Brand new year. Brand new drivers. Brand new rules. 

The parking pass rules have caused quite the stir in the student body. New rules such as assigned parking and the threat of being towed has brought something new to the parking lot. 

The enforcement of the parking rules and passes with threatening the towing of vehicles was necessary. However, the addition of the assigned parking spots is flawed.

While the assigned parking spots are flawed, the recently enforced parking rules are an improvement for students and staff alike. Towing may be an extreme measure to take, but it is a step in the right direction for the school parking lots. Last year there were many students without parking passes and students without a valid driver’s license still parking at the school. With the newly enforced regulations, students and staff must purchase a parking pass to park at the school or else they will face consequences. These consequences may be unavoidable with the current lack in the amount of parking spots.

The newly implemented assigned parking spots that come with every parking pass are a subject of controversy within the student body. Many are concerned that there are not enough parking spots for everyone, and they are right. At Willis High School there are around 750 parking spots with an estimated 2500 students and around 200 staff members. With these numbers it is clear that there simply are not enough spots available for all of the students and staff this year and it is inevitable that it will become a problem. The lack of parking spots also brings forth the flawed and time consuming process if someone parks in the wrong spot.

Both students and faculty time is unimaginably important with all the classes and assignments allotted to them. This precious time is wasted when a student or staff parks in a spot not belonging to them, and the whole system crumbles when there is even one person out of place. The painstaking process of getting the spot back begins by the person having to drive over to the visitor lot and finding the parking attendant to let them know that someone is in the spot. Then, the car in the spot will be towed, after all of that, the student or staff may park back in their assigned spot. This process is a long, time-wasting endeavor that no one wants to do, considering all of their responsibilities that they would be missing out on. Even if the person simply does not have time for that long process, and parks in a spot that isn’t occupied, they still run the risk of being towed for being in someone else’s spot. The assigned parking spots are flawed and time consuming to everyone involved, when cars begin being towed after August 19th, these flaws will become very apparent.

Some would argue that the low number of parking spots is counteractive due to the fact that more than half of the students at the school are freshman and sophomores and can not drive themselves to school. While yes that is true, the number of parking spots still barely fit the ones who can drive now. What will happen when the two much larger classes of sophomores and freshman all drive? The parking lot is already hard to get in or out of in the mornings and afternoons as it is. Some could say that the towing policy is too extreme while in reality it’s the right amount of enforcement to encourage students to do it the right way and to encourage students to purchase a parking pass before the 19th.

The new rules, some good and some not so good, are here to stay this year, so the student body needs to get used to them as they are. As Friday is when the towing policy is enforced, it is highly recommended to purchase a parking pass by the 19th.