Allie.+S's+Paper

__ Taking and Defending a Personal Point of View __ The issue I have chosen to work with is parking. Not only are there not enough parking spaces in the upper lot, but there are seniors that are picked at random to be placed in the lower “junior” lot. The method used currently for parking is unfair, and it is important for students to have a sensible opportunity to be in the upper lot. Parking became an issue when the new high school was built, and there came to be more student drivers than available parking spaces. Student drivers are affected by the parking issue because unfortunately, some end up in the lower lot, ensuing a half mile walk in forty degree weather, while others are handed first row parking spots directly in front of the school doors. Though there have been attempts to resolve the parking issue, North Kingstown clerk Mrs. Barba claims “nothing seems to be working.” There are three main viewpoints on the parking issue. The first would be keeping the technique we use now: having seniors turn in their parking papers, removing students with discipline problems and excessive tardies or absences, and having a “lottery” pick of assigning spots based on the order of received papers. Since there are only 180 spaces in the senior lot, those seniors after 180 obtain spots in the lower lot. After all seniors are given a spot, juniors are eligible to apply for any extra spaces in the lower lot based on priority-athletics or jobs. “Parking is really meant for seniors,” says Mrs. Barba. This year, after the seniors were taken care of, there were only 24 spots left for juniors. “At least sixty juniors applied, but we only had twenty four spots to give out. This was really difficult, and we ended up having to call coaches and employers to validate the application,” Mrs. Barba continued. Juniors are given parking spaces for two to three months at a time, so if a driver plays a fall sport, he/she is able to drive during that time period, and a person who works during the winter may be given the parking privilege at that time frame. A second viewpoint my group came up with is to get rid of the grass area in the parking lot to create more parking spots in the upper lot. This would have been a good idea, but we were informed by the custodian, Butch, that “the DEM won’t let us build there because of the run-off from the rain, especially with the pond so close by.” The third viewpoint, another one from my group, is to give each senior a parking sticker, but not an assigned spot. This way, students will have an equal opportunity to get a spot close to the school depending on what time they arrive. This method will encourage students to get to school on time because once the upper lot is full; students will have to park in the lower lot and walk up to the school. I believe that the most effective solution is the third viewpoint; the one that favors giving students a sticker but not a permanent space. I think this resolution is fair to all of the seniors, and would save a lot of pressure and anxiety from the clerks in the office, who have to listen to those seniors complaining about being in the lower lot. There are students with parking spaces that do not drive to school everyday, and having unassigned spots would allow people to park in those extra spaces while normally, that spot would remain empty two days a week because a person did not have the sticker number to park there. Mrs. Barba explained that this method would not be difficult for her because when there is a parking issue, she figures out who the car belongs to based on the type of car and the license plate, not by the assigned parking space number. The viewpoint that I support the most is reasonable and fair. Unlike the method we have now, this will give all seniors equality in the parking aspect and encourage time management. Students will learn responsibility by possibly having to arrive to school five minutes earlier than usual, or accepting the consequence of being late and having to park in the lower lot. Though this new parking plan could start out chaotic in the beginning, by the first week or two, students will be used to how the parking works and be able to figure out what time they need to leave their homes to get the parking spaces they want.