It’s 7:05 a.m. and the buses are rolling into the loop followed by eager students, hoping nobody took their favorite parking spot in the front lot. Unfortunately, they find it occupied. This is an afterthought for most of the school’s population, as their concerns aren’t usually focused on their parking, but for the juniors, it’s becoming a problem.

As the school year progresses, more and more students hit their “sweet 16,” and crowd  the roadways with their shiny new driver’s licenses and the privilege to park as they please. But with this luxury comes the dread of the upperclassmen. A chunk of the junior class have taken the initiative to voice their opinions on the issue, and the popular solution is to kick the sophomores out of “their” territory. These students feel that Rochester High School’s “overflow lot” should be the permanent home to the sophomore’s cars, as the older you are, the more advantages you should have. Seeing that the main lot is the closest to the more popular areas of the school, the fight for a spot is crucial, and it’s beginning a new war. But as the school states, the lot is open to anyone, and it’s first come, first served. So why is that so hard to understand?

Well, I’m sure a lot of it comes down to entitlement, as humans naturally try to grab at any opportunity that benefits their well-being. So for the juniors, they want what’s best for their well-being, which means lessening the probability of having to walk that treacherous walk from the overflow to the front door. Anybody could argue that “well then sophomores should just suck it up and walk then, if it’s not that big of a deal.” Of course you could, but wouldn’t that be more work for the school? To change the parking policy for just a tinge of anger towards a virtually invisible issue is unnecessary, and would call for more announcements, differently printed passes, and months of student confusion of where they can and cannot park.

The idea that the juniors are superior to sophomores is understandable to a certain extent; of course being older means having certain privileges. There’s a reason Rochester has a senior lot. But for the one short year between being a new driver and having the prized spot in the senior lot, there seems to be this idea that the juniors are entitled to their own space. Although not all juniors believe in this drastic change to the school’s parking, there seems to be a target on the backs of the sophomores who intrude, with polls being put on Twitter, people racing for a spot in the parking lot, and fights breaking out over the subject.

The answer seems pretty simple: first come, first served. Being a student, I know that sleeping in a few minutes later makes a big difference, but being a driver, I also know that beating the rush gets you that prime spot. With this being said, the juniors have no excuse. Although it might not be everyone’s favorite thing to do in the morning, walking that extra bit from the overflow isn’t an energy-draining task. With solutions like waking up three minutes earlier, walking the little bit from the overflow and even carpooling if you need to, the thought of changing parking designations is useless. There’s only two months of school left, and next year, when the juniors become seniors, this will all go away.