This school year, students and parents are no longer allowed to park at the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC). Parking at the PAC will only be permitted during school or district events. 

The rules for student parking in the PAC parking lot have changed due to the completion of construction on the new parking lot in the back of the school. The new parking lot has enough space for students to park, as well as for parents to be able to pick up and drop off their students. Even though the addition of a parking lot creates space, some students and parents are frustrated by these new rules. One of them is junior Aravindh Diwakar, who believes the change complicates the entry and exit of campus.

“Last year, my friends used to park in the PAC and now it’s very crowded when we leave,” Diwakar said. “I’m not gonna lie. I like the new parking lot, but leaving is a pain. There’s long lines from students leaving as well as parents picking up.”

While the new parking rules have left many students frustrated, others have been in favor of them. One of them is sophomore Riley White, who is optimistic about the new space for parking.

“I wasn’t really driving last year, but my friend drove me to school a lot, so I feel like this year’s parking lot is definitely an improvement on last year’s,” White said. “There’s still some problems, but those are just general problems that most parking lots have. It’s not really anything the school can change.”