An anonymous student at the University of Wollongong has launched a viral Instagram page called @uow.badparks, where students are submitting some of the worst parks they’ve spotted on campus to be posted on the page.
The account has quickly gained traction among students and staff of UOW, it’s currently sitting at 4.5 thousand followers with 1.4 million combined views across their reels in less than a month. But beyond the dodgy parks, the account has become a light-hearted outlet for student frustration and a fun way to call out campus parking pressures.
“Everyone is behind it, like this is an issue,” the page owner said.
“It’s frustrating driving to uni and seeing someone who’s parked like an idiot. It’s a way to call them out.”
The account has posted over 70 submissions since launching, with one reel alone pulling in 187,000 views. Comments range from “These posts are GOLD” to “Parking at UOW is getting that desperate istg”.
The page’s creator, who is a UOW student and driver, says the idea came from a mix of lived frustration and wanting to have a bit of fun, so Instagram was their best option.
The page owner posted a photo of the panopticon, stating “this is the goal” on their Instagram story. The panopticon is a prison design concept where prisoners never know when they’re being observed. This reflects the page’s goal of encouraging better behaviour through gentle surveillance.
“They’re going to act better because they don’t know if they’re being watched or not,” the page owner said.
And while the posts are usually humorous, they’ve also sparked discussion about the wider issue of parking shortages on campus.
“My page is mostly to just call out people who are terrible at parking,” the creator said.
“But yeah, I do think there’s not enough parking at UOW, definitely.”
Pierre Pastor, a UOW student who parks on campus, finds @uow.badparks humorous but also believes it shows systematic issues of parking on campus.
“I think there are some issues with infrastructure and availability,” Mr Pastor said.
“I remember driving around P3 a couple of times and it’s like gambling, you have to get lucky, hoping somebody comes out and you can take their parking spot.”
UOWTV approached the UOW Media team for comment, but we had no response by deadline.
Feature image credit: @uow.badparks
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