In May, select parking spots become available for juniors to purchase. On certain days throughout the summer, students could paint those spaces with approved designs to personalize their parking spot for their upcoming senior year. To be approved, designs must fulfill a long list of requirements that almost entirely limit creative freedom. Senior parking spot requirements should be less restrictive.
When painting, students may use up to four paint colors on their space. However, three out of the four paints must be a school color: red, white, black, or gray. For students who like color or need another color to complete their design, this requirement becomes quite difficult. Additionally, the fourth color of their choice cannot be a main color — it must be used as an accent. That means the school colors must be the main components, which makes designing hard, considering the most obvious options include white and black. Not allowing students to use multiple colors however they want to to fulfill their dream design limits their self-expression, and forcing them to use three school colors takes the joy out of choosing a design they become excited about. The stifling of creativity in schools leads to a lack of entrepreneurship, passion, imagination and discovery in adulthood.
One parking spot costs $60. The student pays cash or by check to the bookkeeper to reserve their spot. $60 already adds up to be a tough amount for some students, and exhibiting this much control over the spot they paid for simply isn’t right. Not only do students pay the $60 fee, but they also must buy all of their own paint, supplies and trash bags to dispose of their materials at a separate location from the school. Since the school doesn’t have to provide any supplies or extra paint colors, the students should be free to spend their hard-earned money on colors they want to use instead of colors the school makes them use, but doesn’t make available. Students spend a lot of time and money to attain a special spot for their senior year that conveys who they are, and it isn’t at all fair for schools to take that away from them.
Proponents of the parking spot requirements argue that the restrictions help keep students’ designs school-appropriate and aligned with what the school wants. For example, Martin High School only allows the use of school colors on parking spots to keep the lot aligned with the Arlington ISD vision. However, Legacy students must have their design pre-approved by the administration before they start painting, and deviation from the design or offensive designs means the forfeiture of the spot and may result in being painted over. Because of this, designs at Legacy will continue to align with what the school wants, as every design must have a clear connection to the school in some way as a part of the “Vision 2030” guidance.
Allowing students creative freedom with style and color while adhering to less restrictive policies will satisfy the school and its students. Administration should lift some parking spot requirements to allow the students more creative freedom.
