Veronica Butler

The car on the left is parked incorrectly and is taking up more space than it needs to. The car on the right is parked correctly and is being respectful of the cars around it.

It’s a humid Tuesday morning. I drive to school as usual in my regular-sized car that only needs one parking spot. I wave to Mrs. Pat in the deer stand as I pull into the parking lot. I drive to find a parking spot in my usual area only to find Jeeps taking up four parking spots, trucks parked practically sideways and tiny cars taking up way more space than they need. 

The high school parking lot, described in one word, is chaos. Students need to learn how to park better and there should be consequences for students unreasonably taking up two, three or four parking spots.

While this atrocity is not illegal, it’s highly disrespectful and annoying. Students should have more respect for those parking around them and park correctly.

Another way this problem has escalated is that the white lines of the parking spots have faded to almost invisible. The fact that a driver can barely see the lines has made the parking problem worse. 

The lines do need to be repainted, but students just need to learn that it’s disrespectful and selfish to take up more parking spaces than their vehicle absolutely needs. A dually truck might need to take up four spots because their vehicle is so large and so they’re not too close to anyone else’s vehicle. An extended cab or long-bed truck might need two parking spaces so they aren’t sticking out into the aisle. However, vehicles that are not long or not wide need to take up only one parking space, and there should be consequences for those who don’t.