I leave my house at 7:40 each morning, and by the time I pick up my freshman carpool and make my way down Forest Park Parkway, Kingshighway, and Oakland, I arrive at the student parking lot right around 8. As a senior arriving 20 minutes before school begins, I expect each morning to find a spot in the first five rows of the lot, which are designated as Senior Parking. Throughout my entire junior year, I—along with the vast majority of my classmates—respected that rule, acknowledging it as a quintessential senior privilege that we would eventually get to enjoy.

A quick trip to Google Maps satellite view reveals that there are only 142 spots in Senior Parking, already insufficient for the approximately 230 students in the senior class. These spots, however, are plentiful enough to allow for seniors who arrive with punctuality to nab a prime position in the lot; that is, under the assumption that juniors and sophomores don’t park there first.

Such sights are all too common—showing up with expectations of a good spot, only to inch my car down the parking alleys searching for an open spot while sophomores and juniors pop out of driver’s side doors in spots that aren’t theirs to take. Inevitably, I am forced to park several rows back while underclassmen park in spaces reserved for me and my classmates without consequences.

Thankfully, this problem, as well as a litany of other parking-related issues, are finally being addressed by the administration. As all students were notified in a Tuesday email from Dr. Kesterson, enforcement of all parking policy will be significantly ramped up in coming weeks, with violators facing JUGs or other disciplinary measures. Already, the effects of the email have begun to show themselves; Senior Parking was significantly more empty on Wednesday morning than on the previous day, with the only change in between having been Dr. K’s email.

While it is in the process of being taken care of, it shouldn’t take threats of JUGs or monetary fines to dissuade students from disrespecting the privileges of older students. While it may seem unfair now, these small perks have long been in place, and cause almost no inconvenience for juniors and sophomores to maintain. As someone who parked exclusively in non-Senior Parking for a full school year, parking a few rows back only costs one maybe an additional 30 seconds of walking time between their car and the top of the turnaround. 

There is no leeway for any student, especially a junior, to claim any sort of ignorance in this scenario. Senior Parking is a well-known senior privilege, and common sense alone should indicate that the best parking spots in the lot would be reserved for seniors; it wouldn’t be a “privilege” otherwise. We have all been in your shoes before, and we have all had to park in the far reaches of the Science Center lot for the entire duration of our time as licensed drivers up to this point. It is simply a fact of life at St. Louis U. High, something that every previous class accepts. If you disagree, then you certainly wouldn’t mind the dissolution of Senior Parking altogether for your senior year, right? I didn’t think so.

Privileges like these are some of the many things that come from earning your stripes as an upperclassman at SLUH. Everyone has to work their way up to these privileges, and any attempt to circumvent this rule of nature shows a blatant lack of respect for older students.