Hall High School changed the rules of the parking lot spots over the summer, creating varying opinions about the decision. Staff and students have diverse thoughts regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the new organizational process. 

Hall High School administration believed that the parking system needed an update. In the previous 2022–2023 school year, students had the ability to come to school and go to a random, unassigned space in the student lot. In early to mid-August, students received a Google form to fill out to be assigned to a specific parking spot for the entire year. “We like the new organization,” said Jose Rivera, an officer at Hall, when asked about the parking lot system. “I think it allows students to know exactly where they are going to park every day.”

Talia Leshem, a senior at Hall with her own parking spot, also said, “I think that the assigned spots are better than what they used to do where it was first come, first serve every day,” but even though they both favor the new system over the old one, they still believe there are flaws. Talia Leshem said, “People bring their cars to school, and you need to accommodate them,” when she says she doesn’t believe that there are enough spots for all the students who bring their cars to school.

“The downside is that first come, first served; so, if you wait too long, you could not be able to have a parking pass,” he cautioned,” said officer Jose Rivera. The number of parking spots assigned is, in fact, based on the order in which students completed the Google form. “Grade 12 students will be given priority for registration,” says the yearbook, but several juniors were given a parking spot while some seniors weren’t. Officer Rivera, Talia Leshem, and Ziggy Edney, respectively, a senior and a junior with their own parking spots, agree on the fact that it’s not fair. “I think about 20 juniors have a parking spot,” said Ziggy Edney. The school should have sent the form to seniors first and offered the juniors the possibility to register after a certain timeframe, said both officer Rivera and Ziggy Edney. “The administration should have done something when they found out that not all seniors had a spot while some juniors did,” said the girl [Ziggy Edney].

There is no way to please everyone, as the parking lot doesn’t have enough spots for all the drivers and students. According to Talia Leshem, the teacher’s lot is never filled up. “If you were to look outside halfway through the school day, there are 3 or 4 rows at the back every day that are empty, but students can’t park there,” she said. As a solution, she suggested that the administration could make some of the teachers’s parking spots available. Officer Rivera doesn’t agree with this statement: “The teacher’s side is generally very full,” he said. “Sometimes teachers complain that there’s not enough space.” He added, “I think students are using those spaces even if they are not supposed to. “The long driveway at the entrance is the alternative that students without a parking spot are encouraged to use, suggested officer Rivera when asked about solutions that may be used.

With this new way of organization planning to stay in place for the foreseeable future, Talia Leshem said, “I think the amount of space in the student lot is not nearly enough for the number of kids who bring their cars to school.” As more and more people bring their cars to school every year, we can only see this problem getting worse.