In April 2017, Reagan students suffered a major loss- the Career Center parking lot was  no more.  Administration took away the designation when students who did not attend Career Center were consistently and wrongfully parking in the lot.

“It’s become a hassle for us to manage,” said assistant principal David Uhl at the time of the incident.

Even though the lot’s title has been revoked, students should still respect the unofficial name of the Career Center lot. It is advantageous to students who travel to and from Career Center and need to get to their classes in a short amount of time.

As a first-year driver and Career Center student, I was oblivious to the never-ending struggles of parking.

Attending morning Career Center and traveling back to Reagan is a hassle from the start; getting to my carpool’s car and exiting the parking lot alone takes at least 10 minutes. Even after escaping the parking lot with honks and profanity trailing behind you, Reagan is a good 20 minutes or more from Career Center depending on traffic and tempting smells of fast food. Only kidding about the fast food.   

Upon finally arriving at Reagan around two minutes before class starts, the search for a parking spot that will allow me to get to my class on time begins.

It would be understandable if the Career Center lot had been filled only by students who are also trying to get to class, but not for students that think it is just more convenient to park there in the mornings who only attend Reagan.

In a series of unfortunate events, the lot is filled, and the only other option is the ever-dreaded Narnia. By the time I have driven through the Career Center lot and realize my fate of parking in Narnia, actually park, switch out my books and walk into class, they have finished the bell-ringer, concepts 1 through 5 and started the mid-term exam.

Yes, it is not a designated parking lot this year, but other students should understand the time constraints Career Center students are under.

In a spur-of-the-moment survey I conducted (in the rain), I counted all 132 cars parked in the lot. Twenty-two of them were cars without Career Center stickers. That means 22 Career Center students got to class especially late that day.

“It’s hard to find a parking spot coming back from Career Center, and when I have to park far away, I have to rush to class because the travel period isn’t very long in the first place,” said junior Josh Ford.

Since the majority of Career Center students park there to begin with and all students call it by the name anyway, I believe the name and “rules” should be reinforced. It is a very beneficial resource for students who attend Career Center and travel to Reagan.