Steven Dummar is a featured editorialist from Mrs. Holly's English 4 Composition class. He argues against the new parking restrictions on Putnam Avenue.

The administrators warned that violators would be ticketed. I have contacted the local police station about this issue.  The school's warnings are not possible under the law.  In fact, I was further informed that only red-painted sidewalk or city signs that specifically state "No Parking" can legally restrict us from parking on Putnam Avenue.  But to dodge this obstacle, seeing as they cannot ticket cars on Putnam, administrators are giving out detentions to the student drivers instead.

Why is it such a big deal whether or not students can park on Putnam? Most importantly, students need to park on Putnam to get to class on time. The student parking lot is a huge hassle for students trying to get to school on time. Countless parents drop off their kids in the morning and consequently slow down traffic. The student parking lot's speed bumps and narrow entrances also add to this lengthy process, causing more and more students to be tardy to class. Is it fair that students now have to leave for school 10-30 minutes earlier just to avoid being tardy to class? Don't forget, only three tardies will earn a student a lunch detention.

Student drivers with an unscheduled period or classes on a different campus aren't even allowed to park on Putnam. The administrators found a way to make sure parking would still be an inconvenience to these drivers as well. These students, after applying for a parking pass, must park in the Teacher's parking lot.  Unsurprisingly, students that must leave for a class on a different campus don't have the time to walk to the teacher's parking lot. Peers of mine with this situation have in fact confirmed this—they now are late to their other classes. What about student drivers with an unscheduled period? These students often have a job to get to.  Now these students are probably late as well. Teachers are most likely also put at an inconvenience now that they must make room for student drivers. 

Last but not least, student drivers arriving late from doctor appointments need to park on Putnam. Remember, the student parking lot is locked after first period commences.  Do these students deserve to get a detention for parking on Putnam?

The GHHS administration's justification for banning parking on Putnam is that it is a safety issue.  They even left signs on students' cars that read "Attention GHHS student drivers: Due to safety concerns, parking on Putnam Avenue is no longer allowed." If this were a real safety issue, students would not be the only drivers banned from the street. Apparently the parked cars contributed to more traffic that in turn cause accidents. However, for the three weeks that students haven't parked there, traffic has stayed the same. Careless drivers will get in accidents no matter how many parking restrictions are imposed.  If an accident does occur, that is between the people involved in the accident and their insurance companies, not Granite Hills High School.

Let’s say Granite Hills High School needs to prevent accidents around the school.  Well then they are going after the wrong drivers.  The drivers actually endangering others' safety are not students, but parents dropping off children at day-care. It is the parents who park along the green-painted sidewalk perpendicular to Putnam who endanger themselves and others. As Robert Jones pointed out in his letter to the editor, "That street is already a tight squeeze for two mid-sized cars to fit through, but when you have other cars already parked there it makes it extremely difficult to drive through there without cleaning anybody out on your way." These parked vehicles completely block drivers' view as they turn the corner onto a narrow street, while Putnam Avenue is wide enough for vehicles to safely park there.

The GHHS administrators are overstepping their authority by imposing parking bans.  They are restricting student liberties by punishing student drivers with detentions for merely parking at the most convenient location.  Their actions aimed to ensure our safety, their supposed concerns, are neither successful in their motive, nor genuine.