I’ll say it, You Overreacted: Students should not have reacted as strongly to the new parking policy

An email notification titled “Register for Parking Permit (New Process!)” on May 3 sent the then-juniors into a meltdown, as though they’d just had their lives flipped upside down and turned inside out. 

The SME Class of 2023 group chat flooded with messages mourning their beloved parking pass system. One student suggested they start a petition to change it. The group chat was slammed for over 36 hours as fierce debate broke out — a debate far too opinionated for the simple subject of what spot you’ll leave your car for the seven-hour school day. 

Associate Principal Kristoffer Barikmo had sent out an email detailing the 2022-2023 parking procedure: students would not be assigned a parking spot, instead parking passes would cover any of the numbered spots in the parking lot. 

And they were mad. 

After suffering three years of shuddering in the cold as they walked across the soccer fields, arriving to school 45 minutes early to secure a spot in the sophomore lot and waiting in the long car line after parking in the junior lot, they wouldn’t be able to have the long-awaited luxury of pulling into their front-row parking spot at 7:33 a.m. 

They had their parents send emails to the administration and vented to each other at lunch tables about the situation. However, their rage was uncalled for and an overreaction to a simple policy change — a change that wasn’t even going to cause much inconvenience.

And now, two months into the year, everyone’s adjusted without a second thought. 

Although this new parking system seemed unfathomable last year, we’ve managed parking in a different spot each day just fine. We know we might lose our spot when we come back from Hen House during lunch but there’s an empty spot just a few spots down for us to roll into. 

I’ve pulled into the senior lot at 7:34 a.m. plenty of times this year and can easily find a spot to park within seconds of turning into the lot. And I still can make it out by 2:44 p.m. — no matter what spot my car is in. As long as I back into the parking spot and speed walk away from my seventh hour psych class, I can easily beat the crowd of cars — regardless of having parked in the back row. 

This new system that once seemed like a monumental issue hasn’t even amounted to anything. And I’m here to say — you overreacted. 

You acted like the freshman could now park in the senior lot and all seniors would have to battle it out for a spot on Delmar. Last May, the then-juniors were worried they’d have to leave their house earlier just to find a spot. But the idea of leaving for school ten minutes earlier than you already would’ve isn’t valid for any parent emails to administration. 

The privilege of being able to drive a car to school and park it is immense. So what difference does it make if you walk an extra 30 feet to your car after school?