PSA to parent drivers: Just because you aren’t a student doesn’t mean you can ignore school traffic rules

A blue Honda Odyssey parks in the middle of the senior lot. A small freshman escapes out its closing doors, frantically sprinting to get to his first-period class. Amidst a symphony of honks, the minivan stays stationary as the driver picks up her phone, sips on her coffee and blocks all incoming traffic in the student parking lot.

Parking in the morning and arriving to class on time has become exponentially more difficult in recent years, especially so for students arriving at school with only a couple minutes to spare. Ever since the back lot became a teacher-only parking zone and not a drop-off area last year, arriving at school past 8:05 has become a nightmare. Upperclassmen have always had to compete for scarce parking spots. But now, we also have to increasingly compete with freshman and sophomore parents, who vehemently deny the existence of a traffic circle and choose to ignore the “Student Parking” sign.

To many parents, a designated drop-off area doesn’t exist; instead, the entirety of the parking lot is their domain. Instead of dropping their kids off in the drop-off line like they’re supposed to, they choose to block five other cars in the student lot while taking their time and ensuring that their student leaves the car with a lunchbox, violin case and colossal backpack. Then, adding to their original offense, they park in student-reserved spots for 10 minutes before going on with their days.

The nonchalance and total disregard of school rules by some parents is ridiculous. Students getting dropped off illegally by the street or obnoxiously in the student parking lot should have to present their ID if confronted and face some sort of repercussion for being dropped off in the wrong place. Essentially, by blocking other students and cars, parents are causing students to be late to their classes and exhibiting a selfish demeanor that gives parent drivers a bad reputation.

Until rules are enforced to keep parents out of student parking lots, this behavior will not change.

There’s a reason a drop-off area exists: for parents or guardians to drop-off students. Most of all, parents of underclassmen need to understand that their car can only enter the student parking lot once their child is the one driving.