Over the years at SPA’s Randolph Campus, so many things have changed. The addition of new buildings like the Huss and Schilling Centers, remodeled workout rooms, redesigned classrooms, and even plexiglass dividers in the lunchroom have all shaped different experiences for students. Yet, one thing that has been the central focus of so many complaints has stayed the same: the parking lot.

Each morning before the school day begins, cars line up and down Juno Avenue and South Wheeler Street in hopes of making it to advisory before the clock strikes 8 a.m. Some parents make their way towards the pickup line located directly in front of the Huss Auditorium entrance, while most student drivers take the turn into the Huss or Drake Ice Arena parking lots.

The main issue with this backed-up system is the new rule instituted by the SPA administration, requiring all advisors to turn in attendance no later than 8:02 a.m. As the clock ticks closer and closer to this strict deadline, stress levels of student drivers rise, along with the length of the lines. In many cases, once students finally pull into a parking lot, gather their belongings, and rush off to advisory, they end up arriving late and getting marked tardy, leading to possible detention after school. There are several ways to receive a detention, but the most common is by obtaining three unexcused tardies in one quarter, which includes being stuck in traffic.

“The line on Juno is horrible. One time, just a few weeks back, it took me over 20 minutes to park my car. I got to advisory almost 10 minutes late and [was] marked tardy, even though I was on campus at 7:40. It was so annoying, because there was nothing that I could do,” junior Riley Erben said.

Similar situations have happened to students that cannot drive as well. Sophomore Cooper Olsen said, “I get stuck in that long line almost every morning. One time it took five, maybe 10 minutes for us to get to the drop-off line, so I was late, and got a tardy.”

Even with the other frequent changes SPA makes to better the school and community, students are anxiously awaiting the day a new parking system or policy is put in place. “I can’t wait until they change it. The lines are always super long and make me late. I think that the next project SPA works on needs to be finding a more efficient way to move the line along,” senior Esther Allen said.

Students who have become so frustrated with the parking lot have begun brainstorming ways to change it. Junior Simon Assefa said, “I think that one major change that SPA could implement would be making Juno a one-way street moving away from Huss. I think that with that, parents could get out easier, and when dropping off their kids, there would be an area for them to go which would be out of the way of student drivers.”

As the year moves forward and SPA continues to implement change into the school, all students hope for the same announcement… an improved parking lot system.