W

ith the introduction of the new school year, new policies implemented is the requirement of parking passes for student drivers.

Junior Adalyn Summers shares her respective opinion on the passes.

“I think that parking passes are kind of annoying because you have to pay for them, but other than that, it does not really bother me,” Summer said.

Summers also highlights the unrealistic need for the passes.

“Parking passes make it easier for staff to figure out if students are parking in the teacher lot, but it does not really solve the parking issue at all,” Summers said. “Many students park in the teacher lot because the student lot is completely full when school starts, and if they park in the tennis lot, it will take even longer to get to school, making them even more late. It’s important to be on time, but sometimes things happen and you’re late.”

With busy parking lots it makes it difficult for students to find parking spots in the first place.

“The actual solution to the problem would be giving the students more parking. Right now, the whole back half of the parking lot is taken up by construction, and if it weren’t there, then we would have enough parking for every student who drives, and no one would feel like they have to park in the teacher lot,” Summers said. “Also, parking passes are useful to know how many students need to be able to park, and it does make it easier to see if a student is parking in the teacher lot, but overall, I feel like it doesn’t make a huge difference. Students are still going to park in the teacher lot because there is nowhere to park in the student lots, and the teachers have a bunch of space left over. And then students are going to be pulled out of their class and told to move their car, which distracts them from schoolwork and makes them miss lessons. They should focus on the root of the problem instead of trying to fix the effects.”

Junior Kaitlyn Netser is also opposed to the parking situation. “I don’t think they really needed it. The teachers already had their parking passes, and if they really wanted kids to stay out of the teacher lot, they should have enforced discipline for parking there a long time ago instead of waiting for it to become a big problem.” Netser said.  “It really only improved the parking for the teachers. It keeps students out of the teacher’s lots, but that just leads to fewer spaces in the already limited student lots.”

With students being overtly against the parking passes, Parking Pass Coordinator Melissa Chapman shares her views on parking.

“There are benefits to the school and the student. Passes help to ensure that only eligible students are parking on our campus here at CNHS, and if there is an incident, we can quickly look up the vehicle(s) involved to track issues and enforce rules.” Chapman said.

She also covers her role and its importance.

“Managing parking passes involves the following steps: organizing and maintaining a Spreadsheet of all issued passes, handling payments, and distributing passes to students,” Chapman said. “I believe they’re important for determining who should or shouldn’t be in our parking lots, ensuring everyone’s safety.”