Boots are the trend for the spring season. The cost: 40 dollars. A new scandal has swept the parking lot, disappointing both the students and the faculty. In the second to last grading period of the school year, the administration decided to enforce the purchase of parking permits. Dana, the parking lot attendant, is on the search for the un-permitted cars of students who have been parking “illegally” in the student parking lot. A note forebodingly warns that cars without permits will soon be booted, only to be unbooted with the purchase of a permit. This late in the year, the approach to enforcing the policy is uncalled for and futile.
Good intentions don’t always translate over well. In this case, any sign of intentions would help. The administration has made the consequences clear, but the reasons behind them vague. Without the student body being informed of the purpose of parking passes, the administration won’t have much success convincing students who have been parking for free all year to make a 40 dollar purchase. Students must see the worth in a parking permit in order to invest.
If the administration is concerned with fairness to all students, the students as a whole should be contacted. Sure, some students paid at the beginning of the year and some didn’t. If students are unhappy with fellow classmates parking without paying, students should be the ones asking for a change. Sure, school isn’t quite a democracy. However, students are the sole ones affected, so students should be the ones seeking a change.
Many students are questioning the school’s authority to boot cars. Is parking for free illegal or simply against school rules? Yet again, the administration has failed to translate information to the students. Breaking the law is one thing, and parking for free in a free parking lot is another. Had the administration been so concerned with the necessity of permits, faculty members would have enforced the purchase much earlier in the year. Only then would the policy be slightly effective.
By threatening students, school morale is threatened as a whole. The response to the new policy has been completely negative, posing the students against the administration in yet another power battle. Last year, the gate was the new addition to the parking lot. This year, boots are coloring the cars. With summer in sight, boots should be the last thing on students’ minds. Car boots are simply out of season.