For some students, the 2016-2017 school year really did start with a bang…and a crash. The newly renovated student lot has been home to many Marlborough student accidents, but the stories of these crashes are subject to rumor.

Julie ’18 is among the students who have had car trouble while on campus.

“There have been a lot of rumors about my accident…I scratched a car while trying to get into a tight space, but the rumors have blown it way out of proportion,” Julie said. “It was probably around a 6 inch scratch, but I’ve heard people say I hit three cars in one day.”

The story of Julie’s car crash was one that spread and escalated quickly, a consequence which she attributes to a Marlborough student’s need for distraction from the stresses the school brings.

“It makes people’s day more interesting to tell a story about my accident…they do it because they’re bored and a lot of people saw my accident, so I think that’s part of it too,” Julie said.

Elizabeth ’17 said people’s perceived notions of junior drivers may also play into the exaggeration.

“I think part of it is that people want to complain about [juniors who drive to school]; [many seniors] want to say [juniors] are bad drivers,” Elizabeth said, adding that she doesn’t agree with this assessment of juniors.

Regardless of whether or not these stories are exaggerated, many students said they feel driving to school is a privilege that can and should be taken away.

“There should be a strike system where if you hit another car twice you should not be able to drive to school anymore—or at least for a month,” Isabel GS ’17 said. “If you can’t park your car, you shouldn’t be driving to school.”

Clem ’17, whose car was hit on the first day of school, disagreed with this idea.

“[Punishing people for getting in car crashes is] ridiculous. That’s like Hammurabi’s Code–an eye for an eye–people make mistakes…parking is hard,” Clem said.