Let’s set the record straight. There has never been a “senior lot”. In past years, there have only been enough spaces for all the seniors and just a few juniors. Therefore, when seniors searched for a space in the morning, they were only competing with each other and a few juniors.

Now there are lots of parking spaces, but many are as far away from the school as side streets like Indiana and Mississippi. More spaces mean more parking passes given out and therefore competition for the front lot spaces. This year, seniors have to compete for the front lot spaces with all the juniors and some sophomores on a first come, first serve basis.  

We can debate whether or not this is “fair”, but that will do no good. Having a senior lot this year is impossible for two reasons:

First, $10 is the published price for parking permits this year. While seniors have offered to pay $2 for an extra “senior” sticker that would give only them front lot privileges, this just won’t work. While $2 seems easy for some, others are saving every dollar for college. The administration refuses to let this become an inequity issue, so they said if the stickers got made, the administration would be paying for them. With the budget in its current state, parking stickers are not at the top of the list.

If seniors did fork over $2 a piece, the problem would not end there. Here’s the kicker: we simply do not have enough space in the front lot to make it a senior lot. It would be unfair to deny some seniors the prime spots. At Free State there is one big parking lot that their administration can divide as they please. LHS, on the other hand, is built around a neighborhood, so we have to build lots wherever we can find space.

Call it unfair, but that is what we have to work with this year.  Seniors should arrive at school earlier if they want to win the space race.