On the first day of second semester, senior Shira Hanovich was greeted with what she called a not-so-welcome surprise when she found a warning on her windshield for not having an updated permit.

“I was really annoyed because maybe I didn’t read the emails or see any newsletters, but I was told they wouldn’t be enforcing the permits, and I wasn’t able to pick up my permit on the first day,” Hanovich said.  “After school on the first day I found a ticket on my windshield and I was freaking out because I don’t know where it came from.”

Hanovich was one of many students who received warnings on the first day of the semester, Feb. 1. According to assistant principal Jessica Busse, these warnings came after the lack of enforcement in the parking lot during first semester that led to many cars parking without permits.

“We were noticing first semester that there was a lot of people parking in the parking lot that didn’t have parking permits,” Busse said. 

Sophomore Willis Gohman, one of the several students who parked in the parking lot without a permit, said the abundance of open spots mixed in with the cold weather prompted him to use the parking lot.

“I just parked on the street until it got cold and there was snow,” Gohman said. “I didn’t really want to walk and I saw that there was a bunch of open spots. So I just parked — it was never an issue.” 

According to Hanovich, despite having people without permits park in the lot, she doesn’t want enforcement in the parking lot.

“This is a school parking lot, and maybe it’s just because I haven’t seen any issues with it, but, it’s a school parking lot,” Hanovich said. “I don’t really care if you have a permit and park here or not. It feels really weird to be enforcing people who just learned how to drive.”

Gohman, agreeing with Hanovich, said he thinks it isn’t equitable to have everyone pay for passes.

“The cost is $50, which I was able to pay, but there are many people who can’t. You shouldn’t have to pay to park at your own public school,” Gohman said. “I also noticed that, at the end of the day, there’s usually some spots still open.” 

According to Busse, administration is making its best attempt to make parking fair for all.

“It’s not fair to the people who bought their parking permits and parked legally,” Busse said. “We’re just trying to make everything fair.”