by Raphael Nigaglioni | staff writer

From grades 10-12, students have the opportunity to get a pass to park at Johnson. These passes are usually reserved for upperclassmen, but there are occasions where sophomores can receive parking passes.

“I got my license in December and I do have a parking pass. I wanted one because my mom can’t always drive me early or if there’s a time I have to stay after school but I can’t. It’s pretty convenient,” sophomore Colette Pansini said.

Despite some sophomores having parking passes, others do not.

“I want a parking pass because I have my license, I have my own car, and I am involved in extra curricular activities. I need one because both of my parents are busy with their jobs and don’t always have the time to pick me up,” sophomore Alla White said.

Problems may arise from underclassmen receiving parking passes.

“I want a parking pass because I have had my license for nearly a month now, and even though on the sheet it says, in big red letters, juniors and seniors are eligible for parking passes, they still give them out to sophomores. So juniors and seniors that get their licenses anytime in the second semester will not get a parking pass, because they hand them out to sophomores. I feel that it should be a privilege reserved for upperclassmen, such as prom. If they have extra tickets for prom, they don’t give them to underclassmen,” junior Maddie Houston said.

The process of getting a parking pass is planned so that few problems will arise.

“The seniors get first bid because this is their last year. When they come in, they get the passes as long as they have the information. For juniors, we look at classes they are taking, extracurricular activities, any type of sport they may be in, if they are in PALs, and things like that. For sophomores, we have a very limited amount of parking passes available to them. For example, let’s say we only have thirty spaces available for them, once the thirty spaces are filled, we stop handing them out. We order a certain amount of parking passes each year, but it’s not really about the passes, it’s about how many parking spaces we have. We had an overflow of students this year, and that’s why we used the band pad as available parking spaces, but we will not be using them next year,” AP Secretary, Grace Montalvo said.

Sophomores enjoy the privilege of having a parking pass, but understand why it is initially reserved for upperclassmen.

“I think it’s fair that some sophomores get passes, but I really think it depends on who needs it and who doesn’t,” White said while Pansini said, “I think it’s ok. I mean if there are extras why not?”