Opinion by EleanorThibodeau

News flash: “soph lot” does NOT stand for softball, it stands for sophomore. I embarrassingly found this out at the start of this year, my SENIOR year.

It does not make sense to have a whole parking lot named after a grade, just for that grade to not have to park there. On the topic of the names of our parking lots, since finding out “soph” stands for sophomore, I have realized our “upper” parking lot’s name could have a double meaning to it as well. While I am almost certain “upper” is called this because it is higher up, it could also stand for upperclassmen.

In a school that requires someone to arrive where I get here between 7:10 and 7:20 every morning just to get a good parking spot, having assigned parking lots could be beneficial.

Sophomores, and any freshmen who drive, may not enjoy their initial parking lot, but as they become upperclassmen, they will gain the better spots. It is a seniority type of system, with the longer you are driving/ the longer you have been at Marian, the better parking lot you have.

In this instance, the sophomores and underclassmen would have the “soph” parking lot to park in, the juniors would have the performing arts center (PAC) parking lot, along with a row in the “upper” parking lot, and the seniors would have the rest of the non-staff spots in the “upper” parking lot. The parking lot we call “L” would be for any extra or overflow.

Not only could having assigned parking lots give students more sleep because where they will park would be more predictable, but it can also help avoid any accidents trying to rush into parking spots so another person does not take it.

There may not be anything to make the Marian parking lot perfect before and after school, but assigned lots could help smooth that morning flow of traffic.