Parking spots 70, repainted, and 69, personalized.
At the beginning of the school year, administrators reminded all students of the privileges and restrictions that come with utilizing the student parking lot.
One restriction that began conversation among the student body was the inability of the class of 2024 to personalize their parking spaces.
Seniors were allowed to ask questions about this change at a mandatory flex in the auditorium. Students made administration aware that they were concerned with not being able to paint their parking spots. Administration told students that their reasoning for prohibiting this personalization has to do with the certain type of paint the school used to cover up previous painted spots. Some students questioned if this was a permanent policy.
“One of the biggest issues is making sure it’s consistent, so us providing [the paint], us painting over [the parking spots], guarantees that we are getting the correct paint and also getting it done correctly…” said Assistant Principal Dr. Erin White.
There are hundreds of students who park at WHS. Therefore, the school has had to implement a secondary parking area for “overflow.”
“It comes down to the paint being expensive and it’s been backordered for a while,” said White. “It’s time-consuming to paint all of the parking spots to get them as close to the original look as possible.”
Admin has also expressed that their main concerns are for the environment, such as paint running into the nearby river, and student’s safety while on campus.
“These painted parking spots are large bumper stickers for each kid that identifies their spot and oftentimes it has a name or some type of association with that student,” Dr. White said. “With having a numbered spot, there is no way of telling who that student is for someone who may be looking for them.”
Another concern for student drivers this year is the heavy enforcement admin has taken to ensure that students follow parking regulations.
The below email was sent out by the front office with the following information embedded.
1) Parking tag must be hanging from the rear view mirror and the number must be facing out. If your tag does not fit on your rear view mirror the tag must be visible with the number facing out.
2) No one is permitted to park in visitor parking at any time between 7:30-3:30
3) All students must park in their assigned spot that matches the number on your parking tag.
4) If you have not purchased a parking tag or have not received your parking tag you are not allowed to park on campus (this includes visitor parking)
5) If you have a release block or Caldwell class and leave campus and return before 3:30 for a sporting or afterschool event, you must park in your assigned parking spot.
6) If you have an away game for a sporting event and leave before school is dismissed at 3:30 or overnight parking, you must keep your car parked in your assigned spot. You may not move your car to visitors or staff parking by the bus lot or the athletic lot. If you move your car to one of these lots you will receive a ticket.
Administration indicates that having these parking policies helps everyone ensure that there are no issues outside of the building and that all students are kept safe, especially while driving.
“[We] would appreciate it if students would follow all of the parking rules. It is a safety issue that we know who is in the parking lot, who’s supposed to be here and who’s not,” said School Resource Officer Seth Morrison. “The only way we can [monitor] it is if all students follow the rules with their parking passes displayed.”
According to the WHS School Parking Citations Slip, students, if they don’t follow the rules, could receive any of the following citations:
Violations include-
-No Parking Permit Displayed ($25)
-Vehicle not Registered ($25)
-Illegally Parked ($25)
-Parking in Faculty Lot ($25)
-Parked in fire lane ($25)
-Parking in Visitors lot ($25)
-Reckless driving ($25) + Loss of parking privileges
*Repeated violations will result in towing at the owner’s expense and revocation of parking privileges.
Many students have already been cited for not complying with these regulations. Some students have expressed their dissatisfaction with the consequences for even first time offenses.
“For multiple students I’ve talked to, this was their first offense," said Jack Bryant senior, in an Instagram post raising a group of student's irritation for their citations. "All I, and other students at WHS, are asking for from administration is a little bit of grace and understanding.” Our reporter asked for permission to cite this post.
These students feel as though they should have their first time offense fee waived in an attempt to uphold fairness for students and lessen tension between the student body and administration when it comes to policies and regulations.
“Students immediately getting fined is not fair to them, especially students who have never once in their high school career been given parking violations," said Bryant. "$25 is a steep fee for many students who go to WHS who already paid $80 to park on-campus."
Every student is required to pay the $80 fee that comes with registering for a parking space, which covers a student’s parking pass for both semesters of the school year. These citation fees have been consistent throughout the years.
“Administration was able to find out whose car was registered and whose space their car belonged to, and could see that their parking pass was paid for and fulfilled. Everyone I’ve talked to so far was in their own space that they paid for,” said Bryant. Most students, Bryant insinuated, are therefore receiving tickets for failing to display their tags properly even when they’re in the correct spot.
Negotiation between the student body and administration on waiving all first-time offense fees has yet to happen as discussion is most likely to occur on a student-by-student basis, taking into account their personal situation.
“It’s important to remember that every student has the same expectations whether they are on campus or off campus and that driving on campus is a privilege,” said Dr. White. “It’s important that [students] are safe not only on campus but off campus as well.”
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