Upperclassmen are faced with many stresses of life: college apps, school and, most surprisingly, parking?

From new drivers packing the lot and taking up every open spot as the year goes on, to erratic new drivers and poorly designed ramps, the parking situation at PVHS has become a headache for many. 

Senior Reese Tillson has noticed that as the year has gone on, there are less and less spots to park. This is due to new drivers getting their licenses during the year. More students are getting their licenses but the number of parking spaces remains the same. 

“Some days when I don’t arrive early enough there are no spaces to park,” Tilson said. 

“This leads to me parking by the baseball field or off campus and walking to school and becoming tardy. I don’t think that it is right for sophomores to drive to school. There is not enough parking for everyone to park and they are more reckless drivers than upperclassmen.”

Security guard Olivia Carrasquillo has worked at PVHS for six years, and she has seen these issues firsthand.

“I think that sophomores should not drive to school,” Carrasquillo said. “They want to be cool but thy are the worst drivers. They are more likely to recklessly speed and get into unnecessary accidents.” 

Carrasquillo has dealt with several parking lot crashes this year, most of which were caused by sophomores. 

“One kid side swiped a whole row of cars to fit in the lot and park where he is not supposed to park,” said Carrasquillo. 

This shows a lack of driving experience and awareness that you gain as you become a more experienced driver.

Sophomore Michael Mackiewicz feels that sophomores have every right to drive to school. 

“I think sophomores should be able to drive because once they’ve passed the test,” Mackiewicz said. 

“They’ve proved that they are responsible enough to be able to drive. It is a lot easier on parents as they don’t have to take us to school and instead only have to worry about younger siblings.”