Bruins are more than just neutral about their parking spaces.

The Current agrees that the attitude some students have towards particular parking spaces is unfair. We find that certain groups of students seem unreasonably territorial about spaces that are meant for the entire school population. Staff members at The Current have experienced these attitudes firsthand. 

“The regular parking lot with the athletes really ‘classify’ us and they really don’t want us there sometimes,” said Megan Bruning, a senior. “I feel that the separation between the two is pretty stupid. I had to park in a specific spot since the first day of school and I just stayed there. I wouldn’t be upset about someone taking my spot, I would just move over a space if needed.”

Despite our observations, Campus Supervisor Silvia Ramirez believes there isn’t much of a parking lot issue.

“The parking lots are definitely separated for the student body, but it wasn’t on purpose,” said Ms. Ramirez. “The Ag students park in that lot because it’s closer to their classes and the student athletes on campus park near the field for their practices. No students have complained about the parking lot and/or students picking specific spots.”

Ms. Ramirez said parking problems are being exaggerated. She also said the school staff would act if a legitimate problem were to arise.

“If a student takes the spot first when parking in the morning, then they can park there,” she said. “I’ve never heard anything in general about students having certain parking spaces. Football players have been in trouble in the past about changing in the school parking lot but it’s never caused a specific problem for parking. If me or anyone on the staff committee sees anything, we would stop it.”

Some students believe there is a separation in the parking lots due to student athletes who do not allow outsiders to park where they find a spot. However, some of the student athletes said they felt there isn’t very much of a problem and that the spaces they have aren’t saved for their peers.

“I don’t think there’s really a big difference between the two (parking lots) except that more people park in the regular parking lot in order to be closer to their classes,” said Julia Bohn, a junior. “I park there to be closer to my classes. I don’t really care where everyone else parks either. I don’t have a specific spot but more of like a general area where a couple of my friends park.”

“No nothing is different between the two parking lots,” said Angelina Matteoli, a junior. “I park towards the front so I don’t have to walk as far. I don’t care where I specifically park and I don’t have a particular spot, so I don’t mind where others are.”

Some Ag students have also noticed that the school parking lots are different from one another. Students have claimed, and The Current agrees, that the parking lot near the D-Wing is far more friendly and that they don’t reserve spaces.

“In the Ag parking lot, there is a lot of respect between all of us and we aren’t very sure what the regular parking lot is like,” said Julia Yoder, a junior. “I think that we park in the Ag lot because that’s where our friends are. Yeah, I do park in the same spot in front of Justin Kilgore because it’s easy to remember and he arrives first. It would begin to irritate me if someone took my spot though.”