The Story
We’re not sure if you’ve been paying attention, but there’s been quite a bit of drama with the various parking situations at BHS this year. From school lots to town lots, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.
Let’s go back a few steps…
For the majority of last year, students were allowed to park in the school lots, regardless of whether or not they had a permit to do so. However, towards the end of last year, when BHS went back to being fully in person all time, the old policy went back into place.
Old policy?
It’s the same as the current policy. There are a certain number of parking spots on campus that are for students to use. The school starts by issuing parking passes to all the seniors who want a spot and then give whatever spaces are left to juniors. Spots go on a first-come-first-serve basis every day, so if you get to school early, you get a good parking spot. Whichever seniors don’t get there early enough overflow into junior lot. This year in particular, there are many more seniors than senior lot parking spaces, which means a miniscule amount of juniors are actually allowed to park on campus.
What about the town lots?
The lack of availability in the school lots has pushed the majority of juniors into the town lots: little league lot (aka dirt lot), Sportsman lot, and pool lot. The spaces in the town lots are numbered and the numbers coincide with the number on the passes students receive – that way it’s really easy to tell when someone is not where they’re supposed to be. However, the town lots come with their own challenges, particularly with actually getting onto campus.
What do you mean by ‘challenges’?
Students who park in pool lot have faced multiple days where the sidewalk is completely impassable due to snow, ice, or a combination. And a 10-minute walk that turns into hardcore parkour is not exactly the greatest way to start the day. Students who park in dirt lot typically use a path through the woods that spits out on Chestnut Drive, but due to the weather this year, that path has become treacherous at best and resulted in injuries on the daily. Their alternative is to use the sidewalk that’s hard to get to, not always maintained, and makes for a much longer walk.
So what’s the school doing about it?
Last week, Mr. Guerard sent out a survey asking current juniors, sophomores, and freshmen how they feel about the idea of the school numbering the student parking spaces on campus and assigning them to students, like how the town does it. This would theoretically stop students who don’t have passes from parking in the school lots, which has been happening a lot recently. And it would take away the need for students to get to school aggressively early in order to get a spot in senior lot.
And what about those treacherous conditions?
Unfortunately, it’s not the school’s responsibility to maintain the sidewalks to and from the town lots, so they can’t do anything about that. Jozo sent out an email this weekend reminding students who park in dirt lot that they’re not supposed to use the path through the woods. It’s apparently on private property and the town does not want people using it. But Jozokos also said that the town maintains the sidewalk, which hasn’t exactly been true…
The Runaway
The student parking situation at BHS is a hot mess.
What to Say…
When you want to be an informed citizen…
We know you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat, perspiring profusely, for a school board update. Last week there was a debate held between the three people running for the open board seat: Andrea Campbell, Sean Monroe, and John Schneller. Andrea Campbell has a strong platform of aiding teacher’s and supporting students. We aren’t really sure what’s going on with Sean Monroe because he won’t answer any questions directly. And John Schneller is… well… John Schneller. The debate proved to accurately reflect each candidate’s platform. Campbell came on strong, reminding viewers that she worked in the district as a teacher for 12 years, and is the most experienced candidate for the job. Monroe didn’t provide much insight, remarking once how the issues covered in the debate (COVID, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and banned library books) did not allow him to express his “academic rights” viewpoint. Schneller and Monroe seemed closely aligned on most issues, both leaning more towards the parental role in schooling over teachers. Monroe said the school district was a business, and the taxpaying parents were the customers, which would make the school board “employees” selling the good of education to the parents. Campbell astutely pointed out that their number one priority is actually the students, not the M.O.B. (Moms of Bedford). You’ve probably seen campaign signs popping up all over town, it’s surely going to be a heated race.
When you’re feeling wordy…
A new pandemic has been sweeping the school. But this time, it’s not COVID. What could possibly be captivating the minds of the students at BHS? A new online craze: Wordle. Since it was first released in October 2021, it has spread like a disease through students, parents, teachers, and of course Facebook. Basically, you have six guesses to try and figure out the five letter word of the day. If you guess a word with a letter in the right spot, it will turn green. If you guess a word with a letter that’s in the word, but in the wrong spot, the letter will turn yellow. And if the letter isn’t in the word, it will turn gray. Many people have been obsessed with completing this word game every day, to the point where you can’t make it through the day without being asked if you’ve gotten the Wordle. It’s even reached the point where Mr. Sheil sent out a version to play in advisory! As far as we can tell, this trend is pretty harmless and seems like a fun way for students to exercise their brains and increase their vocabulary. Definitely a better option than vandalizing bathrooms…
Things to Know
In case you forgot…
Vacation is next week! We all desperately need it!!
Share your voice!
Local voting day is coming up on March 8th – which means no school for students!