The Senior Lot allows Campo seniors to park in an area close to the school. However, more recently, less spots are available for seniors, leaving them to drive around looking for any empty spot, or end up parking far away from the school. The inconvenience of having to drive around looking for any open spot arises frustration in those who have paid for parking, especially when they see many spots being taken by cars who do not have purchased a required parking pass, namely, the juniors.
Senior Mona Radev noted her disposition towards senior lot freeloaders: “I am absolutely infuriated whenever I see anyone without a parking pass because I paid for a spot. Even just being 15 minutes late causes me to drive around and search for any open parking spot that I paid for.” Radev shared that she “drives a big truck” and “always parks in the back row” to “let everyone else get the easy access spots” and that “some days [she] doesn’t have anywhere to park” and “should not be parking on the street.” This is especially concerning since she contributed the necessary funds to access this parking privilege.
Radev also commented that “[the freeloaders] are the worst parkers” which makes the situation simply more aggravating. She said she would understand if it’s “lunch and they park at the very back” as more spots become available later in the day, however, stealing all the parking while “taking up two spots because they can’t park correctly is not acceptable and extremely frustrating.”
It becomes problematic that the seniors have to pay money if they can just park there for free like the juniors or sophomores. While there may be orange slips left on the cars that do not have a parking pass, most students just crumple it up and toss it in the trash without a second thought, making those slips apparently useless.
Junior Ellie Doane shared a different perspective, saying “I know if I were a senior, I would be very upset at the juniors for parking in the Senior Lot, but I feel like, if I’m not getting in anyone’s way, it’s okay.”
There are certain circumstances that can be a reasonable explanation for juniors, and in Doane’s case, she generally “parks there on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays” because she goes “straight to track practice after school” and finds it “insane to walk all the way down the street to grab her stuff.” Doane typically parks near the Aquatic Center, which she says is “far enough away to not be stealing the seniors’ spots.” However, no spot in the Senior Lot is too far for the seniors who arrive at school late except the spots on the Calle La Mesa hill, which is about half a mile away from the campus.
Moreover, traffic has become a mess for those leaving the Senior Lot after school. As soon as the bell rings for lunch, everyone races through the Senior Lot to get to their car and avoid the backup, however, sometimes end up waiting for 30 minutes because the spots are filled with juniors who are also trying to leave.
When junior Siddharth Iyer was questioned about his immoral parking in the senior lot, he responded with, “oh, did they catch me?”
Even so, Iyer shared a similar point of view to Doane, saying, “I don’t normally park there unless I’m late to school because at that point, I feel like there’s not that many seniors who are going to be coming to school.” The juniors seem to share a nonchalant attitude about parking in the Senior Lot, probably because they are not the ones with a prepaid parking pass having to park down the street. But the seniors, on the other hand, are the ones with rising frustration at the fact that they have to pay for parking that ultimately just gets stolen by juniors who park there for free.
