Kat Piantka | Newsroom Manager & Head Editor
January 30, 2025
Across the nation, high school seniors are fortunate to be given designated senior parking spots, serving as a creative outlet for future graduates to leave their last fleeting imprint on the high school. These students form cherished memories with their peers as they transform a once dull strip of asphalt into an expressive piece of artwork that all can admire. Treating the parking lot as a blank canvas, it soon transforms into hundreds of personalized stories with each colorful and unique spot serving as a chapter in the story of the graduating senior class. The newly transformed parking lot becomes an artistic reflection of collective memories, hard work, triumphs, obstacles, and character-building moments experienced by seniors during their high school journey.
Unfortunately, our SCHS seniors are robbed of this well-deserved opportunity. I, like many, wonder why the seniors are not afforded the chance to create something meaningful that serves as a testament to all of their effort leading up to this moment. Not only does the senior class miss out on an opportunity cherished by schools across Orange County, but they also lose a memorable experience that the class can bond over. Senior Grace Suckiel passionately expressed that they “should have senior parking spots” because it is a “fun way to bond as a senior class” and is extremely convenient. If seniors were given special parking designations they would not have to worry about competing for a limited number if good parking spots. Instead, they could arrive at school pull into their personalized space, and admire their fellow senior’s creations.
Many juniors, including myself, hoped that the restriction preventing us from decorating our senior parking spots would be lifted, but to our dismay, the blockade remains. Future senior Megan Doughtery is disappointed and “jealous” of the other local schools such as JSerra who afford their seniors this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Instead, SCHS students can watch other “seniors [online] decorating their parking spots” and fantasize over how they would bedeck their empty canvas if roles were reversed.
SCHS does not have senior spots due to the lack of available parking. If they were implemented, the parking arrangements in the main lot would be hectic. For instance, sophomore drivers are banished to the upper campus lot if they wish to drive to school, which forces them to hike up and down the “freshman hill” to access their cars. While, the main, administration, and side lots are reserved for upperclassmen. Even though the SCHS parking situation is unique and much more complicated than other schools, it is still possible to have senior parking spots. For example, seniors could park in the main and administration lots while the side lots could be reserved for juniors, and if any spots remain available in the upper campus lots, they could go to sophomores. Sophomores should have the least priority for parking.
If the administration approved a designated senior parking spot program, school spirit would increase, our outdated campus would be transformed with this enriching experience, and the senior class would be given another creative opportunity to make lasting memories with their peers.
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