New Policy Prohibits Juniors From Purchasing Parking Passes

By Miranda Lassar
Managing Editor of Community and Global News

The Newton South administration has prohibited juniors from buying parking passes this school year.

Only the senior class is allowed to buy parking passes this year, which can be purchased for $155 each semester. The 165 available passes supply seniors with parking tags and stickers for the two parking lots of student spots on Brandeis Road.

Although juniors may not park in these student parking spots, they can park along Brandeis Road in front of the practice turf field along with the other students without parking passes.

The administration has changed their policy this year due to the poor parking conditions last year for both teachers and students.

“It was overcrowded, teachers had no place to park, plus we had so much snow,” secretary Tracy Connolly said.

Many members of the junior class have expressed frustration with the school’s new parking policies, as the parking spots along Brandeis Road are limited.

“I’m disappointed that I can’t park at school and angry because it means I have to wake up earlier to get to Brandeis [Road] before all the other juniors,” junior Noah Weisskopf said.

Although some agree that the new policy will improve conditions in the student lots, they also recognize that it will create a more hectic and potentially dangerous environment in the morning for the juniors as they struggle to find parking.

“It is going to add to the stress of junior year and make mornings more difficult,” senior Ariadne Caballero-Gonzalez said.

Junior Amber Lee feels that parking should be open to both grades on a first come, first served basis.

“I feel like parking space shouldn’t be dealt with so personally, and juniors and seniors should have equal opportunity for parking space,” Lee said.

Senior Sabrina Stacks feels that seniors should receive priority, but juniors should also be allowed to buy parking passes.

Stacks believes that juniors will ultimately find ways to manage their parking struggles, even if it means violating the school’s parking policies.

“I can definitely see people getting here incredibly early to park on Brandeis, and then you are definitely going to see people parking in teachers spots,” Stacks said.

Some juniors have considered more unconventional methods to attain a parking pass.

“I have considered buying a parking pass from a senior…it is definitely a possibility [for juniors],” Weisskopf said.

The school has only sold 121 parking passes for this semester. According to Connnolly, the extra passes may be available to juniors later in the year.

“We are looking at how many senior passes are being sold, and then we will take a look at it [the parking lots] and it could open up [to juniors],” Connolly said.

Last updated Sunday, September 13 at 2:56 PM.