Students arriving at school in the morning have two choices where to park. The main student lot, or the area behind the new sports facility. Once they park, they’re stuck there for the school day. This is because of a new policy administrators implemented last month.

Before the new rule was established, students, band members, and athletes would park in the lot closest to where practice was being held. However after practice, they would move their cars to the main lot, often fitting multiple people into one vehicle. After noticing students were piling into cars and changing lots throughout the day, administrators decided to change the policy of lot changes.

“Wherever you park when you first come to school, you’re to leave your car parked in that parking lot.” Principal Natalie Reeves said. “We don’t want students jumping in cars and coming back around, just for safety purposes, and multiple students shouldn’t be riding in one vehicle, mostly for the safety of the driver.”

That means for students like senior Eden Venable, there will be at least one long walk during the school day.

When Eden arrives at school she leaves her car in the main student parking lot and walks down to the practice field behind the school. After practice is finished, she will walk back up to her car, retrieve her school necessities, and head into the school to start the rest of her school day.

“In the morning, I have to park in the student lot up front because I have a bunch of art things in my car that I have to take to and from the school,” Eden said. “And if it’s parked all the way down where our new field is, it’s really inconvenient to get all my stuff and drag it all the way back up the hill.”

Though some students don’t have to walk up the hill, it is still an inconvenience to athletes that can park by the indoor facility. Junior Mathew Puente arrives at the school at 6:30 a.m. for soccer practice and parks his car closest to where practice is being held that day. After sweating during practice, walking back to the school is the last thing he wants to do.

“It is a bit of an inconvenience walking back, mainly because everyone’s been sweating for two hours and the smell is not good.” Mathew said. “I did see people that carpooled back to the main parking lot, but it wasn’t anything crazy.”