NVD’s senior lot has been a topic of controversy as a new class of seniors has taken over the lot. Students complain of the undeniable presence of parents who seem to operate on their own set of rules.
The parking lot is located next to the Board of Education building on the property of the school and has two entrances, one located on Prospect Ave. The other entrance is off Knickerbocker Rd.
There are different routes permitted for parents to drop their students off. Seniors have complained about a second carpool line apart from the main one in the front of the building, but this has been a longstanding option for parents of students who attend NVD.
Assistant principal Keith Johnson clarifies the rule of the drop-off line from the Knickerbocker Rd. entrance through the hill exiting onto Columbus.
“Parents are permitted to choose an alternate drop-off option, entering through the senior lot entrance and exiting down the hill onto Columbus Ave. John E. Bonsiewich, or ‘Bons,’ who works on NVD’s security team, opens the gate in the morning and closes it around 9 a.m.
The gate remains closed throughout the day. This has been communicated in all of the emails sent to parents previously,” Johnson said.
This parent morning drop-off line is permitted, and seniors who cross at the crosswalk must avoid interacting with parents’ cars.
Students have reported that in the senior lot, there are sometimes cars driving in the opposite direction of the marked arrows on the ground. After interviewing Student Resource Officer Don Cho, students can have a clearer sense of the rules of the lot.
“For the safety of your fellow students you are expected to obey signage and road markings on school property,” Cho said.
A senior at NVD has been witness to this occurring in the lot.
“I think the senior parking lot is a pretty dangerous place, considering people often drive on the wrong side of the road, despite giant arrows, as well as parents, insisting on picking up and dropping off their kids which leads to blocking of the entrance a lot combined with the threat of vandalism it makes it a very annoying and difficult place to deal with,” Student 1 said.
There have been many reports of incidents occurring in the parking lot. From egging to keying to hit-and-runs, as with any parking lot, the senior lot has seen it all. As the school year goes on and incidents grow in seriousness, the administration has reported these issues to the Demarest Police Department.
“If there is any kind of accident, you must contact the Demarest Police Department and stay on the scene. You must not return to class, as that constitutes a hit-and-run,” Cho said. If students are worried about being late for class, they can call the main office to let them know what happened.
A student who chooses to remain anonymous was involved in an accident on campus.
“The accident occurred when me and another student pulled out of our spots in reverse at the same time. Our [parents] both came to the lot. The interaction was a bit contentious with the other party but concluded with civility,” Student 2 said.
Other students complain that there aren’t available parking spots throughout the day with people fluctuating in and out of the school.
“I have gotten two stickers on my car. There are usually no spots left so sometimes there is no other choice but to park in visitor parking,” Student 3 said.
Another senior claims to have gotten his car egged while parked in the senior lot.
“My car got egged…I found out about it when my friend came from lunch and told me there was this weird substance on my car. Then, throughout the day I was wondering what it was and multiple people told me about it. I go outside to see it and it was two eggs, one on the windshield and one on the hood. I went to get a car wash and it came right out. I still have no idea who did it or why,” Student 4 said.
Student 1 claims that someone egged their car as well.
“While we were at career day, someone says ‘your car looks a little bit dirty. What happened to it?’ and I said ‘I don’t know. What do you mean?’ Come to find out when I go outside my car has been egged. There are multiple witnesses to this… When I get home, I told my parents about this. They’re obviously pissed off because egg if left too long on paint will eat away at it and destroy the paint job… So my mom contacted the school to ask what to do and they said that we would should file a police report. I had to go to the car wash, which is not only wasted a lot of my time it also cost me 50 bucks,” Student 1 said.
This student decided to take the incident to the Demarest Police Department, hoping he could see justice served.
“The following Monday I showed up at school with my parents and the Demarest police had been called and I gave a report to a police officer. He thanked me for telling him about it and made me send him an email with the evidence that I had,” Student 1 said.
There are often police officers on the campus, but they are not stationed in the senior lot after dismissal. Students have noticed, after security complaints, a heavier police presence in the lot.
“If there are specific complaints, don’t hesitate to speak to me or an administrator and we will do everything in our power to address them,” Cho said.
The administration does its best to address and handle every complaint. Due to a lack of physical manpower, administrators expect both students and parents to treat each other with respect and dignity.
“When you manage budgets and contracts, there must be limitations on what can be covered. We must take our resources, see where we are most vulnerable, and cover accordingly,” Johnson said.
After school students are prohibited from driving up the hill into the back lot for parking for sports. Students are often caught speeding through to begin their practices, which is not allowed, and this is clarified by Officer Cho.
“Seniors are not allowed to come up the hill, into the back teacher lot before 3:05 for teachers to leave. The parking lot cannot accommodate two-lane traffic, so students must wait for teachers to be dismissed,” Cho said.
After school, parents are not permitted to pick up their children in the senior lot, and this has been made clear by the communications sent by NVD to parents. Student 2 dreads having to see parents in the parking lot.
“There are always parents picking up students at the end of the day parked right next to seniors trying to leave and in the way causing more traffic. The parents are kind of annoying because some of us have important commitments right after school and cannot make it on time due to traffic that can last 10-15 minutes,” Student 3 said.
When students and parents interact within the parking lot, whether it comes to being parked next to each other or crossing in front of parents’ cars in the crosswalk, school administration points out that it is important students treat adults and each other with respect.
“Now when you’re off campus and on school property, the code of conduct is in effect. When there are issues between a student and an adult I have to raise it to the police,” Johnson said.
When there are reports of students misusing the senior lot, administrators take it very seriously.
“We take every complaint seriously and recognize this issue. Student safety is our number 1 priority,” Johnson said.
