Lack of student parking causes distress within HC Senior class

Many things can make drivers irritable; none more so than trying to find a parking spot. The stress of searching tirelessly for a place on “The Hill” causes students to wake up at the break of dawn and more times than not, arrive late to their first period.

“If I had a spot, that would mean more sleep,” HC Senior Austin Hocker explained.

With HC’s overcrowding, and the number of drivers increasing, many student drivers expect chaos in the future.

“There was not just a jump in the number of students with licenses,” Associate Principal Laura Donovan stated, “but also a jump in the number of students who have cars in which they drive on a regular basis.”

The senior and gravel parking lots are an overall appreciated addition to the school; however, those parking spots are only reserved for a handful of the senior class. Many seniors are still waiting for a parking spot.

“It still feels really frustrating sometimes,” Hocker said. “The whole situation overall really irks me.”

Many students may think the solution to the lack of student parking spots would be to add an additional parking lot, but that is easier said than done.

“It is very expensive to put in parking lots,” Donovan explained. “The gravel lot alone cost $80,000. At this point, I do not know where an additional parking lot would even go.”

Students who are a part of the Academy or a co-op class, such as EBCE, work study, and student mentoring, are guaranteed a parking spot in one of the two lots. These students are required to go off-campus during the school day for a class that does not offer transportation for the students.

“I know the Academy is an exclusive thing across the district,” Hocker commented, “and students all over want to come here for that, and I understand that. On the other hand, co-op should not get a priority. I have a zero hour class, so I don’t think other people that show up later should get a spot over me.”

There is a shortage of parking spots with a large quantity of drivers, and not just at this school. With HC being the most populated school in the city, there is bound to be overcrowding issues, and the lack of parking spots is one of those issues. HC seniors without a spot tend to believe they are not receiving the benefits they have worked four years to obtain and many feel deprived of a unique privilege during their final year of high school. With the impossible task of pleasing everybody, some needs will be unfulfilled, which many students see as an unfair ending.