Kelsey Landauer ’12
Sports Editor
The race to get an ideal parking spot in the morning is the cause of all the traffic. However, it has now been clarified that not just anyone is entitled to a spot.
An anticipated announcement was finally made on Wed., Sept. 15 regarding the parking situation. The administration made it official that ticketing would begin on Mon., Sept. 20, which will put an end to students getting away with parking without a sticker.
For the licensed juniors, this means they are now required to park at Wakeman if they would like to drive to school, as well as partake in the eight minute hike before and after school.
For seniors, this means that they must have their stickers on their cars, and that juniors will no longer be parking alongside them. Several seniors, they could not wait for this satisfying announcement to come. Morgan Singer ’11 thinks that it’s annoying to see the juniors parking in the senior lot. “We waited our turn to park at school so why shouldn’t they have to [wait]?” said Singer ’11.
According to Staples Behavior Policies as listed in the student handbook, “the rental of parking spaces is a senior privilege. If any spaces remain, they are offered to students in grade 11 and assignment of these spaces is determined by a lottery system.” Assistant Principal James Farnen says “We wait until October to do the Junior Lottery so we can get a sense of how many spots will be available.” The junior lottery is expected to take place around the end of October.
Many juniors have been curious as to why they are permitted to park at Wakeman, but not in the Bedford parking lot, which is considerably closer to Staples. When the new Bedford Building was constructed in 2001, there was a meeting between the Bedford and Staples administration which concluded that safety is extremely important in the Bedford parking lot. “The last thing they want is a bunch of teen drivers driving around there when the kids are out for recess,” said Farnen. Since the Bedford parking lot is restricted to Staples students, a ticket of fifteen dollars or more must be issued if the security guard identifies a student vehicle in the restricted area. If the security guard at Bedford sees any Staples students parking in at the middle school, he will immediately contact the Staples security guard Bob Herman.
Tom Karrel ’12 uses the same car that his older brother, Owen Karrel ’10, used when he was a Staples student. Karrel ’12 thought that the 2010-parking sticker on his car would avoid receiving a ticket, but he was proved wrong two days in a row. “I think it was worth the try,” said Karrel ’12. “I just didn’t expect to get slammed twice in a row.”
For the juniors that are confident that they can get away with parking on campus, it is highly recommended that they consider the repercussions that this will have on their chance of receiving a sticker from the junior parking lottery.
Some students, however, are content with being able to park in a near proximity to the school. Misha Strage ’12 says that driving to school has made her commute to school much easier because “it is so difficult to find a ride to school everyday since I don’t have a bus.”
Brianne Birch ’12 says that she would rather drive to school and walk from Wakeman because waiting for the bus and trying to be ready on time is “much more complicated than being able to leave your house when you want.”
The Staples parking lot is a highly desirable place to be, but there are rules and regulations for a reason. The administration will be very adamant about enforcing these rules throughout the school year in order to guarantee a safe campus, and a fair system for all students.
