By: Nora Elmer

Waking up for school in the morning is undeniably a difficult task for all students. Five days a week, treading along the sidewalk straight to school, the bus stop, or even your parents car can seem tedious. Nevertheless, you do what must be done in order to reach your destination and receive your education. Once you arrive at school, you might desire to immediately begin conversing with your friends. Or you might want to arrive extra early in order to complete that one five-page math worksheet that was assigned to you as homework before your first period. You might want to check in with your friends about that homework. Or you might just want to listen to music for a while prior to the start of class. Whichever way you choose to start your school day, everyone deserves to get to class unaccompanied by unnecessary hindrances that, even when small, could turn your day upside down.

 

For example, ‘Student 1’ realizes they haven’t done their makeup yet and reaches into their bag. Their lip gloss and concealer are nowhere to be found. This hindrance ruins the start of their day, and now their faces feel empty, dry, and lacking in their usual elements. Another student, ‘Student 2', has a chemistry test first period, and they want to get to class early to review their notes. However, this is not achieved due to the absolute chaos going on in the parking lot. There are road hazards everywhere, and ‘Student 2’ thinks, “Despite no longer needing my glasses from months ago, I cannot find a suitable parking space anywhere.” Both of these students get to class late because of these hindrances. You might be wondering, how are ‘Student 1’ and ‘Student 2’s’ hindrances alike? That’s simple. Student 1 is in need of a fresh face of makeup, and the parking lot where Student 2 is, is in need of a fresh coat of paint. They both need a makeover.

 

The problem with the road hazards plainly stems from the lack of visibility of the parking spot lines. A great number of students arrive at school by driving their own vehicles, and simply getting inside the school building has been pretty challenging for them. Road hazards at Conard’s back parking lot include double parking, blocking, and more due to the faded parking lines. An adequate parking lot is an essential part of any school and any building, for that matter, providing students and staff with a safe and convenient way to park their vehicles. However, over time, parking lots can become worn down and fade due to their constant use and exposure to the elements. To ensure that the parking lot at a school remains safe and attractive, it is important to repaint when the right time comes. The right time, of course, is when parking parameters are close to disappearing. Thus, the parking lot makeover project begins.

 

A Conard senior, Isabella Consoli Cespedes, was one of the individuals who advocated for the repainting of this back parking lot. A letter was sent to the administration to call awareness to the unpainted and dangerous crosswalks. Not long after, the parking lot's makeover was initiated around the week of November 3rd. “Repainting the parking lot will not only prevent road hazards from occurring and being a hindrance for the many drivers of Conard; it will additionally update our school and the wellbeing of our community,” said Isabella Consoli. And so, the repainting commenced, and the parking lot completed its makeover thanks to town hall. The letter sent to administration also entailed that volunteers would be recruited to help repaint and complete this project; however, due to the crosswalks and parking spaces being considered road violations, town hall took care of it instead.

 

By investing the necessary time for the repainting of the parking lot, the school was able to ensure that its parking lot remained safe and attractive for years to come. The school’s decision to have the parking lot repainted was a wise one, and it is sure to benefit the school for years to come. Big thanks to the school, Isabella Consoli, Town Hall, and others involved in making this happen. Student 2 can now get to class on time. As for Student 1, their makeup was in their pocket all along.