Teenagers are simple creatures. When they are thinking of how their decisions affect others, if at all, it certainly isn’t in the morning. But with that being said, a fine line separates ignorance and deliberate wrong-doing. And the teenagers who park their cars in the faculty parking lot each and every morning are certainly aware of their actions.

The designated student parking lot is in the back of the school, and this is made very clear at the beginning of each school year. The staff parking lot is in the front of the school. Teachers in the front, students in the back. It’s a simple regulatory concept that should in no way spark confusion or rebellion. However, more and more students seem to be exemplifying some kind of juvenile power struggle and have been parking in the faculty lot for reasons unbeknownst to the average, law-abiding student.

Rumors and fears of cars being towed and extensive fines being given have been going around campus for a few weeks now. Based on what I hear in the halls, this has shaken students up a bit. But fear not, nervous students, an extraordinary, ground-breaking solution has been found!

Park in your own parking lot.

Having just recently gotten my license, I get it. I sympathize with the students who have to pay for their own gas, because I do too. And this is coming from a girl with a 2001 Dodge pickup that rocks a solid 11 miles per gallon. I get it. Students may not want to dish out an extra $20 for a parking spot, especially in the middle of the year when all the good ones are taken. Or maybe it’s not even a problem of money; maybe the problem lies in the proximity of the few available spots left. Students may not want to park far away because of the extra walk to and from the building. Trust me, I get that one too. In terms of parking spots, mine may as well be in Africa.

But seriously, if students are so lazy as to begin claiming teacher spots as their own to avoid a slight fee or the difference of a 20 yard walk, then they may as well have their parents drop them off in the carpool line. That’s even less of a walk. But if it’s a sign of rebellion, there’s a solution to that one too – grow up.

If students are parking in a spot in the back that they have not officially paid for but isn’t owned by anyone else, that’s a completely different issue. But if student cars are being parked in a lot that isn’t even designated for students, it’s time to cut the act and start respecting the rules. Because in the few moments they aren’t thinking of how their decisions affect others, teachers have their own interests in mind too. And trust me, they don’t want to walk the extra 20 yards either. So let’s all move our cars back to our own spots, and parking lot peace will be restored.