Adam Friedman
staff writer
Parking at school is a big deal when you are a senior. Due to a shortage of parking spots in the lower parking lot, some students are forced to park at Rockshire, causing controversy among the students.
The spots are drawn at random from a bin. The ticket you choose from the bin determines the spot you get. It could be either at Wootton or at Rockshire. Over the summer there are certain days when students can come and apply for their spots. Those days are where the controversy starts. Even if you apply for a spot on the first possible day and at the earliest possible time, you still have a chance to pick a Rockshire spot. “I went to get my spot on the first day and I still ended up with a Rockshire spot. I don’t think that it is a really fair system. If you are first, you should have a guaranteed Wootton parking spot,” senior Seamus Graham said.
Students prefer Wootton parking spots due to the ability to have a short walk into the building, and to be closer to their friends. “I love that I was able to get a Wootton spot. I can go right to my classes without a long walk, and will still have time to be with my friends before class,” senior Lexi Douglas said.
Rockshire spots do present some benefits. With a Rockshire spot, you avoid all of the Wootton traffic after school, and you are able to make your way home much quicker. “The only reason that I like my spot at Rockshire is because I can avoid the traffic from the Wootton parking lot,” Graham said.
The downside of the Rockshire spots are that you have a longer walk to and from school in the morning and the afternoon, and in some instances, you can be late to class due to this. “I have had a few instances where I was late to class because I had to run from my car all the way to Wootton,” Graham said.
Another part of this controversy revolves around internships and dual enrollment. If you have an internship, you are guaranteed a parking spot at Wootton, while if you have dual enrollment classes, you are not guaranteed anything. “I am in dual enrollment and I had a parking spot at Rockshire for the first few weeks to school. There were many times where I would race to school after my dual enrollment class and then have to run to school. Even after all of that, I would still be late to class almost every time,” senior Grayson Vaughn said.
Sometimes, students are able to switch from Rockshire to Wootton after weeks into the school year, but for all of the other students, they are stuck there. “I was lucky enough to switch to a Wootton spot, but other students don’t have the same opportunity,” Vaughn said.
