A gate has been installed in front of Wilson Hall to prevent drivers from parking in the fire lane. When students returned from the MLK holiday, they realized there was no longer a path to drive through. Norma Bailey, a junior sociology major and resident of Wilson Hall, said, “Putting the gates there made it a big problem to the students who need to transmit things from their vehicles to the dorms.” Chief Willie Bell Jr. of the Winston-Salem State University campus police said that the gates are there for a reason. According to Bell, the problem started two years ago when emergency vehicles would try to respond to situations at Wilson Hall and were unable to get through because of vehicles parked on the left-hand side in the fire lane. It became even more of a safety hazard because the emergency vehicles would block the front of MLK, making it difficult to see oncoming traffic. As months went by, campus police began ticketing or towing the vehicles, but students were still adamant about parking there. A student could be fined up to $500 dollars every time their vehicle blocked the fire lane. Students are unable to go through Wilson to get to Vargrave Street because of the new gates. Ebony Briggs, a junior business administration major, said, “The gates make it more complicated for traffic to go through on to Vargrave Street, and now you have to get on MLK just to get to Vargrave Street. It is a waste of time.” While trying to figure out other ways to keep the cars out of the fire lane Chief Bell said, “The only way to fix this was to gate up this lot.” So that is exactly what was done. The gate is up there to control the fire lane.” Zenobia Argentin, sophomore mathematics major said, “When there is an emergency, how are the emergency vehicle supposed to get through? ” Bell responded by saying, “If there is an emergency situation an officer could open the gates and emergency vehicles enter at ease.”The only vehicles allowed to park in the gates right now are Rams Commons and Wilson Hall staff and that is only on the right-hand side. The gates are actually very valuable even though they are an inconvenience — safety is the main reason for them. Bell said, “We are just looking out for the safety of the students.”