The junior class constantly arrives to school exhausted and grumpy due to the lack of available parking. There are little to no spots for underclassmen to acquire. The only way to obtain a parking spot is to win a raffle for the remaining few spots after all the driving seniors purchase their spots in the Senior Parking Lot.

This year, (#) juniors applied for a whopping (#) spots. As one might imagine, the chances were slim. While the lucky (#) were set for the rest of the year, the remaining majority—myself included in this group—were stuck with deciding between a few options, all less than pleasant.

One option, of course, is to take the noisy, smelly bus with all of the freshmen. However, I have yet to encounter an upperclassman who wanted to do this.

Our other options are to wake up at the crack of dawn to fight for a parking spot on Rolling Road, or sleep in a little more, and make a long trek to school. Both can be incredibly irritating.

If one doesn’t want to get up early, there is always the option of parking further away, such as on Hillside. However, the idea of walking so far is not appealing to most. Not only would this decision risk a late arrival to school, but anyone parking there would have to often deal with weather conditions like rain and snow.

Most people select the option of trying to park on Rolling, because it is closest. When I say park, I do not, by any means, imply that the parking is anywhere near good. A good five to ten more cars could probably fit if people would just learn how to park properly. I will never comprehend what is so difficult about pulling all the way up and not leaving five feet in between cars. I think we should all just agree to respect our fellow juniors and park properly. Not to mention, one must arrive nearly an hour before school starts to get one of these spots. While it is somewhere to park, it’s not exactly desirable.

Schools around here like Lake Braddock, South County, and Robinson all have spots available for juniors to purchase—whether it be a junior parking lot, or one main parking lot with enough spots for everyone. I don’t see why WS doesn’t have spots for the juniors to purchase.

While I recognize that this is not something we have space for at the moment, I think WS should seriously consider installing a parking garage when we renovate. While it would cost money, it would also make plenty of money and make everyone’s lives easier.