Student Dorothy Austero learned the lesson the hard way.

The 23-year-old was late for class and decided to park her car in the carpool lot. She had 15 minutes before the parking area became a daily lot and figured that she wouldn&t get caught. Coming back to her car after a day of class, she discovered a ticket on her window.

&I was angry and I protested it,& she said. &But they said 15 minutes was 15 minutes.&

The University Transportation and Parking Services issue parking citations on campus. Parking officers, community service officers and public safety officers are responsible for distributing the tickets.

Suzanne Bracamonte, the assistant to the manager for UTAPS, said there are seven parking officers and four community service officers scheduled at any given time. The two most common violations are parking without a valid permit in view or not parking in a designated area.

&They consistently enforce all parking areas throughout their work shift,& she said. &The number of parking citations vary daily, and depend on parking violations.&

Normally, Bracamonte added, more citations are issued at the beginning of each semester. Also, there are no areas on campus that are more prone to parking violations than others.

&Through our consistent enforcement, parking violations are identified in many areas of the campus,& she said.

If a student receives a citation and believes it to be unfair, he or she can appeal it at the UTAPS office in Foley Hall, or on the UTAPS Web site, www.csus.edu/utaps

Student Martina Bautista, 33, received a parking violation the day of her school orientation. She said the ticket claimed that her parking permit was turned upside down and she appealed the ticket.

&I was so mad,& she said. &I knew it was the right day stamped on the permit. I knew I was going to have to go through the trouble of either paying it or writing it off. I had it written off.&

Revenue received from the parking citations helps to fund alternate transportation programs, Bracamonte said. These programs include the Hornet Express Shuttle and Bike Compound No. 1.

Austero, who drives to school every day, said there is a problem with parking on campus.

&It&s come to the point where I have to set a specific time to leave and a specific time to get here so I have a spot,& she said. &If I&m five minutes late, my entire plan backfires.&

Bracamonte said construction on Parking Structure III, located in Lot 8, will begin this summer. It will take a year-and-a-half to build, she said, but it will provide the school with 3,100 more parking spaces.

Bautista believes that even with the new structure, there will still be problems finding a place to park.

&We&re still going to be overcrowded,& she said. &And there will still be too many drivers.&