After your morning Joe, Triton students and staff who drive to school should probably run out the door. After all, the parking lot is like Tetris in those early hours.
Junior Lily D’Andrea flies into the lot right before the bell. “Everyone is already in the building,” she said. “I feel like it’s a normal [amount of people] every day.” But the post 7:42 a.m. blues can be “so annoying,” she said. “I feel like getting to school at like 7:30, 7:35 is good, [after that] it’s just a hassle. If you get three tardies in one month you get detention, and if you get six tardies you get a parking spot ticket.”
This is true. A new rule against tardies makes students more adamant about getting to school on time, which could be both good and bad. Three tardies in one month gives students a detention and six takes away parking privileges if a student drives him or herself to school.
“Oh, I drive right through the bus lane, I do not want to wait in that line, but sometimes I follow the rules, ” D’Andrea admits. The rule almost persuades people, specifically tired students, to rush into school which can create a hazardous environment.
Reporters from The Triton Voice tell us the perfect time to make the commute is actually before the sun. They conducted an experiment in the early hours of a January morning. After a quick stop for breakfast, they waited outside to count just how many cars came in at different times. Most students and teachers come at prime time, 7:15-7:30 a.m, totaling 239 cars which makes it difficult for everyone fighting for spots in the 3 lots and the 24 buses dodging cars in their lanes. They also discovered that most students, 174 in total, come into school just before the bell rings at 7:42, some arriving only a minute before.
There are late risers as well. About 10 students entered the school entrance late from 7:42-8:00. Most of which they recorded were actually in traffic for over 5 minutes. While the attendance did change for teachers to input late absences to 8:00, students should still give enough leeway for themselves to make their way through the long lines. It was easy to tell that most students were late as opposed to on time, most being the ones who drive themselves.
As students with driving privileges Lily D’Andrea, Angela Simmons, Taylor Richard, and Chloe Price encourage fellow students to arrive before 7:30 a.m to ensure a safe, easy morning without accidents or tardies.
