces." Around 240 faculty spaces will also be impacted near the stadium site.

"The loss of parking areas will have an effect on parking campus-wide, as those displaced by the construction look elsewhere to park."

And they'll be gone until the summer of 2014.

"The loss of parking areas will have an effect on parking campus-wide, as those displaced by the construction look elsewhere to park," UH transportation director Robert Browand wrote in an email to faculty and staff obtained by CultureMap that details the plan.

The email trails off from there, offering little explanation on what the university intends to do to make up for the soon-to-be-lost spaces.

Browand casually suggests that UH employees upgrade their parking passes by Dec. 31 to take advantage of the few remaining spots in three distant parking garages. The cost? Well, anywhere from $221 to $382.

The email also asks faculty and staff to consider parking at Energy Research Park just a mile or so down I-45 . . . Bus service will be provided.

As for University of Houston students? They're likely just finding out about the impending parking crunch now.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”

New stadium sacrifice

University of Houston's bad parking to get worse: School's eliminating 1,900student spaces

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

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