So far this school year has gotten off to a smooth start, but one glaring issue from last year reared its ugly head once again: the south parking lot. The main issue with the parking lot, both this year and last, is the amount of unsafe and hazardous drivers speeding through the parking lot, both before and after school. This careless driving not only puts students at risk while they are walking into the school, but could also result in vehicular accidents as well. If we had cameras that actually worked in the parking lot, less students would speed through that area, making it over all a safer environment for students.

According to a poll about drivers’ abilities at LHS, students anonymously answered two questions. The first Question was “How do you feel about your driving ability?” 81.4% of students who responded to the survey indicated that they believe they are “good” to “perfect” drivers. However, when those same students were asked about the driving abilities of fellow students, 69.3% indicated that they believe their peers are “terrible” to “okay” drivers. This shows how some of the students may not be seeing themselves as a problem when they could be part of the issue. The cameras would take away this guesswork.

When asked if we should fix the cameras in the south parking lot, Mrs. Pontius, Larned High School’s art teacher, stated, “Yes definitely, I feel like it would kind of uphold everybody to do what they should be doing in the parking lot.” If the cameras in the parking lot worked, it would add to the security of the school and the protection of students. 

Dangerous driving has not been the only issue in the parking lot. Another issue has been vandalism to other people’s cars. For instance, Shannon Zink, a senior at Larned High School, stated, “My lug nuts had been loosened last year and her tire fell off on the 8th street hill on my way home that day.” Zink also stated, “I feel like the senior parking lot is quite a bit safer for your car. There’s not as much going on in it.” However, Shannon Zink is not the only student who has been a victim of vandalism. Ali Zook, another senior at Larned High school, stated, “My car got hit by what is thought to have been a red car earlier this year.” 

Another student who has suffered due to vandalism is freshman Trenton Devine. Earlier this year his car got keyed and he believes it happened in the parking lot. He stated, “On the passenger side rear door it’s got a bunch of scratches all over the side of it and in the middle of the door and then later that day at the football game somebody took the emblem off the back so whether it was somebody here or not, I don’t know.” Trenton, when asked if he ever feels unsafe in the parking lot with that happening, responded: “Oh, I mean yeah because I don’t want it to happen again.” That issue would be solved if the cameras were to be fixed.

One main downside of the cameras is that they won’t be free. When asked about how much the cameras would cost, Gwen Lehman, Head of the Technology Department, stated, “So we send out quotes to different companies so they can come take a look at our system And then they could give us a quote to see what would be best with our cameras. One company said that they could use the cameras out there if they refurbished them for approximately $30,000.” 

The truth is this project has been pushed back for way too long. The school needs to do something about this issue before someone gets hurt. 

Long story short, if Larned High School had working cameras in both of the parking lots, then the students would see that they are the problem or they would be held accountable for their mistakes. This would allow the students that use the parking lot properly to be protected from those who do not. In truth, cameras being placed in the south parking lot would give students and parents both some peace of mind.