As the clock strikes 2:35, you are itching to bolt out of your last period class in order to sprint to the parking lot. You feel your hands grasp your keys harder and harder as the minute goes by. Sweat begins to bead slowly on your forehead as you wait impatiently by the classroom door. As the bell rings, you quickly swing out of the door and run down to the front door in order to get to your car quickly before the swarm of freezing and antsy teenagers attacks the school parking lot. This is a normal day as a senior at NVOT.

The technicality and chaos of the senior lot haunts me at the beginning of each week of school. There are many things to be sorted out with the lot, being that there are a countless amount of issues regarding either the layout or the people that drive to begin with.

Over the years, students wait for the day until they are finally able to park in the senior lot. Although, once a student finally gets to experience the inconvenience of driving to school, they have no idea what they are in for. The constant sharp turns, honking horns, and twenty-minute long back ups haunt you throughout the school day.

Many students are infuriated by the monstrosity of a system that the parking lot is. Senior Nastassia West believes that it is “ridiculous that we [seniors] have to wait so long everyday in order to get out of school until 3 o’clock.”  West thinks that if the school “expanded the parking lot and got rid of the ‘side lot’ that is there now, then that would work better than the current layout.”

The side lot is a smaller space that is sectioned off from the rest of the lot that both teachers and students can park in. Many students are under the impression that the side lot makes life easier as they leave the school. While West agrees that it is “a bit more under control,” she also states that “Even if people park in the side lot so it is easier to get out, it still takes me until 3 o’clock every day to get out of that lot.” Senior Jack Busch believes that the school should “add another way to get out of the lot.” Agreeing with Busch, senior Nick Simeone believes that “the biggest problem of the parking lot is that there is only one exit.”

Likewise, senior Lauren Santoro states that there are not enough spots in order for the parking lot to run as smoothly as it should. Santoro believes that “someone should be there after school, possibly directing traffic, being that it does get super crowded and nerve racking.”

West also believes that a big piece of the puzzle is lead back to the seniors themselves. She states that “If some of the seniors learned how to properly drive a car, this issue would be solved in no time.”

Senior Lauren Barsa agrees that the lot does not “have the best layout” when it comes to exiting at the end of the day. Barsa also believes that “kids are not the best drivers.” Barsa agrees that the “side lot and the back two rows make it harder for people to get out and around.”

In the past, there have been multiple accidents and fender-benders that took place in the lot. Several students anonymously shared that they have gotten into accidents in the lot due someone else’s reckless driving. This situation could have been resolved quickly if there had been more order in the lot and if the other senior was just simply paying closer attention to what was happening in front of the wheel.

Sure, some seniors can argue that the biggest problem of the parking lot is the juniors sneaking in and taking up all of the spots. Even when that issue was resolved But, the root of all of chaos in the parking lot is relating more to its layout and our driving skills than anything else.

Overall, the senior lot will forever be a true nightmare unless something gets fixed sooner rather than later.