It’s 8 am. You just rushed out of the house hoping to arrive at least 15 minutes before school starts. You’re either stuck behind the endless line of cars on the right or behind a mighty queue of left turners, hoping that the light turns yellow so you can continue towards Hampton. Sounds of honking and faces of angry parents circulate the vicinity. Our campus safety officers are kindly directing the chaos of the parents’ cars, seniors passing through the lot, and all of the unlucky traffic from other students. If you are one of the extremely lucky seniors to have achieved a spot, you might have to wait a second or two, and then it’s a short 20 foot walk onto campus. Yet, if you are like most people, the search for that perfect spot is long and wide. These days, it’s not just the school that has become competitive, but the parking race that takes place every morning.
The parking system wasn’t always like this, though. Two years ago, we had a first-come, first-serve process where whoever filled out the forms first received a spot. This system was popular and based on responsibility and timely organization. One could say that those are prime values of a true wolf. The only complaints heard about this system were that it was “based on favoritism,” which previous Prep students aptly noted. Other than that, there weren’t many complaints. At the time, we had fewer employees and more spots for the seniors. There wasn’t a distinct area of only 15 spots for SUV automobiles, and life felt a bit easier in the morning, at least for the seniors.
By contrast, today’s lottery system, making its debut just last year, has stripped away the order, fairness, and responsibility needed to fill out a form on time. Now, even students with disciplinary records and those who have gone through Conduct Review are able to secure a spot. Yet, many straight A, honor-code following students have been left in the dog pit to look for a spot every morning. The system makes students feel almost helpless when their chances are denied by luck rather than merit.
Another major issue is the fact that seniors who had just received their licenses, or were about to, could still enter. When the form to submit a lottery entry was released, some students hadn’t received their licenses yet but signed up anyway, decreasing the chances for the experienced drivers. The inexperienced drivers were given the same chance, leaving many drivers without spots. Due to this, experienced drivers now circle Hampton each morning, hoping to get a spot close enough. This raises many concerns surrounding liabilities and the risk of harm. In recent years, there have been multiple accidents involving student drivers. Many safety concerns were put into place after these accidents, with one major change being the SUV spots. With the liability of the senior lot comes great responsibility. With the lottery, the SUV spots were limited to around 15, since there are only about 15 spots big enough to fit those types of cars. It makes sense that we should place the bigger cars in the bigger spaces, the main reasoning being safety concerns. So, if we narrow the SUV spots down in order to protect our students, shouldn’t we continue those exact same safety precautions by only having experienced drivers in the lot?
Not just the new lottery system brings chaos to the mornings on Hampton. As of last year, many people began to realize what an advantage it was to park on Hampton rather than Crown. When on Crown, you have to park behind the four way stop sign, and the walk to get to Prep feels like an eternity. In contrast, the walk from Hampton is shorter, and sometimes you can hack the parking lot to get almost as close as the senior lot. With the finesse of the street also comes great chaos and stress. Each morning, it is an unpredictable hunt for a spot. You can either hit the jackpot and obtain the spot directly outside of the senior lot or have to find another spot. Yet, here is where the unpredictability comes in. On some days, students are instructed to only park on the left side of Hampton. This situation occurs when the safety officers direct us in the morning. Yet, when they don’t, students park on either side. The problem with this is that all of a sudden, the possibility of you getting a parking spot narrows down to half.
You never know what spots will be left. On a Monday it might be left side only, but then the next day, it’s a free for all. The chaos doesn’t end here though. When it is a “left side only” day, most students resort to the complete opposite side of the intersection, towards the fire station. This means students having to take the cross walk every morning and walk much further than if on Crown. The current parking system leads to students being late, turning a simple morning routine into a draining daily obstacle that could lead to tardies, which may lead to some lunch detentions.
The Great Parking Shuffle has become more than simply a daily inconvenience. It is based on a system that values chance over responsibility. What was once somewhat straightforward has become an unpredictable gamble, leaving many seniors and upperclassmen frustrated. It may be time to rethink the lottery and propose the idea of returning to a first-come, first-serve system. Hopefully, one day Prep will be able to build a bigger parking structure. Until then, each morning remains a race and a shuffle, and one that students struggle to avoid.
