In lieu of a necessary faculty email regarding parking in the lot, I decided to take it upon myself to provide my insightful perspective on the student parking lot. Firstly, I would like to graciously thank whoever decided to allow the security guards to move our cars rather than us having to leave class. Additionally, I would like to give some appreciation to the security guards who move our cars daily. As per the email, it seems that many of us juniors and seniors (mostly juniors, sorry) need a reminder on parking lot etiquette as well as a general parking tutorial. So, here it is.

I know a lot of people hate it, but often times backing into the spot is much easier than heading in. Within our small parking lot, parking back in gives you a larger amount of mobility when parking perpendicularly. So for those of you who struggle with cranking your massive cars into the spots, give backing in a shot.

While discussing big cars, I think it’s imperative that I stick up for the little guys by saying that y’all need to start pulling in all the way. If you have a big car you’re already taking up a lot of space, so – if you can – help out the rest of us by pulling in all the way. Otherwise, the whole lot becomes a zig-zagged obstacle course. Also, take the time to straighten up. I promise you, no one will be mad if you need to make a 30-point turn to straighten up your parking since it will definitely benefit everyone in the long run. I will admit that I have been in a rush and pulled into a spot haphazardly, but I have changed my ways. I now always take the time to make sure that I have parked between both of the lines.

On the theme of taking your time, I feel that most of the “incidents” that occur in the lot happen due to rushed exits or entrances. I truly believe that if we all individually commit ourselves to taking a deep breath before pulling in or out of the lot, we can make it to the end of the year without any mishaps (if not, I did everything I could).

Finally, if all else fails, fall back on Arden, Rossmore and Muirfield. If, like me, you’re a part of the elite few who excel at parallel parking but struggle at perpendicular parking, utilize your resources of our contractually available side streets to park on. I have also known many people who cannot enter the student parking lot without an exceptional rush of anxiety and dread, so they rely on Arden or Rossmore to avoid it all together.

Overall, I would say to park wherever you feel comfortable and to be generally extra conscientious when in the lot. If we can all challenge ourselves to be more aware and alert when parking, I think we will have a great rest of the year.