Parking Passes:
Flawed &Unfair?
by Cathryn Fortuna and Kaitlin Burr
Copy Editor
For most students here at Mentor High School, one of the most anticipated events of their junior and senior years is the reception of a parking pass. This coveted permit means more independence, and most importantly for some, it means not having to arrive to school by school bus any longer. This opens up the possibility of waking up at a later time for those whose bus rolls up to the stop at about the crack of dawn, and a parking pass can make school somewhat more bearable, if only in the slightest way.
Although, for many other students, the concern for having a parking pass goes deeper than just being able to wake up a half hour later, or driving to school with their friends. In some cases, a parking pass means improved time management and an ebb in stress levels for those with various before and after-school activities and commitments. Passes prove to be beneficial not only to these students, but to the parents of these students as well, mainly those who start work early in the morning or work until late at night and cannot leave their jobs to pick their children up or drop them off. The possession of a parking pass can lessen the burden on parents greatly.
However, the hope and excitement for a parking pass has long since faded for many students. Various pupils have been left spurned following extension after extension of the parking pass list, with their names having yet to appear upon it. Junior Matt Cola, who has numerous after-school activities and other commitments, checks the parking pass list posted at the security booth every time it sees another extension. However, he has not yet been added to the list.
Says Cola, “I’m extremely upset about it. I don’t understand why I haven’t been put on the list yet. I know kids who have nothing to do here before or after school, and they somehow have a pass, but I don’t.” Cola is not alone in his complaints. After checking the parking pass list following the last extension, a junior girl exclaimed, “I play three sports and I’m still not on the list!”
The system has been receiving much criticism this year. Legions of students have expressed concerns about how peers with no obligations appeared on the list straight away, and yet the busiest and brightest of students are still waiting for their turn.
There have been many misconceptions about what exactly it takes for your name to appear on the list; the most common one is that names are selected completely at random. However, upon contacting Assistant Principal John Diamond, we learned the facts: In order to be eligible for a parking pass, a student must have at least a 2.0 grade point average, can have no more than ten unexcused absences, and can have no more than two suspensions. (If you meet these standards, and appear on the list, you must then have a written note from security and pay the fee at the bookstore before receiving your pass.)
There have also been concerns expressed about how the process may be tweaked next year. According to Mr. Diamond, “. . . we will be making changes in the eligibility and selection procedures to ensure total fairness.”
He also admits that there is a flaw to the system. Says Diamond, “This year, some students had mistakes on their attendance, and once the mistake was discovered, it was corrected, and actually, they moved to the head of the list for receiving a parking pass.”
But until next year’s improvements, students still waiting for a parking pass will have to sit back, relax, and cross their fingers that they’ll be added to the next extension.