You’re heading out for the day, ready to head home and enjoy the afternoon, when all of a sudden the glare of a big, ugly orange slip catches your attention. You’ve received a parkin violation, and now must face the consequences.

What’s even more, Fred Smith, school security guard and the grandfather of Woodland, is likely the one that gave it to you. However, contrary to popular belief the parking violation distribution system isn’t designed for the sake of punishing Woodland’s student body.

“The main reason is for safety. We have to know every car that’s on the premises of school, and that’s what it’s really all about, for the safety of the students and staff” Smith said.

It’s important for Woodland’s security team to resource an effective identification system, and if students don’t have a parking pass then it defeats its entire purpose, and you may get a parking violation.

Not only is it for everyone’s safety but in case of car trouble also. From a dead car battery to a flat tire or parking lot collision, it’s harder for Woodland’s security team to aid when they can’t identify the owner of the vehicle.

“God forbid I go out and see a flat tire on a car, if I don’t know the student who that car belongs to I can’t help that student; I can’t find that student and let them know, so what happens is I have to wait until the end of the day,” Smith said.

In many ways, having a parking pass has many advantages for students: prevents student’s parking in other spots, provides a support system for car trouble, and overall keeps everyone safe. What’s even more, many students’ aren’t aware of how improved the system is compared to the past.

“Years ago, they had to pay $60 to park. Now they don’t have to pay anything,” Smith explained.

Our current system makes driving to school and parking easy and convenient, but it also leaves room for a lot of students to manipulate it, because it’s not something that they need to pay for.

Smith said, “some students figure, “I’m just going to park anywhere,” but you have to get a parking sticker. As I said, it’s for safety; when I find somebody I make sure they come down to the office and get a parking sticker. The other problem we have with that is they park in another student’s spot, and that’s not right.”

However, some students have different perspectives on the situation.

Mathew Silva said, “I think there should be a little bit more thought put into it especially for athletes that are doing basketball and such; I feel they should have more priority parking for where they are going to be practicing.”

Maybe if accommodations were made for student athletes more students would be more compliant to park in their assigned spots, making things more convenient for both students and staff. Nonetheless, there is a fine line between students disregarding their parking passes for convenience and logicality versus having no regard for the rules whatsoever.

Smith explained, “we have students that are Juniors, so they don’t have their license the first semester, but they get their license the second semester; and again, some of them just figure “I’ll just park anywhere.”

This type of apparent disregard for the rules and parking passes is when a parking violation may be stuck to your car.

“I have two kinds: one I can put on the windshield and then I have a big sticky one that I put on the back window, and they’re not that easy to get off,” Smith explained.

The parking violation which is put on your windshield is less severe, and more of a warning than anything else. On the other hand, the large sticker probably means you were warned already and have continued to ignore the rules.

“I use a sticker, and I try to avoid that as much as possible – I don’t want to do that – but if I talk to a student over and over and over and I say “please get your parking place,” and then I’ll put the sticker on them. I’m very reluctant to do that, unless the student ignores me,” Smith said.

Although students’ will always be given their fair share of warnings, many are completely against the parking violation system.

“I think if you’re not parking in anybody else’s spots then it shouldn’t be a problem,” said Melissa Martins.

Other students are more flexible about the concept, but still think improvements could be made.

“I feel like they have had a lot of experience on what go’s right and what goes wrong, but personally I would change it depending on the time of year athletes,” explained Silva.

What’s more, there is something to be said about accommodating student athletes and seniors with special privileges. Many seniors have first block or both first block and second block study hall, and if their assigned parking spot is in the back of the school they are expected to walk to the front doors rain or shine. This prompts a lot of students to park in the front, regardless of their assigned spot. However, recently the influx of seniors parking in the front has prompted Smith to start opening the back doors at 8:30am every morning, in an effort to keep seniors in their assigned spots.

If you have a good parking spot which works for you, and if seniors are accommodated at the back doors, the threat of a parking violation should subside.

“My spot’s good enough where I don’t really need to go into other peoples’ spots. The only time I would do that is if my friend said we needed to trade for the day,” said Silva.

Still in the height of certain circumstances, deliberate cautionary action is taken to prevent students from parking where they shouldn’t be. Most recently Smith has been spotted hunting students down in his truck, but the most controversial method has been placing cones in parking spots to prevent students from parking in them.

Martins said, “I think the cones are dumb, because with the cones there they’re saying that the point is that the spots are being used by the students when it’s for the staff, but nobody can park there when they put the cones there so it’s just counterproductive, and there’s no reason to put the cones there just so no one can have it.”

Silva shares a similar opinion, “I do not like them; I’m not a big fan of the cones because they get in the way a lot of the time. It makes it much harder than it has to be to get in and out of Woodland.”

Many students don’t understand the point of the cones because most often the cones block parking spaces that remain vacant most of the time, so it leaves many students wondering and angry that it prevents them from parking there.

Overall, there is any easy way to avoid the headaches that come with parking where you’re not supposed to, and it’s to simply get a parking pass and park in your assigned spot. “Student’s have to sign up online when they want a parking spot. Once they do that, they come and see Mrs. Constanti and bring their registration and license and she’s the one that hands out the stickers,” Smith explained.

If you do this, park in your spot, and stay clear of the cones and others’ spots no parking violation will come your way.