Photo by Hunter Barberis

Despite not being allowed to paint their parking spots, seniors gather together before the school year begins to decorate their cars with washable paint.

Rising seniors who apply for a parking spot get their designated space in August before school starts. Students have preferences over the spot they select, whether it’s the proximity to school or stadium, maybe the student is an athlete and they prefer their parking space closer to the locker room. While the location may change, one thing that is constant is every parking space looks the same: they all have the same yellow lines and black asphalt. But what if they weren’t the same: What if the school allowed seniors to paint or decorate their parking spaces?

Seniors decorate their cars with wash-away paint markers or stickers and take pictures with their friends at the start of the school year, but these decorations usually go away quickly, whether that’s because of rain or the students washing their cars. Allowing seniors to decorate their parking spaces would not only be a fun activity to look forward to but it would also add a splash of color to the bland and boring parking lot. “It would be a really cool chance to represent yourself and make this school more unique,” junior Garrett Valentine said.

Arguments against this include concerns that people could paint inappropriate or offensive words or images, and the process may make a huge mess. While these are all possibilities, there are easy solutions. For example when it comes to the issue of inappropriate content, designs would have to be approved by administration. Similar to needing approval to hang posters in the halls, a parking spot design would need to get permission prior to being painted.

As for making a mess, the school could emphasize that it is the student’s job to clean their parking space. The student who has the parking space the next year would paint over it anyway.

Uniqueness is an idea that is talked about a lot at this school and the different designs and decorations throughout the parking lot would emphasize how unique each senior is. By allowing students to be able to represent themselves and their interests through their parking spot, the school would set themselves apart from others in the county. If we want to set this school different even further, we can encourage teachers to paint their parking spots too, imagine if you pull are driving past the school and see a flurry of colors throughout the main parking lot and then you drive further and see the staff parking lot painted too. “

Lastly, when it comes to the concern of students painting in other students’ parkings spaces, a rule could be that if a student draws in another student’s spot, they would either lose the ability to paint their spot or they would have to pay a fine to the school.

Letting students paint parking spaces can show the students, staff, and visitors how unique we are. Students expressing their interests through the designs would allow those of similar interests to connect and bond. This school says they embrace creativity and want to allow students to express themselves. It’s time for this school to put their parking spots where their mouth is.