The Sophomore’s Need To Park In the Far Lot.

Throughout many of the years at Fruita Monument High School, there has really only been one way the students have been used to parking- seniors up front, juniors assigned to the second half of the parking lot near the tennis courts and as for sophomores- well if you’re lucky enough, you may be able to get a spot in the very far back corner of the lot. 

This year though, things are different. Due to the construction on the north side of the high school this year, no assigned parking spots were given to both juniors and seniors, and the sophomores were not to be able to park in the parking lot until second semester. Welp, I didn’t really think about that last part until I was surprised to find that all of the spots towards the front of the school entrance were littered with the high school’s newest licensed drivers, leaving only a few obscure spots in the back and the corners of the parking lot. 

It’s been 16 days since winter break when I am writing this, 16 days that I have arrived to school during my first hour release just to find that all the sophomores- who by the way are not allowed to have releases until junior year- are at the nearest spot to the entrance of the school which is at least  100-150 feet away from the entrance. If I thought this was going to be the worst of it my first day back from break- oh was I in for a wake up call. 

As usual life in the parking lot goes, trying to maneuver around the parking lot can be excruciatingly irritating at times, trying to get into the line to exit the lot to leave. This was already a big enough event between the upperclassmen. But oh, let me tell you, as if driving around with newer drivers in the upper classes weren’t enough, most of the sophomores who are driving around in the parking lot have literally been driving for 2 weeks. 2 weeks. As if it wasn’t terrifying enough driving around with the other upperclassmen, who seem to not remember their driver’s ed classes at the DMV and Tom’s Western Slope Driving Institute either.

Anyways, last week at lunch, I’m in the lane to turn left onto Wildcat Avenue. Usually, most students are waiting in this turning lane for maybe five minutes before they are let out. Some students though, use the right turning lane to turn right onto Wildcat Ave, to go home or to Dollar General. So here I am, in my tiny little grey Subaru Impreza, finally at the front of the line to turn left onto this street, when a sophomore in his humongous truck pulls up in the right turning lane, and instead of turning right, starts turning left as I start turning left. Let me remind you, I’m in my tiny little Subaru about to be run over by this huge truck. This was only one of the many times that I have almost been run over, crashed into, or cut off carelessly by a sophomore this semester. 

I’m not saying all sophomores are terrible drivers, but I remember my first times driving alone without parental supervision. I made a lotttt of mistakes driving, and it could have been considered reckless by drivers with more experience than me.

On the opposite side of my perspective, I could see the struggle of sophomores trying to also park in the parking lot. As a former sophomore who was older for my grade, turning sixteen and gaining my license at the start of the year, I totally get the struggle. I wasn’t allowed to park near the high school until the very end of the year, after the seniors were gone, meaning I had to park in the dirt church parking lot and walk to the high school everyday to get to my classes.

So coming into my junior year, I was excited to finally have an assigned parking spot near the school, so I was guaranteed a nice spot everyday, where no one else would be able to park. The seniors were excited to finally park up front, getting the nearest spots to the entrance that they have been waiting to get since their sophomore year, but, here I am writing this now knowing we did not get this luxury that students had had in the past because of the construction first semester, and that second semester, it would be even worse because the sophomores are not restricted from the front half of the parking lot.

Even though they are allowed to park here, there’s a level of disrespect towards the upperclassmen who have waited and waited to park right up front their whole high school career, which leaves everyone just as infuriated as they were with unassigned parking spots first semester and the years prior. Personally, I think that this problem was overlooked by the administration at the beginning of the year, who rightfully have front parking spots all the time, and that there is nothing they can do about this situation now. If you are a sophomore and reading this, please heed my words and respect your upperclassmen.