Curb, handicapped, and fire lane parking has all prompted the new system of reserved parking for this year’s upperclassmen.

The news of this dramatic change spread like wildfire throughout the student body as it was published to the school website in Mid-July. It caused a lot of controversy in the lives of teachers, students, and parents because it was a total shift compared to previous years’ system.

This year’s new proposal wasn’t brought on by the administration but by none other than the Tualatin Valley Fire Department. “They were here and said you can’t park in the fire lane, that’s in violation,” said administrative team member Tate Olsen. Olsen inherited the parking lot situation as last years was out of control, “the only way we could enforce the parking lot is through assigned spaces” as he spoke of why this change took place.

When deciding who gets these coveted spots, juniors and seniors are the ones who are above the age of 16 and the majority have their license so it made sense that they were the only ones eligible. Unfortunately, this means many sophomores are left disappointed as they have to patiently wait until next year to be able to park on the premises.

Despite the exclusion of sophomores, many people are excited to finally have an organized system where it’s not just a game of musical cars. People are now guaranteed their own nook in the parking lot; however, this won’t always be the case as the growing class sizes and the addition of new schools to the district will make it more and more difficult to obtain one of the 258 student spots.

Check out the October print issue of The Paw Print for a more in-depth look at this pressing issue.