After a long day of school, you finally make it to your car to drive home and rest. And what do you return to see? A ticket. Not only one ticket, sometimes multiple of them. For many juniors at school, driving to school has become increasingly frustrating due to new parking restrictions created this year. The new parking policy prohibited juniors from regularly parking on school campus. This has led to an increase in parking tickets and a debate among students. 

 Last year, juniors were able to park at school by paying a dollar per day for a daily parking pass. The spots were limited, but students still had the opportunity to drive themselves when space was available. This year junior parking is only permitted for emergency situations, while the main parking lots remained reserved for seniors. 

 The policy has become controversial because students are reporting that many parking spaces remain empty throughout the school day. Some spots left completely open and some open on either A or B days for seniors who do every other day. Despite the open spots, juniors who park in senior lots can receive parking tickets starting at $20. Fines increase for repeated violations. 

Some students believe the policy is unfair, especially for juniors who drive to school for jobs, sports, or other responsibilities after classes. Others argue that seniors should receive parking priority because they are older students and have traditionally been given parking privileges. 

 To get a student viewpoint on the parking situation, I interviewed junior here at C. Milton Wright, Reese Rizzi. When questioned about her viewpoint on the parking situation Rizzi stated, “I understand seniors getting priority of the spots because they have seniority, but it’s frustrating seeing empty spaces in the lot while juniors are getting ticketed.” Rizzi then added reasoning for parking in the lot that, “A lot of us have responsibilities after school and need to be able to drive.” Rizzi ended her statement saying, “I don’t want to take any spots away from the seniors because I would be mad if someone stole my spot too, but I wish we could come to an agreement with the administrators about the empty spots in the lot for juniors to park as well.” 

 Administrators at school continue to defend the parking policy that it helps to organize the school campus and manage parking availability. However, the issue continues to be a popular topic for discussion as students receive more tickets. As seniors have left school for the year, many juniors are excited for the senior lot opening to them May 25th!