It’s that time of year again when the school’s parking lots are as packed as ever, even though the student and staff population remains relatively unchanged. Throughout the icy months of the year, finding parking becomes a challenge. 

Students without parking passes have become a constant sight in both Main Lot and Plateau over the past few weeks, but, why is this happening now rather than at the beginning or end of the year?

There is one plain factor in this parking spike: the weather. It is simply too cold.

Students who do not obtain a parking pass for either lot started the year out by parking in their designated area—the Recs. However, once the snow stuck and the ice froze, many abandoned the rules in favor of convenience.

Now that the parking lots are overflowing with even more student parkers, it has become extremely difficult to find a spot coming back from an off period, especially in Plateau, where the towering snow banks eliminate a substantial amount of parking spaces. With an already limited number of spots, combined with nonexistent parking lines, Plateau is almost always full. 

Coming back from an off period should not be stressful. Students should not have to worry about making it to class on time after circling the lot repeatedly. This creates a domino effect: students with a Plateau pass begin parking in Main Lot because they cannot find space in their assigned area.

To stop this parking madness, multiple actions can be taken.

There are numerous staff and admin who monitor the crosswalks as cars pull into the parking lots in the morning. When a car without a pass pulls into Main Lot or Plateau, they should be stopped.

Additionally, staff should check the lots more frequently for cars without passes, as they had promised in the beginning of the year, especially for students who move their cars throughout the school day. Without accountability, policies lose their purpose.

On Feb. 12, House 1 Assistant Principal Robert Callahan, issued an email to the sophomore, junior and senior classes, informing people that administration will be proceeding with filing tickets to each car parked in the incorrect area. 

According to the email, “Over the past two days, we have seen a significant increase in students parking in lots where they are not authorized to park. As a result, over 50 parking tickets have already been issued. Students who are found parking illegally will receive the following consequences: A loss of [one-half] point on their parking total for next year [and] an after-school detention.”

Although the administration is stepping in to prevent illegal parking now, it wouldn’t have been such an issue if they acted sooner. The weak enforcement of this policy has led to the encouragement of illegal parking. If the school had better controlled this situation earlier, no student would have been worried about finding a parking spot. 

Allowing students to park wherever they want diminishes the entire objective of having a point-based system. Filling out the application to get a parking pass may feel like a waste of time for students if others can park without one and avoid punishment. 

It is not fair to the students who put in countless hours of their time after school into extracurriculars—including clubs, sports, honors societies and band—for their points and passes to mean nothing. I understand that there are involved sophomores who aren’t allowed to apply for a pass, but they need to be patient and wait for their turn like every class before them did.

Enabling students to park without a pass sends the message that they don’t need to get involved in the school. That being a Lancer isn’t important, even though it is. Even if students just do extracurriculars for the pass, they now get to put those activities on college applications. Getting involved will only set them up for success.

Don’t be that person who thinks they are personally too good for extracurriculars, but also too good to park at the Recs. If you don’t want to spend time being involved, then deal with the consequence of not getting a parking pass.