“If you are having a hard time finding a space in Stimson, AAC or Senior Lots, the softball field may just be your new hero,” wrote Mr. Kempf in a March 20 email to Upper School students. Why, yes, Mr. Kempf. You are correct. It is nearly impossible to find a spot in the Senior Lot after 8:15 AM, and parking elsewhere is a massive inconvenience. However, I — as well as many other driving seniors — have shouldered the burden and resorted to arriving on campus well before my first-period class. The coveted parking spots in the Senior Lot have become a staple of the Lakeside experience. Simply put, the school’s decision to create more convenient parking will upset the balance.
Within Lakeside drivers exists a strict hierarchy. We were all once freshmen and sophomores, slinking through Red Square after our parents dropped us off at the roundabout. It is a rite of passage to have your car scratched in the AAC lot or blocked in the game of Tetris that is Stimson. And then — clouds part and angels sing — you reach the final destination: the Senior Lot.
Side note! Way too many juniors have been parking in the Senior Lot recently… in case you think we don’t notice, know that we do. Be warned, oh brash ones. As seniors approach the peak of Senior Spring and find themselves with more time on their hands, expect to start finding holes in your tires.
I digress. The addition of the softball field as a parking lot will collapse this meticulously crafted journey upon which every Lakesider embarks. Juniors, and the occasional elderly sophomore, will start viewing themselves more positively. They may begin to believe that they deserve equal parking. They may even start demanding more rights, such as the ability to go off campus during the school day, which of course, no non-senior would ever dare to do.
So, be warned: the future of Lakeside parking is changing, and not for the better.
