As a senior myself, I have heard my fair share of complaints from fellow upperclassmen about the parking situation. With all the sophomores and freshman walking the halls of Dowling for the very first time, they’ve naturally taken up plenty of parking spots as well.

Are underclassmen getting to school shockingly early, or are upperclassmen just used to the emptier lot hybrid scheduling brought with it?

Andrew McDonough (10) arrives at school around 8:10 a.m. 

“[I park in the] soph lot,” McDonough said.

Georgia Cressy (10) on the other hand pulls up to school earlier than her sophomore counterpart to park in the C lot.

“[I get to school at] like 7:45 a.m.,” Cressy said.

Chase Allen (9) drives himself to school all the way from Altoona. He rolls up to Dowling in his pickup at around 7:45 a.m. like Cressy. Allen used to park in the main lot but has started parking off-campus after he received a written warning. 

“I park on the street [nearby],” Allen said.

Seniors Eleanor Meek and Chloe Kasch both feel passionately about the parking lot before school. They arrive at Dowling at 7:35 a.m. and 7:40 a.m., respectfully, and have personally seen a multitude of underclassmen crowding the lot without parking passes.

“I play basketball, and we have 6 a.m. practices, and all these sophomores are parking in the best spots,” Meek said.

Kasch took inspiration from Waukee High School for a posible solution to this issue: assigned parking tailored for each grade.

“Waukee has parking lots for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors,” Kasch said.

Regardless, a compromise would surely lessen tensions among the student body. The parking lot is the first thing every student sees the moment they reach campus. Let’s start our days off right.