By Colleen Moir, Managing Editor
This week, Reynolds High School student-drivers have noticed a change in the parking lot. Parking spaces have gone from assigned numbered spots to unassigned, meaning students can now park on a first-come, first-served basis. The announcement came by way of a phone call last week and the new rules went into effect Monday.
“I am happy about the new rule,” Reynolds lead secretary Diana Kelly said. “It is so frustrating to enforce the assigned spaces, and students would come to me aggravated when someone parked in their spot. It takes a lot of my time, and enforcing the assigned spaces is a long, drawn-out process.”
Kelly said that she had been suggesting the change to un-assigned spaces, and the administration agreed.
“It was a combined decision,” Kelly said.
Kelly said the change occurred this year because conflicts between students over the assigned spaces are on the rise.
“This year, (student conflicts) are more prevalent. Students are more negligent, and they just don’t care,” Kelly said.
As long as students have a parking pass for the current school year, they can park in whichever space they choose in whichever student parking lot they prefer. The traditional sophomore, junior and senior lots are no longer designated for specific grade levels.
“Our administrators and (Resource) Officer (Shena) Nelson will be sweeping the parking lot looking for cars without passes,” Kelly said. “We have a wheel lock for cars parked illegally.”
Students have had mixed reactions to the new rules, with some strongly opposed to the change.
“It isn’t fair to morning Career Center students,” senior Anita Patel said. “Also, Reynolds just spent money re-paving the parking lot, and part of that cost was re-painting the numbers into the spaces. That seems like a waste now. It’s also frustrating that students who came before school started to buy their parking passes in hopes of getting a closer space lost their advantage.”
Added senior Catie Jones: “Seniors no longer have their own lot, and this is a loss of a privilege and advantage.”
New Demon drivers, however, have been excited about getting to park in the former “senior lot” during their sophomore and junior years. The administration is simply looking forward to life without the oversight.
“(The assigned spaces) are something we don’t need,” Kelly said.
One conflict did arise throughout the week when the new rule went into effect. Several teachers have complained of having their reserved spaces taken by students. This problem escalated to the point that an announcement had to be made telling students parked in the teacher parking lot to move their cars.
Teachers have been assigned to park in spots closest to the school in what is referred to by students as the “sophomore” lot that leads to Hawthorne Road. But spaces 1 through 25 and 45 to 70 coming back toward the auditorium are still assigned, so students parking there under the “first come, first served” basis risk bumping a member of the faculty.
Anonymous • Oct 24, 2012 at 9:34 pm
I think they should still be assigned
Anonymous • Oct 22, 2012 at 12:49 am
I like the concept of the new parking rule, but I think everyone would be much happier if the lots were still assigned, but not the numbers.
A concerned student • Oct 19, 2012 at 10:07 am
I think the new parking regulations are unfair for everyone, epescially Career Center students and seniors. If you get to school later because of the Career Center and don’t get a space, it’s not your fault. Also the senior’s deserve the advantage of the senior lot. It may be frustrating for people to complain about people parking in their spot, but they need to more strongly enforce parking in your designated spot and not just doing away with the whole thing.
A senior student • Oct 19, 2012 at 8:07 am
I think the new parking is more dangerous. Cars aren’t spread out throughnthe parking lot like the used to be. When you enter the parking lot, people just whip into the closest spaces next to all the other cars, and when it’s time to leave, they’re all in a huge cluster. People who leave for afternoon career center used to be spread out and leaving at noon was easy; now, we are all leaving from the same area and everyone is pulling out at the same time. I’ve had trouble finding a strategically easy spot to back in and to pull out of. I also think that it’s unfair to morning CC students who lost their close parking privledges that they had earlier this year. I also feel bad for juniors whose cars are being written on by seniors for parking in the ex-senior lot. They were told by administration that they can park anywhere, so they should be able to. But many seniors are still claiming the lower lot is their privilege and that juniors should not be greedy in their parking. I don’t really think that’s their call to make….
As for administration just not wanting to deal with it anymore, they could say that about closed lunch policy, too. But that’s not changing. What is important to students and what is important to administrators unfortunately is and always will be completely different. They’re adults and we’re kids and so therefore every choice they make is always smarter and more beneficial than any argument we could make against it… Right?
a teacher • Oct 19, 2012 at 7:44 am
Although it is understandable that upperclassmen wouldn’t want to lose their “privilege” in the middle of the year, I can see administration’s point of view on having better things to do than sort out parking space battles. It’s also hard in some ways to fault the kids parking in teacher spaces because the blanket announcement went out that “numbers don’t matter any more.” On the other hand, most students are fully aware of where the teachers park, and may be claiming ignorance of the new rule as a sort of game.