High school is all about rites of passage. Joining clubs, making friends, Sweet 16’s, graduation. During these formidable years, students will go from being unable to drive to legal voters. Yes, high school is all about firsts: First car, first assigned parking spot, wait- why is someone in my spot?

If you are a student driver at Manogue, you will be familiar with this experience. You arrive at school in late July, you are looking around carefully trying to find your friends. It is parking sign up time, and you want to ensure you have a good spot. You pick out one you like and get handed a little yellow and green tag by Mr. Carroll. On the back is a number and a letter. With one move, your location is secured. Last week, a comment was made to the students during the end of the day announcements. Over the loudspeakers, students were told the specific rules of parking. I’ll sum them up here: “Only park in your spot, no students parking in the faculty or visitor lots, don’t park at Rose of Lima.” I acknowledge, it is very important for students to follow the parking rules, but in my experience, the students aren’t the ones breaking them.

On Monday, February 6th, I drove myself and my sister to school like I normally do. We were about to pull in when we saw a car pulled over the line between my spot and the spot next to me. The car had a wheel in literally 4 different spots, making all the spaces effectively unparkable. In any situation, this is disrespectful. I looped around and got a peek of the driver. A parent, obvious by the lack of a Manogue uniform and the student climbing out of the passenger seat, sitting on their phone. There was no parking tag hanging on the rear view mirror. Fortunately for me, they left rather quickly and I was able to return to my designated space albeit a little ticked off.

Parents are out of line, and I don’t just mean their parking jobs. Manogue has not one but two perfectly good student drop off areas. The loop at the front and the straight by the small gym- for the parents that are confused. Both of these are shorter walks for students, and in this chilly late-winter weather, I think any student will be grateful to get in the building quicker. One could argue that the parents are dropping off in the lot because the drop off areas are filled. The parents tend to hang out in the lot earlier than most students arrive, but this is also earlier than most parents arrive and the drop offs are empty. In fact, it is probably more work for parents to take these actual parking spots than the drop off areas.

Of all the things I could complain about, this one is little and generally inconsequential. However, that still doesn’t make it ok for parents to behave this disrespectfully, you wouldn’t want a co-worker taking your space. Just think of the example they are setting for their students.