Drivers in parking lot should be more careful

Julia Hajduga | Conant Crier

Every Conant student that receives a parking pass experiences the thrill of being able to drive to school. It makes them feel independent and free. However, some don’t seem to realize that having a parking pass is a privilege and that with more freedom comes more responsibility.

In order for a student to receive a parking pass, the administration goes through a long process of checking grades, behavior, attendance, and more. The students sign up for a pass at the end of the school year and get a response around the beginning of summer. These passes cost over one hundred dollars for one school year, and they can be revoked without getting money back.

Students should be aware that the parking lot can be incredibly busy in the mornings and after dismissal, mainly entering and exiting at Plum Grove Road. The primary concern of the school staff is safety, but they can’t always be there controlling the traffic and parking situations.

Assistant Principal of the White Team Thomas Mocon said, “Whenever there’s an incident in the parking lot, we use every available resource to look into what occurred so we can maintain safety in our parking lot and hold people accountable if something goes wrong. With that being said, I do believe Conant responds appropriately to any situation that’s brought to our attention as best as we can given the information and resources available.”

However, it’s also up to us, the students, to be aware of our surroundings, and to make sure we all get to where we need to be safely and respectfully.

Sometimes students don’t even own up to hit and run situations in the parking lot. Anna Floyd ‘20, who has been involved in an accident in the main lot, said, “People make mistakes and it’s okay if you mess up. It’s just important to own up to them and claim responsibility if they want to be treated like young adults and given more privileges.” Students who don’t own up to their actions may show the lack of consideration and respect for others. Students should be aware of the fact that they earned that pass and should be more cautious drivers, especially in a school parking lot.

Beyond students being more careful, there are solutions to a safer and orderly driving environment: first, divide the parking lot equally between juniors and seniors. This can be differentiated based on the seniors having a different type of parking pass sticker from the juniors. Another solution could possibly be making another exit. To avoid interfering with traffic, one exit can be for turning left only and the other one could be for turning right. This would avoid everyone cramming into one exit for both turns. Since teenagers aren’t the most experienced drivers, another solution could be guidelines on the size of cars allowed in certain parts of the parking lot to avoid fender benders when maneuvering around.

Whether administration makes these changes or not, it’s crucial for young adults to be cautious of their actions and aware of what’s going on around them while driving. The last thing a student should be worried about is whether or not something happened or will happen to their car in the school’s main parking lot.

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