Although it may seem like a fun idea to stop in the middle of the parking lot, sit there, and wait for an oncoming car that’s not paying attention to crash into you to wake you up, it is probably not the best idea. Don’t be that one person.
A common problem area around McNicholas is the state of the parking lot before and after school. More specifically, the parking lot itself is fine, but the behavior shown in it is constantly questionable. It shouldn’t be though, because the solution to the problems are basic common sense.
Often in the morning, the line of cars dropping off students may become excessively long, and parents will not wait until it’s safe to let them out. Instrumental music teacher Keith Nance, who directs traffic in the morning, said, “I tell parents to not have their car sticking halfway onto Beechmont and letting kids off [at the same time].” Unless parents want to have their kid run over, they should wait until it is their time to move forward in the line.
Part of the reason the drop-off line grows so long is because cars don’t pull up completely. In order to avoid sudden stopping or backed up traffic, cars should pull all the way forward to the end of the island before letting students out. If no bus is there, cars should use both sides of the island.
General rules that people should be following include: paying attention, following the speed limit, and watching for people crossing from the parking lot to the school. Director of Student Life Mike Orlando said, “I would hate for something tragic to happen.” If Nance finds students excessively breaking those rules, he will issue demerits through Orlando.
It might seem as though this is knit-picking problems, and, in reality, it somewhat is. Students tend to do a decent job in the parking lot. “Overall, everyone does a good job,” Nance said.
“I don’t recall any [accidents],” Orlando said, but “that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any.” For there to have been no memorable accidents recently, it must mean that students and parents have done well in the past years. They just must be cautious to keep it this way.
The McNicholas Milestone 