Students who drive themselves to school have been experiencing the extreme inconvenience of Northview’s parking situation.
Parking in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) parking lot is discouraged by the school, and the doors stay locked at that entrance. Before Spring Break, it was rumored that the lot would be shut down entirely after students returned. However, a large number of classes are significantly closer to that entrance than the doors designated for students in the back of the building.
Additionally, there is one fairly small lot near the doors the school wants everyone to go in, and staff members park there before students have a chance to arrive. If the staff parking in front (which is rarely full) is exclusively for staff, and students aren’t allowed to park here, the same should go for staff members parking in the student lot.
I am not the only one who feels this frustration, either. Seniors Lilli Karnowski and Lizzie Skinner both echo these sentiments.
Both Skinner and Karnowski have classes close to the PAC entrance, and agree that it seems counterproductive to have a whole lot available that students are not supposed to use.
“I understand it, but it makes things really difficult with how the school is laid out. Sometimes I have multiple bags, textbooks, art projects, or my trumpet that I can’t carry all the way from the stadium parking lot— which is where I would have to park if I didn’t go in the PAC doors,” Skinner said.
Karnowski expressed the same concerns about proximity from the school. Although she usually parks in the student lot when spots are available, the PAC is closest to her classes.
Although we all appreciate the school’s effort to keep the building secure, this is being heavily used even when it is discouraged, and it seems to me that it would simply make more sense to set up a security camera or guard at this door.
“I understand it would take another person to monitor the PAC entrance but I feel that students would greatly appreciate it, as I’ve heard from many other students who feel this way,” Skinner said.
Taking a different approach, Karnowski feels this lot could be utilized for a purpose.
“I feel like we should use this opportunity to make the student parking lot for seniors only,” Karnowski said.
Overall, everyone can agree that the parking situation is less than ideal. However, making the PAC accessible would be an easy solution to aiding students in this struggle.
