Arjun Bhamra ‘22 | Maggie Lo ‘23
Parking availability issues in the student lot have long been a source of frustration for the student body, and with an increasing number of sophomores getting their licenses, spots continue to fill up faster every morning. Joe Mulligan ‘22 finds parking difficult, saying that the “lack of spots make us pick between getting detention for parking at the Athletic Center or going to the student lot with no spots.”
Photo courtesy of Ashley Kennedy
In the morning, some say that there is a race among students to find parking. Lauren Jones ‘21 explains her experience: “I leave my house extra early so I don’t have to worry about finding a spot or parking far from the stairs up to the senior lounge.” Ashley Tang ‘22 agrees, “If you actually get to school on time, you can find a spot, but if you want to show up late because you have first block free, there are like negative 8 spots left.”
Difficulty finding parking sometimes even leads to students being late for class. Matthew Davis, Upper School Computer Science teacher, explains that he has had “three tardies of more than ten minutes due to parking issues this year.”
One of the main problems for student drivers is that the lot is not large enough to fit the cars of all the teachers, seniors, and juniors with the addition of sophomores. Davis comments, “The problems mainly come from sophomores parking in the lot. Most high schools only let juniors and seniors park on campus so even letting sophomores drive is a privilege. They should just walk from the baseball lot.”
Similarly, Juliette Loor ‘22 comments, “I feel like the sophomores shouldn’t be allowed to park in the student lot until next fall, not because of seniority, but because there is just no more room. I’ve also seen siblings of seniors drive separately which doesn’t make much sense.”
Other students, namely from the current sophomore class, disagree. Amelia Wondrasch ‘23 explains, “This year sophomores are allowed in the student lot, but if it were a normal year, I think sophomores should still be allowed because it’s much more accessible. A lot of sophomores need to drive to school because their parents can’t take them, so it’s easier [overall].”
Another issue is a lack of safety precautions in the student lot. Will Antczak ‘22 explains, “People not being safe at all in the student lot should be addressed. Inexperience or a general disregard of safety, especially when backing out or driving too fast, is definitely not helping the cause.”
Members of the community have speculated on possible solutions to the problems surrounding the student lot. Davis comments, “Students shouldn’t be parking in the Athletic Center Lot. I think the solution might be to let more teachers park in the AC, opening spots in the student lot.” Mulligan thinks that EA could potentially “create more spots for students or allow them to park at other lots [other than the student lot]. I think EA should definitely also minimize the penalties for parking in the wrong spots because of the lack of space. In the end, it’s so important that they form a solution soon because it is affecting so many students: they are losing class time, and it adds unnecessary stress to their school days.”