With a steadily increasing number of students and the current student population already crammed, the school has been hard pressed to find a solution to one of the its longest standing problems; parking. Fortunately enough, they were able to come up with an answer. The first half of this plan implemented numbered parking spaces for the student lot on campus. The second however, was another parking lot right across the street from the school. Although a huge accomplishment for the administration, the majority of students it affects have mixed reviews.  

Carter Finley Stadium is located just across Edwards Mill Road and is about a 12 minute walk from Gibbons. As seniors have priority for on campus parking, the parking lot is filled mostly with juniors and even a few sophomores who have already received their license. Despite the extra space and other solutions this new lot provides, many students are still concerned. A 12 minute walk to school is a bump in the road for most, especially for those already running late. Although there are shuttles to and from school twice every morning, many students still arrive late and are having trouble adjusting to the new schedule. 

The main problem with parking at Carter Finley is that the school itself does not own the lot. Because of this, it is not guaranteed that we can continue to use it if problems frequently occur. One bad mishap and about a fourth of upperclassmen are no longer able to drive themselves to school. This creates many challenges, especially for administration who have continuously reiterated this point throughout the school year. When not on campus it is much harder to hold students accountable for their actions and this new lot leaves a large amount of leeway for things to go wrong. While there have been no major issues yet, it remains to be seen if one will occur in the future, and how much longer we will be able to use Carter Finley. 

This new parking lot is without a doubt a huge accomplishment for both students and administration. It is an admirable solution for the expanding student body and hopefully can be used well into the future. However, much remains to be seen. As made abundantly clear, the lot is a privilege, not a right, and can be taken away at any moment by the university. Throughout the past six months, the Carter Finley lot has become an integral part of upperclassmen life, yet it can still be questioned whether or not the students themselves will undermine its use. Will the upperclassmen change their ways, or will Gibbons be forced to find yet another solution to this parking problem?