‘Twas early morning at our school when all throughout the lot, seniors parked their cars in a spot they had bought. Inside the lines, a red Prius parked with care so no one would be given reason to glare. When what should suddenly appear but a junior on site, stealing parking spots left and right. Outside, there arose a clatter of students chanting, ‘What should we do? I’m already late for period two.’
Unfortunately, this is not just a rhyme but a reality. Seniors at our school have the privilege of reserving a designated parking space after entering a highly competitive lottery. If chosen, they have to pay a fee of $200, which guarantees the spot for the entire school year. However, recently there has been a rise in reports of trespassing cars and widespread anger among the student body. While many seniors’ first instinct is to smash the windows and key the car, it has been advised that you take a different course of action if someone steals your spot.
For students, you can sometimes find parking in the two hour spots or receive a temporary pass to park in the staff lot from the main office. As outlined by school procedures, if your spot has been taken, you should report the license plate to the office by taking a picture. The office keeps a record of the offenders’ license plates, which may result in school consequences or a warning paper being placed on the windshield. With over 500 students in the senior class as well as juniors who also need parking, this can happen quite frequently. The senior lot only has 90 spots available, which can be easily taken by other community members or students.
“We don’t have parking enforcement per say, like people monitoring the parking lot at all times and so unfortunately there are drivers that take advantage and park where they aren’t supposed to park,” Assistant Principal Emmet Conroy said.
Conroy monitors the parking lots, but he notes that the school doesn’t have the authority to ticket. They will, however, occasionally call Arlington County Parking Enforcement if there has been an uptick in violations. Students are given a decal to put on their car: a sticker that proves eligibility to park in the senior lot. Parking enforcement will not only check if the student has the proper decal, but also check for any other violations such as expired registrations.
“It’s an ongoing issue because people want to drive and there is a high volume of cars,” Conroy said.
Part of the issue is other grades trying to take advantage of the system, which has increased tensions between the different grades in the ongoing battle of parking. Notoriously, the junior class has been known to park in different senior spots throughout the year.
“It’s pretty annoying because I get less upset when it’s a senior, but it’s kind of annoying when the juniors take it because they aren’t even supposed to be in the senior lot at all and they didn’t pay for a spot,” senior Abby Benjamin said.
Between juniors, seniors, and even sophomores, all trying to find a spot conveniently placed near the school, people are bound to try to take any available parking. Students are always looking for shortcuts, even if that means parking in the staff or senior parking lot. For new seniors arriving at our school, Conroy holds five spots separately for them after the school year has already started. One senior reported that while Conroy held a spot for him, he couldn’t park there for a couple of months until he received a proper license, as he had previously lived in a different country. But other students were ready to take claim to his free spot, even without receiving a pass to park there.
“With the first two months of me not parking there, I’m assuming people realized that it’s a free spot so people take it…but eventually I think people realized that I parked there every day,” senior Henry Mace said.
So is it really worth it to get a spot? Having a spot mostly guarantees that you have somewhere to park in the morning, eliminating morning stress or setting an early alarm. You can also spend a few more precious moments with your Chipotle bowl while you’re out at lunch with no worries. Door eight is only a mere twenty feet away from the lot, perfect for people who hate walking to school.
“It’s definitely worth it; I’m so happy I have a senior spot,” Benjamin said.
However, at the end of the day getting out of the senior lot is comparable to the Hunger Games. Every student gets out at the exact same time and everyone wants to get home as soon as possible. Before you claim a spot, you want to make sure you are mentally prepared for many aggressive car maneuvers. Some seniors intentionally chose to not apply for a spot because they thought it wasn’t worth the hassle.
“I really don’t think it’s worth it; it’s not worth the money and if your spot is going to be taken you’ve got nowhere to park,” senior Leah Robbins said.
The lot can be dangerous not only for fellow drivers, but also for students innocently crossing the road in front of the exit. People often forget to watch out for pedestrians amidst the struggle to get out quickly.
“The amount of times I’ve almost been hit there just walking is kind of insane, so I don’t really trust my car in there and just the traffic at the end of the day is so bad,” Robbins said.
While the traffic may always be an issue that comes along with a high volume of cars in a small space, there are ways to help communicate to people who do steal spots. Conroy reminds students that there can be consequences and that they should keep in mind that our school is a community.
“People need to be more aware of where they are parking or get to school a little bit earlier to not take people’s spots,” Benjamin said.
Whether you choose a spot or not, they are benefits and downsides to both. If you want to leave quickly in the afternoon, we recommend you don’t apply for a senior spot. But if you don’t want to wake up early in the morning, getting a reserved place to park is the best course of action.
