Every day after lunch, the student parking lot turns into a game of musical chairs filled with students frantically searching for open spots to park their cars. The winners find a space for their vehicle and go to class, but what happens to those who don’t?
When the parking lot is full, students resort to parking in undesignated areas. They block traffic by parking along the fences and risk public safety by taking spots reserved for emergency vehicles.
Only students, custodial and kitchen staff are allowed to park in the student parking lot. However, many teachers break this rule and park in the student lot for their own convenience. Once last semester, I forgot to bring my permit and found a pink warning slip on my windshield. Teachers and any others without a permit should also receive a warning slip and, if they continue to break the rules, their car needs to be towed.
In August, my parents paid close to $300 in miscellaneous expenses during registration, including $50 for a parking pass. My payment should ensure that I have a spot every day that I come to school. Others who park in the lot need to pay up for their spots as well.
Teachers who park in the student lot are displaying an extreme selfishness by stealing spaces from students who paid to park. My first period is in the new portables, but I am not allowed to park next to the auxiliary field. I park in my designated area and teachers need to park in their respective area in the staff lot on Lemon Avenue.
Campus supervision needs to be stricter in enforcing rules to maintain order and safety. Teachers, for their part, should obey the rules and stop stealing spots from students.
To help make things easier, parking spaces could be designated to each student. When a student purchases a parking pass, he or she then could be assigned a designated spot to park their car, keeping that spot for the the school year, akin to the way lockers are assigned.
This way, parking won’t be a mad dash that forces legitimate students into illegal spots.