As licensed and car-owning students weave in and out of the parking lot day-to-day, parking passes become essential and mandatory due to school guidelines.
For Smoky students, one parking pass totals up to $50. If failing to meet the requirements of being in possession of one, consequences come as a result.
“They get a ticket every time they don’t have a parking pass,” Security Specialist, Darnell Web, said, “It’s 25 [dollars] for the first one then it’s 35, 35, 35. And then technically on the fifth ticket, we can tow the car, but we’ve been kind of lenient with that part.”
However, some students have figured out a way to avoid ticket and fine fees as a punishment.
“So essentially, at the end of the school year, junior year, I just started parking a little bit further away from the school every single day and I would park my car like a little bit outwards,” Zainab Khan (12) said, “That way [security] couldn’t see I didn’t have a parking pass.”
The upperclassmen community that is predominantly present in the student parking spaces voices their opinions on the price tag associated with a spot to park.
“I think it’s really stupid. They have to have it because like, for people who can’t afford it, that means that they technically can’t park here which is like, not fair,” Oliver Hanover (11) said, “There’s nowhere else to park, and plus, they don’t even check so you have it.”
It may not be easily accessible for all Smoky students on the wheel to be able to make ends meet when being their own form of transportation.
“I honestly think it’s unnecessary because, also, it’s $50. Not everyone either can afford to pay $50 for a parking pass to park on campus, some kids have to transport themselves,” Khan said, “Also, it’s not harming anybody for them to park there, they’re just parking here to go to school.”
On the other hand, security may argue it is ultimately beneficial for students overall.
“I think it’s effective for students because they have to learn how to pay for parking. Because in some places when they grow up, they got to pay for parking,” Webb said.
This raises the question, where does this money go in regard to funding for the school?
“I believe it’s a structure thing and then the money goes to budgeting for the paying for that for every summer time,” Webb said, “We were supposed to get speed bumps last year, but they never gave us the bumps, but it goes to things like that, maintenance, security budget.”
Yet, students believe that the budgeting could go elsewhere in the building.
“I think [funding] should be maybe a fundraiser or merch, like they could literally do anything else, but make people pay to park at school,” Hanover said.
All in all, school parking fees and the students designated to meet those needs are a controversy among students and staff as a whole. Parking fines and passes are inevitable, but the beliefs students have to purchase a required parking pass are everchanging.
