With a majority of sophomore, junior, and senior students driving to school, the Greek parking lot has become the main place where student drivers park each day. Because so many students use the lot every day, some have selected specific parking spots as part of their daily routine, even though the school does not officially assign spots.
Some students believe an unofficial system already exists. Rowen Weeramantry, a junior, answered, “Yes, definitely,” when asked whether students act as if parking spots are assigned. Regular drivers often return to the same spot, and over time, other students begin to recognize those spaces as belonging to certain people.
However, arrival time often determines whether students can park in opportune spots. Senior Elise Gilbert described the situation simply: “The early bird gets the worm.” Students who arrive first in the morning usually claim the most convenient places. As more drivers arrive, the remaining spaces quickly fill, forcing later students to search for any available, yet less desirable spot.
Students have also noticed patterns about where different grades tend to park. Weeramantry noted that upperclassmen generally follow the unwritten system more closely. “[Assigned] parking spots are only for juniors and seniors; the sophomores just park wherever,” he said. Junior Selah Sood also described how drivers tend to spread out in the parking lot itself. “Most juniors park at the very bottom floor, while seniors and some other juniors park on the top ones,” she said, pointing out how certain levels have become associated with specific grades.
Schedule differences can also create problems for students who arrive later in the morning. Some upperclassmen have a free first period, meaning they come to school after most students have already parked. Weeramantry noted that those students often struggle to find space: “If you have a free first thing in the morning, then you don’t get your spot,” he explained.
For students without a regular place, the lot can feel uncertain. Sood mused, “I don’t have a spot, nowhere is home,” explaining that drivers without a usual place must circle the lot and hope a space opens up. She likened people in her position to “a dog without a doghouse” and “a bird without a nest…Anywhere you go, I don’t know if someone else is supposed to be there first.” Her words explain how the unofficial parking spot system can leave some students unsure where they fit into the parking lot plan.