As a Borough Council vote quickly approaches, Penn State students are taking action against a proposal to ban overnight street parking in the borough during event weekends (read: home football games).

Former University Park Undergraduate Association Speaker Brent Rice started a Change.org petition Sunday night urging Council to continue to allow visitors to park on the streets during these weekends.

“I started this petition because I believe that State College is a special place,” Rice said. “Part of what makes this town so special are the alumni and friends of Penn State that return each year to relive old memories and make new ones.”

Borough Council has discussed its parking options in its past few meetings, but the proposal is part of a longer conversation that’s been going on for months. “Option two” to codify the current system — which allows street parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. — is what these students are fighting for, as opposed to other options that would implement a pilot program to ban overnight street parking.

Only Councilman Dan Murphy and Council President Evan Myers voiced their express support for the option to codify during the most recent discussion, though other members of Borough Council previously seemed open to it in past conversations.

At Council’s April 9 work session, those in support of banning overnight street parking vehemently insisted this isn’t a “student issue.” The same individuals similarly took a conversation about downtown planning and development off track to complain about students who line alcohol bottles up on their windowsills. But students clearly care about the community, as evidenced by the petition and its supporters.

“In my opinion, this overnight parking ban is not just a break from a 40+ year tradition, but an assault on the values that we as a community hold most dear,” Rice added. As of time of publishing, the petition had already gained more than 150 supporters, surpassing its first set goal in just a few hours.