Wed. June 5. 2024 marked the first day that juniors at CHS were able to get parking passes for the back parking lot. For the rest of the week, juniors will be able to take their driver’s license and car registration to the office to get a free parking pass for the rest of the school year. The pass expires on the last day of school and students will be required to get a new pass on the first day of school next year. Normally parking passes are an amenity exclusive to seniors at CHS due to limited parking, but since the class of 2024 graduated last week the rising seniors have now been given the first step into their senior year at CHS come the fall.
“I think parking passes are nice for the juniors but we only get them for like the last two weeks of school. So I feel like it’s not worth it for me to get it for three days and then have to get here early to get a spot,” Maura O’Connor, a current junior at CHS, said. “I think we should have gotten them the day seniors left so then we could have it when they weren’t here.”
But the administration has its reason for not immediately handing out juniors’ golden tickets to the parking lot, according to CHS office assistant for two weeks after seniors’ last day they can come back to school for their finals and other end-of-school-year activities.
Some have waited what feels like a lifetime for parking passes, or really just 2 years. Many students at CHS have received parking tickets from the rigorous parking attendants downtown, which makes the free parking pass that comes along with being a senior well-awaited.
“I’ve wanted to park here forever, I keep having to park five blocks away,” Walter said. “If I could just have the parking pass and not become a senior I’d be perfectly happy. I feel like parking passes are introducing us to being seniors next year.”
Kyrie Garwood, another junior, has been riding a moped to school since the start of sophomore year. With a moped, she doesn’t have to have a parking pass to be able to be in close proximity to the school. But for the end of the year, she decided to get one for her car for accessibility for sports. She has found many pros and cons with the parking plan at CHS, the biggest con being only having access to one parking pass per senior.
“In my one day of parking in the community parking lot, it has been awesome. My family has two cars so I asked if I could get two parking passes because I split my time between whatever car I can drive and you’re not allowed to do that,” Garwood said. “So I just if I want to drive to school for the next two weeks, have to take one I have to take the car that I took today which is frustrating.”
Albeit the time left for the juniors is short parking passes can make it easier on many’s lives in the finals week to come. If you are interested in a parking pass for the end of the 2023-24 school year see the main office with your driver’s license and car registration.
