Every morning upperclassmen students of Centreville High School arrive promptly around 8:00 am and park in their designated parking spot before walking to their first or second period class. The tag that hangs from every car’s window matches the numbers painted on the spot it sits on. However, what if there was another parking spot designation? 

One important rite of passage for Seniors at high schools across the nation is the painting of their parking spot. At the beginning of each year new seniors get to paint their spot to express themselves. No matter what is put on it, animals, characters, artwork, it is a unique way for a senior to leave their mark on the school that year. At the end of each year the spots are reset for the next seniors. 

CVHS has not, in recent years, allowed seniors to paint their parking spots. This was a decision made by the previous Principal, Mr. Lehmaen, due to his belief that it would look too tacky. Recently, however, students have begun to be more interested in the possibility. 

Paige Laufer, a Centreville senior, says that she would like to paint her spot and that she finds it a “good opportunity for people to express themselves in their last year of high school.” With the renewing interest in painting spots in mind I set out to trace down what exactly the rules and regulations were at Centreville. 

Mr. Corbin, head of security, says that he doesn’t see the harm in having seniors paint their spots, especially since parts of the parking lot will be torn up in renovations in the next couple of years. Additionally, he said that he hears lots of complaints about people parking in spots that aren’t theirs. He believes that having your spot painted can help remedy this and serve as a more personalized reminder of whose spot is whose. 

With support from Mr. Corbin and the student body, I scheduled an interview with Dr. Healey to discuss his thoughts on senior parking spots. Dr. Healey acknowledged that, yes, he had heard of this before and he was aware of the interest in it.

He said that he doesn’t “mind the time and effort looking into something so long as I can make an informed decision.” He has said that he will reach out to the facilities and other schools that have painted spots to check on the requirements and processes. 

Senior parking spots are officially on Dr. Healey’s to-do list! Seniors, if you want to paint your spot, it may not be too late yet!