Last week, parents and members of the CHS community received an email from Principal C.J. Foss announcing new restrictions on parent access to the senior lot. The email was prompted by senior Ben Hardin’s efforts to express the senior and junior classes’ frustration with the lot’s heavy traffic, which is frequently exacerbated by parents.
Earlier this month, after arriving late to class due to a backup on Valmar Road, Hardin’s annoyance was pushed to the breaking point. However, he decided to use his anger in a constructive way. In order to help solve the problem caused by parents in the senior lot, Hardin and senior Ben Goldstein created a petition to show both their own frustration and that of the senior class as well. The petition, prefaced with a letter to the administration, which states the purpose of the petition as 0well as Hardin’s solutions for the problem, quickly received 140 signatures during a lunch period one week later.
“I really wanted the signatures to come from people who were directly affected [by the parents],” said Hardin. “I asked them if this was something they felt strongly about, and almost everyone I talked to was completely on the same page as me.”
At the end of lunch, Hardin brought the petition to Foss, who was standing with Assistant Principal Lauren Young, Assistant Principal Steve Scifres, Assistant Principal Ryan Emory and California Superintendent Tom Torlakson. Hardin proceeded to explain his efforts to the administration, and both Foss and Torlakson seemed understanding and responsive.
Later that day, the administration sent an email that included information about new restrictions on parents entering the senior lot to drop off their kids. This includes a supervisor monitoring the senior lot. However, the supervisor has only been hired for a daily three-hour block, which the administration chose to put after school.
“We, [the administration], were told that after-school was a bigger concern,” said Scifres. “The bottom line is that it’s a big traffic area. You have to get here early.”
Since the email was sent out, CHS has taken Hardin’s suggestions and enforced supervision of who comes into the senior lot. So far, there has not been a collective backlash from parents who are now forced to take an alternative route into the school.
“I’ve heard that this issue had been a recurring topic in ASB, but nothing had been done about it,” said Hardin. “I think the breaking point was the proof that 140 students who use the lot and have paid $130 for their space are often late because of the traffic.”
According to Hardin, the formality of a petition is a generally effective way to elicit change in a high school setting. A reason-driven argument rather than one driven by emotion is much more likely to prompt real progress regarding student-administration relations.
