This year, the administration have updated the parking permits from a small square sticker to a round paccard which can be hung from the front mirror.
Why did adminstration change the shape of the parking permit?
The administration changed the permit to be round and hangable so it could be easily moved one vehicle to another and so it would be more difficult to counterfeit.
What do you need for a parking permit?
The parking permit registration requires students to turn in a collection of documents, which includes a copy of the vehicle registration, driver’s license, a payment of $35 and a map proving the location of the house is out of the ¾ mile range.
Have students in the past used counterfeit permits or refused to buy permits?
Senior Joshua Tai has been driving to school since sophomore year. Although Tai did not originally buy a parking permit, it was a decision he would later regret.
“I consciously chose not to buy a permit because I thought it was way too many things to turn in and $35 is also a lot for parking,” Tai said. “I knew a lot of other people did too, and they give you a warning first, so I wasn’t worried at all.”
After Tai received a warning from the school in October, he started parking off campus. However, Tai didn’t know the rules of off campus parking around the area and unknowingly parked in a no parking zone for several weeks. Three weeks later, he received a $63 ticket.
“I would have definitely went through the hassle and paid $35 if I knew that there are literally no spots off campus,” Tai said. “The ticket I got was more than the parking permit too, so I should have just gathered everything and bought one from the start.”
Secretary Deb Mandac is in charge of checking the attachments to see whether students are eligible for parking permits. She does not appreciate the fact that kids are trying to get around this process and finds it rude to other students.
“There are students who follow the rules and do things the right way, the legal way and then [there are] ones who don’t listen and mess it up for the ones who get it the right way too.”
She feels it is unfair how students who don’t buy parking permits get to use to same facilities as paying students but for free.
Some students have even printed their own counterfeit parking permits. An anonymous senior used a copy machine and a laminator to produce fake permits. He used and sold the permits for $10 last year.
“In the beginning I just didn’t want to have to buy one, but then I realized how many friends also didn’t want to buy one, so I started selling them,” the anonymous senior said. “I sold them for a lot cheaper, but I think most people who bought them from me just didn’t want to turn in all the stuff you need for a real one because their parents can just pay for them.”
The senior was confident that this would not get him into trouble and did not expect any repercussions.
“I knew if I kept it within people I knew well and didn’t let it get spread then it should be fine,” the anonymous senior said.
Although the administration cannot come up with a foolproof method to keep the parking facilitated throughout the year, the change from square to round signifies their thriving effort for improvement.
