Libertyville High School Senior Parking Puzzle

Senior parking. The two glorious words that students at may be most excited to be a part of — well, beside lunch release. Parking on campus is supposed to be an exciting privilege, something to look forward to, something that’s stress-free (no more walking from Brainerd, anybody?) and simple. However, many aspects of senior parking are more competitive and complicated than what most people might think.

This past summer, registration information contained the date seniors would be able to sign up for senior parking. The entire sign-up process took place on a website called Infosnap. There are 303 parking spots available; it’s a first-come, first-serve process.

“I know people who woke up early to sign up. It’s really intense,” senior Jackie Hansen said.

Then, the students who did not make the cut got waitlisted.

“We have the waiting list down pretty much to a science, so most seniors are assigned parking stickers by mid-September,” Assistant Principal Eric Maroscher said.

The students recognize this science.

“I ordered a parking spot in the beginning of the summer. I didn’t know you had to order them early,” senior Marissa Ovassapian said. “After filling out all the info, I got put on the waiting list, number 55. I thought it’d take forever to get one, but I got mine a few weeks ago.”

Some Think Wait List is Unfair

However, some students don’t think going on the waiting list is fair.

“I was out of town, so I was unaware the registration was mailed out. Since I had no notice, by the time I got back in town, all the spaces were gone and I was forced to go on the waiting list. Finally, I got my parking pass in September, but it didn’t seem fair to have to wait,” senior Danielle Ferraro said.

About seven years ago, the school lost 120 parking spots due to the addition of the new band and academic wings, the new main office, and the Q-Z LST, not to mention reconfiguring the student drop-off/pickup area, Maroscher said.

Therefore, parking was simpler before, with 120 additional spots; however, in losing the 120 spots, the school made it comfortable for around 2,000 students to attend the high school. There is no place for the school to add more spots, as it is landlocked by Butler Lake.

Once students park at the school, their sticker must be visible because security checks to make sure that everyone parking in the school lot is supposed to be there. Security officer Mike Dolan checks the vehicles before school and during first period. However, he also will do random checks at some point in the day if there have been complaints.

Security also checks Dymond and Brainerd for vandalism, or if any of the car lights are still on.

“I have the hat trick in parking: lights on, car is running, and the door is locked. I’ve seen that twice,” Dolan said.

Cost of Parking in the Wrong Space

As far as parking lot organization, there are lanes specifically for faculty. The last third of the lot in the back west area is for students. In the front lot, the last lane near the softball fields, and the lane facing the varsity baseball field are for faculty.

For students who make a mistake on parking, such as parking in a faculty spot, security doles out warnings the first few weeks of school. After the first couple of weeks, citations are issued. Citations are $25 each, payable to the village of Libertyville. However, if paid late, the citations cost $50.

Seniors also have some issues coming back from lunch release. After getting a space in the morning, they leave for lunch and come back to find their spot has been taken, and now they have to park in the back lot, of the tennis court lot.

That’s unless, of course, they come back early from lunch release. However, when coming in from lunch release, whether students park in the front lot or the back lot, the front and Studio Theatre doors are open to re-enter the building.

“It’s definitely a pain having to race back from lunch to find a spot you’re supposed to have to begin with,” Ferraro said.

On-campus parking is a senior privilege, and the administration acknowledges that.

“LHS security patrols the lot very closely, and we ticket any non-seniors that park on campus. We feel that seniors have waited three years to park on campus and that is why we take other classes trying to park in a senior space as a pretty big deal,” Maroscher said.

There is no disputing that the administration also understands how much seniors want to park on campus.

“The seniors are always very understanding that we are landlocked, and thus we work pretty hard to make sure that we place as many seniors on campus as possible,” Maroscher said.

This article was written by Aubrey Clement, news editor with Drops of Ink, a publication written, edited and produced by students at Libertyville High School.